Cognitive ToyBox: Data-Based Assessment Tool to Accelerate Progress in Early Childhood Literacy

By Jeanna Baxter

Published August 23, 2018

Background

This study focused on the experiences of three preschool teachers from the Davie County School system who participated in a pilot program to evaluate the effectiveness of a new assessment system. The pilot program partnered with Cognitive ToyBox, an innovative company that developed a game-based platform with a strong research foundation. Through the use of touchscreen devices, students engaged in one assessment game per week, with each game lasting an average of five minutes. Teachers gained access to reports aligned with North Carolina standards, providing valuable insights to guide instructional planning and support the unique needs of individual students

Study Goals

  1. To explore the efficacy of the Cognitive ToyBox assessment system in enhancing the assessment process

  2. To understand the improvement on instructional planning

  3. To address individual student needs in alignment with N.C. educational standards.

Challenges

This study highlighted the time-consuming nature of the current observation-only assessment approach. Teachers spend four to six hours per week writing notes, transcribing them into a digital form, and searching for patterns to guide instruction. This process is inefficient and takes away valuable time that could be spent on other teaching tasks.

Outcomes

During the pilot program, the preschool teachers found the Cognitive ToyBox platform user-friendly and engaging, and their students enjoyed using it. The platform provided valuable insights into students' abilities and supported teachers in grouping them for learning activities. The reports generated by the platform aligned with teachers' own observations and provided additional data points to inform instruction and identify potential learning delays.

Based on positive results, the Davie County School system expanded the use of the Cognitive ToyBox platform to all NC Pre-K classrooms in the county. Cognitive ToyBox continues to refine the technology to improve school readiness and reading rates in classrooms that use their platform.

Other Research

  • Using Cognitive ToyBox at Home during Covid-19 School Closures

    Los Angeles Unified School District

    See Study

  • Technology-Based Tools Enable Greater Collaboration Between Head Start and Public Schools

    The City of Chattanooga's Office of Early Learning

    See Study

  • Measuring school readiness through games: reliability, validity and outcomes

    Head Start Program

    See Study

  • CTB: Data-Based Assessment Tool to Accelerate Progress in Early Childhood Literacy

    Davie County School System

    See Study

  • HTKS-Kids: A tablet-based measure of self-regulation to equitably assess preschoolers

    Association for Psychological Science

    Click Here

  • Supporting family child care providers and networks with Cognitive ToyBox

    Avance

    See Research

  • Implementing Cognitive ToyBox in Louisiana Center-Based Pre-K Settings

    Louisiana DOE

    See Research

  • CTB Alongside a Traditional Approach to Assessment in the Early Classroom

    WestEd

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  • The role of developmental change and linguistics in the mutual exclusivity effect

    Cognition Journal

    See Research

  • Cognitive ToyBox Subject Matter Expert Review

    WestEd

    See Research

  • The Promise of Game-Based Assessment in Early Childhood Education

    Brooklyn Kindergarten Society

    See Research

  • Week-long practice matching 2D objects improves 3D shape bias and vocabulary growth

    Cognitive Science Society

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  • Hudson Guild Case Study

    Hudson Guild

    See Research