The first report in this series, "Implementing the Early Development Instrument (EDI)” focuses on EDI implementation within the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD). OSSS supported OUSD with three rounds of EDI implementation in 2017, 2020, and 2023 as part of the Packard Foundation’s Starting Smart and Strong Initiative.
Through this partnership, Oakland was able to achieve high levels of participation in the EDI. In 2023, the EDI survey was completed for 2,363 children across 50 schools for a 94% completion rate. In addition, 1,000 families completed the associated family survey. OSSS has developed a user-friendly dashboard to view the EDI results. OSSS, OUSD, and our community partners have used the EDI in many ways, including applying for and receiving the Emerging Bilingual Collaborative grant to support Dual Language Learners, increasing Social and Emotional Supports in OUSD Early Learning, supporting the San Antonio Family Resource Center’s (FRC) Parent Action Team’s advocacy for San Antonio Park, and informing the Oakland Fund for Children and Youth’s strategic plan. Read more about our many uses of the data. Our work with the EDI has laid a strong foundation for using data to drive early childhood strategies in Oakland. Now, this work is expanding beyond our city as countywide efforts take shape to establish a common measure of school readiness. Moving Forward
In the fall of 2024, First 5 Alameda County and the Alameda County Office of Education (ACOE) led a process to choose a common measure of systems readiness for kindergarteners throughout the county. Through this highly collaborative and informative process, school districts chose the Early Development Instrument. Below, Laura Schroeder, Director of Data and Evaluation for First 5 Alameda County, shares her thoughts on why now is the right time to implement the EDI countywide.
Tell us about the importance of an Alameda County snapshot of kindergarten children’s health, development, and school readiness. At First 5 Alameda County, we’ve been measuring kindergarten readiness since 2008. Our measurement has become more participatory over time; we’ve dug into looking at community conditions; and we started including a parent survey, in addition to teacher perspectives. For a number of years, we used a tool called the Kindergarten Observation Form (KOF). Now that we have two local ballot initiatives (Alameda County’s Measure C and Oakland Children’s Initiative/Measure AA) that provide an opportunity for new funding and new investment in early care and learning, we wanted to pause and bring everyone together to take a look at how we are going to be measuring kindergarten readiness throughout the county. How did the process of choosing the EDI unfold? We went through a participatory process with school districts, looking at what criteria are important. The EDI is a census; it’s not a light undertaking for districts and for teachers. I was really pleased that districts saw the value of tools for policy and planning. OUSD having worked with the EDI previously was a really important voice in the room. What happens next? Our intention is to administer the EDI every three years. We’ll be implementing it in school year 2025-26. We’ll also be pairing it with a parent survey. I’m excited that we’ll be able to use the EDI to inform not just the implementation of the ballot initiatives but also all types of cross-sector investments in early childhood. Any final thoughts? I see it as a huge success that we have a common tool across the county. That is so exciting to me personally and still, we’ve got some work ahead of us. Now the question is how will we use it in ways to inform important decisions and ultimately improve conditions for children and families. Look for our next Scaling Our Impact: Lessons from Oakland report coming Summer 2025! Comments are closed.
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