Head Start
Details on Data Collection and Reporting

1. COR Assessments must be performed 3 times a year on each child.
2. Each item on the COR [there are 30 items] must be scored and based on an anecdote.
3. The validity 1 criteria that has been selected requires only 1 anecdote per item. If there is more than one anecdote per item and you are using the manual COR, choose the score that is the highest. If you are using the computerized COR, the computer will automatically select the highest score, but you must select Validity 1 criteria from the Utilities menu.
4. If a justified complication prevents you from observing and writing an anecdote for an item, do not simply score it with a 1. Instead, leave the item blank or mark it with an “x” in your manual if you do not have a supporting anecdote. If you score an item with a 1, it is assumed that you observed and wrote an anecdote to support that the child is truly at a level 1.
5. Teachers can set goals for the amount of anecdotes to be completed in a week so that an appropriate pace is maintained to complete COR assessments on all children. Some delegate E/ECD Specialists have offered guidance to their teachers on the amount of anecdotes to be produced per week/month that would meet requirements for completed anecdotes and timely submissions within the 3 time frames.
6. The grantee also recommends that site leaders and E/ECD Specialists monitor the frequency by which anecdotal notes are written. Weekly, bi-weekly or monthly anecdote tallies can be monitored easily and spot checks on properly written anecdotes and scoring can be made to avoid much missing data at the end of the time frame. The computerized COR generates anecdote tally reports.
7. Teachers are encouraged to review children’s COR assessments for a better focus on those areas with none or few anecdotes and for guidance when lesson planning.
8. If you are using the computerized COR, remember to back up your database not only on your computer’s hard drive, but also on a floppy disc to ensure that your entries are secure. You can back up you data base by going to the Utilities menu in your computerized COR system and following the instructions set forth by your Computerized COR Manual. You may also want to save your scrap notes if you are jotting anything down before entering your formal anecdotes into the computer until you have submitted all your data within each time frame.
9. Both the manual and computerized COR ask you to identify children’s language level. Remember that you are only identifying language levels for children whose primary language is not English. If the child’s primary language is English, do not select a level, rather, leave this section alone. For those who enter the language levels into the Reporter and Excel database, leave the cells blank for children whose primary language is English and indicate the levels 1-5 of children to whom this applies.
10. If you are having complications with your observations, anecdotal note taking, scoring, computerized COR, or any other difficulties, please communicate them to your site leader or E/ECD Specialist so that they may support you. In addition, when teachers are away from the program for any particular reason [i.e. training, sick, family emergency] anecdotal note taking and scoring should not be terminated. Rather, systems should exist that would allow any substitutes to maintain the outcome measure process and ensure that children are continuously observed and supported.

Thank you very much on behalf of the grantee for your generous time and amazing efforts with the entire outcome measures process. Your dedication to supporting children and families in the Wayne County Head Start program
is greatly appreciated.

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