Linking Assessment of Basic Concepts to Early Childhood

Education StandardsBruce A. Bracken, Ph.D.

The College of William & Mary

What this Webinar Will Cover• A definition of basic concepts• The importance of basic concepts• Challenging assumptions about concept acquisition• Categorizing basic concepts

– An in-depth understanding of basic concepts

– Basic concepts in state educational standards

• Resources– Assessing and teaching basic concepts

– 50 States’ educational standards article and Excel database

A Definition of Basic ConceptsA basic concept in all languages is:

… a word, in its most elementary sense, that is, a label for one of the basic colors, comparatives, directions, materials, positions, quantities, relationships, sequences, shapes, sizes, social or emotional states and characteristics, textures, and time. Basic concepts are basic in the sense that they represent the most rudimentary concepts in these specific categorical areas…

Concepts are the ‘foundation of intelligence’ Jerome Kagan

A Definition of Basic ConceptsConceptual Levels

• Basic Concepts: The most rudimentary words used to describe the environment (e.g., rough, hot, blue, hard).

• Topical Concepts: Conceptual terms used within specific content or subject areas (e.g., desert, marsh, jungle).

• Over-arching Concepts: Concepts that span and go beyond basic and topical concepts (e.g., systems, change, patterns).

The Importance of Basic Concepts

• Basic concepts represent the foundational language terms used to describe the world that young children experience on a daily basis (Bracken, 1984; 1998; 2007).

• Research supports the importance of vocabulary development in young children, especially among students at risk for school failure (e.g., Shaywitz & Shaywitz, 2005).

• Newman (2006, p. 28) concluded: “Low-income preschool children need content-rich instruction…including knowledge of words and the concepts that connect them.”

• Basic concepts significantly extend the relative importance of vocabulary because concepts are cognitively more complex and functional than common vocabulary terms

The Importance of Basic Concepts• Basic concepts are needed to

understand classroom conversations and teacher directions (Boehm, Classon, & Kelly, 1986; Bracken, 1986)

• Basic concepts predict both reading and mathematics better than do traditional vocabulary tests (e.g., PPVT) (Larabee, 2007).

• Basic concepts are needed to understand administration directions of early childhood tests of intelligence (Bracken, 1986; Flanagan, Alfonso, Kaminer, Rader, 1995; Kaufman, 1978) and tests of achievement (Cummings & Nelson, 1980)

The Importance of Basic Concepts

• Basic concepts have been mapped, categorized, and can be effectively assessed and remediated in a functional, prescriptive (i.e., test-teach-test) instructional methodology (Bracken & Crawford, 2006, 2010; Bracken & Panter, 2010; Panter; 2000; Panter & Bracken, 2009).

• Basic concepts are central to the early childhood

educational standards of all 50 states (Bracken & Crawford, 2006, 2010).

The Importance of Basic Concepts

• Basic concept acquisition correlates with powerful educational constructs

• Correlations with Intelligence Tests .91 with the Stanford- Binet IV (Bracken & Howell, 1991)

.80 with the Differential Abilities Test (McIntosh et al., 1995)

.85 with the WPPSI-R (Panter, 2000)

.57 with the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (Laughlin, 1995)

The Importance of Basic Concepts

• Basic concept acquisition correlates with powerful educational constructs

• Correlations with Speech and Language Tests

.78 to .88 Boehm Test of Basic Concepts (Bracken & Cato, 1986)

.67 to .88 Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-4 (Dunn & Dunn, 2006)

.61 to .78 Preschool Language Scale - 4 (Bracken, 2006)

.68 Token Test (Bracken & Cato, 1986)

The Importance of Basic Concepts

• Basic concept acquisition correlates with powerful educational constructs

• Correlations with Achievement Tests .64 with the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children: Achievement

(Zucker &Riordan, 1990)

.50 to .60 with the Wide Range Achievement Test (Sterner & McCallum, 1988)

.65 with the Woodcock-Johnson Psychoeducatonal Battery - Achievement (Bracken & Walker, 1997)

.67 to .81 with the Metropolitan Readiness Test (Panter, 2002)

Challenging Assumptions About Concept Acquisition

“All children enter school already knowing important basic concepts.”

– Young children do not understand basic concepts commonly used in classroom directions and discussion (Boehm, Classon, & Kelly, 1986)

– Preschool intelligence test directions are replete with basic concepts children do not understand (Bracken, 1986; Flanagan, Alfonso, & Kaminer, 1995; Kaufman, 1978)

– Early childhood achievement test directions are replete with basic concepts children do not comprehend (Cummings & Nelson, 1980)

Challenging Assumptions About Concept Acquisition

“Parents and teachers know which concepts children need to master.”

• My research has identified the universe of basic concepts children need to describe and discuss their world or to follow others’ directions

• Parents often teach only easily recognized concepts prior to their children attending school (e.g., colors, numbers/letters)

• Parents and teachers often have misperceptions about the taxonomical nature of concept domains and sub domains (e.g., primary colors, secondary colors, tertiary colors, absolutes)

Challenging Assumptions About Concept Acquisition

“Schools systematically teach basic concepts to children in early childhood grades.”

– None of the 50 states’ early-childhood educational standards include all or even most basic concepts (Bracken & Crawford, 2006)

– Schools typically do not follow a systematic ‘conceptual map’ or proven pedagogy for teaching basic concepts (Bracken, 1986, 2006)

– Basic concepts are usually taught with little consideration for the scope and sequence of concept development

Challenging Assumptions About Concept Acquisition

“All children begin school on an equal conceptual footing.”

– Children of poverty know fewer basic concepts than more economically advantaged students

– ELL/ESL students know far fewer basic concepts (in English) than native English speakers

– Children with speech/language, hearing, vision, and cognitive disabilities know fewer basic concepts than nondisabled students

Categorizing Basic Concepts

Conceptual Categories, Concept Examples,

andEarly Childhood Educational Standards

Categorizing Basic Concepts: Colors

Sub-domain– Primary Colors– Secondary Colors

• Combination of two primary colors

– Absolutes – Tertiary Colors

• Combination of a primary color and a secondary color

Concept Examples– Red, Yellow, Blue

– Orange, Green, Purple

– White, Black

– Violet, Heather

Categorizing Basic Concepts:Colors

Show me which color is… purple

State Standards Examples: Colors

Missouri State StandardsUses descriptive language (e.g. colors), matches, sorts and regroups objects according to one or more characteristic (e.g., color), describes self using several basic characteristics (e.g., hair color, eye color), duplicates and extends patterns (e.g., color), arranges objects by color, size, texture and/or shape (PreK); Sorts items according to some of the physical properties of the materials (e.g., color), sorts objects based on observable physical properties (e.g., color) (K); Sorts and classifies items according to attributes (1st)

Categorizing Basic Concepts:Letters and Letter Sounds

Pre-Literacy Skill•Recognition

– Upper-case

– Lower-case

•Naming– Upper-case

– Lower-case

•Letter Sounds•Letter Blend Sounds

Concept Examples• Recognition

– Point to M, B, S, D

– Point to u, v, c, b

• Naming– Name this letter, W, P, R, E

– Name this letter, a, e, g, k

• What sound does b make?

• What sound does ch make?

Categorizing Basic Concepts:Letters and Letter Sounds

Show me… K

Show me the… G

State Standards Examples: Letters

Maryland State StandardsRecognizes that letters represent sounds, identifies and names some upper and lower-case letters in words, identifies pictures, shapes, letters, and numerals (PreK); Identifies in isolation all upper and lower-case letters of the alphabet (K); Identifies letters and corresponding sounds (1st)

Categorizing Basic Concepts:Numbers

Math Literacy Skill• Rote Counting• Place Counting

• Number Identification– 0-9– Double Digits– Triple Digits

• Number Naming– 0-9– Double Digits– Triple Digits

Concept Examples• Counting without place value• Counting with one-to-one

correspondence

• Number Identification – Point to the 1, 5, 8, 0– Point to the 22, 58, 95– Point to 138, 395, 783

• Number Naming– What is this number? 2, 6, 9– What is this number? 44, 78– What is this number? 234, 783

Categorizing Basic Concepts:Numbers

Show me… the ninety-five

Show me… three flowers

State Standards Examples: Numbers

Florida State StandardsCompares two or more sets and identifies which set is equal to, more than, or less than the other, identifies objects that do not belong to a particular group (K); Compares and orders whole numbers to 100 or more, compares two or more sets and identifies which set is equal to, more than, or less than the other (1st)

Categorizing Basic Concepts:Sizes/Comparisons

Dimensions and Size

• Three-Dimensional Size• Two-Dimensional Size

– Vertical

– Horizontal

• Comparative Sizes

Concept Examples

• Big, Large, Small, Little

– Tall, Short

– Long, Short

• Similar, Same, Different

Categorizing Basic Concepts:Sizes/Comparisons

Show me… which fence is tall

Show me… which animal is big

State Standards Examples: Sizes

California State StandardsNames opposites (e.g., big/small), names and describes objects by relative size (PreK); Identifies, sorts, and classifies objects by attribute (e.g., by size), describes the properties of common objects (K); Classifies objects by common attributes (e.g., size), represents and compares data (e.g., largest, smallest), sorts objects and data by common attributes and describes the categories (1st)

Categorizing Basic Concepts:Sizes/Comparisons

Show me… which boats are alike

State Standards Examples: Comparisons

Illinois State StandardsMakes comparisons of quantities, shows understanding and use of comparative words, sorts and classifies objects by properties, makes comparisons among observed objects (PreK); Identifies objects that are the same shape, compares and sorts two- and three-dimensional objects (1st-2nd)

Categorizing Basic Concepts:Shapes

Shapes• Linear (vertical/horizontal)

– Curvilinear Line

– Diagonal Line

– Angular Line

• Two-Dimensional Shapes

• Three-Dimensional Shapes

Concept Examples• Line, Straight

– Curve

– Diagonal

– Angle

• Circle, Square, Triangle

• Sphere, Cube, Pyramid

Categorizing Basic Concepts:Shapes

Show me… the star

Show me… the curve

State Standards Examples: ShapesTexas State Standards

Discriminates and sorts objects based on the basis of one dimension (e.g., shape), identifies and labels several shapes (e.g., circle, square, triangle, rectangle) (PreK); Recognizes and names circles, squares, triangles, and rectangles (K); Sorts objects by two attributes, names 2-Dimensional geometric figures (i.e., rectangle, square, triangle, circle), names 3-Dimensional geometric figures (i.e., cube, cylinder, sphere, cone). (1st)

Categorizing Basic Concepts:Shapes

Show me… which children are in a line

Show me… the pyramid

State Standards Examples: Shapes

Arizona State StandardsDemonstrates understanding of spatial relationships and attributes of common shapes (e.g., identifies or names basic shapes; circles, cylinders, squares, cubes, triangles) (PreK); Identify 2-Dimensional shapes by attribute (size, shape, number of sides) (K, 1st);

Categorizing Basic Concepts:Relational Concepts

Direction and Position

• Three-dimensional• Internal/External• Relative Proximity• Self/Other Perspective• Front/Rear• Specific Locations

Concept Examples

• Under, Over, Right, Left• Inside, Outside, Around • Near, Far, Beside• My Right, My Left, Your• In Front of, Behind • Edge, Corner

Categorizing Basic Concepts:Relational Concepts

Show me… which clownis up-side-down

Show me… which child is behind the chair

State Standards Examples: Relational Concepts

Montana State StandardsUnderstands positional words (e.g., in/on, same/different, top/bottom, over/under, on/off, middle, between), uses position words that indicate where things are located in space (i.e., inside, outside, behind, in front, above, below, over, under, next to, near, far) (PreK); Identifies positional relationships (K-4)

Categorizing Basic Concepts:Self and Society

Personal and Cultural

• Affective Feeling• Health/Physical• Gender • Familial Relationships• Age

• Mores

Conceptual Examples

• Happy, Sad, Excited• Healthy, Sick, Tired• Boy, Girl, Woman, Man • Mother, Father, Sister• Old, Young

• Right, Wrong, Correct

Categorizing Basic Concepts:Self and Society

Show me… which child is wrong

Show me… which person is sad

State Standards Examples: Self and Society

Hawaii State StandardsUnderstands and expresses feelings, begins to develop a sense of self, learns about self and other people (PreK); Sorts objects or people according to stated attributes, uses greetings, leave-takings, and simple courtesy expressions, creates art that expresses feelings (K); Identifies a variety of feelings (e.g., anger, joy, sadness, frustration), identifies the feelings that result from participation in physical activities (K-2)

Categorizing Basic Concepts:Textures / Materials

Environmental Conditions

• States of Matter• Textures• Materials• Material Characteristics

• Temperatures

Concept Examples

• Solid, Liquid, Gas• Rough, Smooth, Sharp• Cloth, Wood, Metal• Wet, Dry, Shiny, Dull• Hot, Cold

Categorizing Basic Concepts:Textures / Materials

Show me… which rock is smooth

Show me… which one is a gas

State Standards Examples:Textures and Materials

Virginia State StandardsSorts and classifies objects according to one or two attributes (e.g., texture), recognizes water in its three forms (i.e., solid, liquid, gas) (PreK); Compares two objects or events (e.g., by temperature), understands that water occurs in different states (i.e., solid, liquid, gas), classifies objects in the environment by using texture (K); Uses descriptive words when writing, identifies and uses texture (1st)

Categorizing Basic Concepts:Quantity

Quantitative Characteristics

• Part/Whole Relations• Relative Quantity• Volume• Multiples• Comparatives/Superlatives• Fractions

• Math Signs/Symbols

Concept Examples

• Whole, Part, Piece• Lots, Few, Some, None• Full, Empty• Pair, Double, Triple, Dozen• More, Less, Most, Least• Half, One-Third• +, -, x

Categorizing Basic Concepts:Quantity

Show me… where neither child has a balloon

Show me… which tree has many apples

State Standards Examples: QuantityMaine State Standards

Demonstrates understanding of concepts whole and part, recognizes and compares objects based on differences in length, volume, weight, width (PreK); Determines reasonableness of results when working with quantities, shows understanding of addition and subtraction, estimates and measures length, time, temperature, weight, and capacity, identifies and gives the value of different coins…,

State Standards Examples: QuantityMaine State Standards

…uses numerals and symbols (>, <, =, +, -) to report numerical data and relationships, describes and compares things in terms of number, shape, texture, size, weight, color, and behavior (PreK-2)

Categorizing Basic Concepts:Time / Sequence

Relative Time• Mathematical Seriation• Frequency• Natural Occurring Events• Temporal Absolutes• Temporal Order• Speed• Relative Age• Temporal Nuances• Larger Temporal Periods

Concept Examples• First, Second, Third• Once, Twice• Morning, Daytime, Before,• Never, Always• Early, Late, Next, Arriving• Fast, Slow• New, Old, Young, Old• Nearly, Just, Waiting• Days, Weeks, Months, Seasons

Categorizing Basic Concepts:Time / Sequence

Show me… which child is waiting

Show me… which person has quit working

State Standards Examples:Time and Sequence

Washington State StandardsUses time-related words and concepts (e.g., first/last, morning/night) (PreK); Retells familiar stories using a beginning, middle, and end, identifies the ordinal position of objects at least through tenth, groups human and natural events in proper sequence on a time line (K); Retells stories with correct sequence of events, understands sequential relationships among whole numbers, knows daily changes of the position of the sun (1st)

Resources

• Assessment Resources:– Bracken, B. A. (2007). Bracken School Readiness Assessment

– 3rd Edition. San Antonio, TX: Harcourt Assessment.– Bracken, B. A. (2006). Bracken Basic Concept Scale –

Receptive 3rd Edition. San Antonio, TX: Harcourt Assessment.– Bracken, B. A. (2006). Bracken Basic Concept Scale:

Expressive. San Antonio, TX: Harcourt Assessment.

• Teaching Resources:– Bracken, B. A. (1987). Bracken Concept Development Program.

San Antonio, TX: The Psychological Corporation.– Bracken, B. A., & Panter, J. E. (in press). Using the Bracken Basic Concept

Scale and the Bracken Concept Development Program for assessing and remediating concept development. Psychology in the Schools.

Resources• Early Childhood State Educational Standards:

– Bracken, B. A., & Crawford, E. (2010). Basic concepts in early childhood educational standards: A 50-state review. Journal of Early

Childhood Education, 37, 421-431.– For a complete 50-state review of concepts embedded in early childhood

states’ standards, cut and paste: http://faculty.wm.edu/babrac/Standards.xls

Bruce’s Contact Information

Bruce A. Bracken, PhDThe College of William & Mary

School of Education

301 Monticello Avenue

Williamsburg, VA 23187

(757) 221-1712babrac@wm.eduhttp://babrac.people.wm.edu/