IGDI [ig – dee]
IGDIs, or Individual Growth and Development Indicators, are frequently discussed here at Way to Grow.
“The IGDIs are next week.”
“Don’t eat those snacks in the fridge; they’re for the IGDIs!”
“When do the IGDI results come in?”
More than an third of America’s young children lack the skills crucial to school success. This means that every year, over a million children enter kindergarten behind on Day 1 in literacy and numeracy development. Meanwhile, research shows that these early years of education can be directly linked to odds of long-term success.
This is where the IDGIs come in, and why we use them in our work at Way to Grow.
Individual Growth and Development Indicators (IGDIs) are brief, easy-to-use measures of early language, literacy and numeracy designed for use with preschool children (ages three to five). Part of a long line of research at the University of Minnesota (and elsewhere), IGDIs focus on general outcome measures of educational and developmental growth. Teachers, parents, and others can use these measures to monitor children’s progress in important areas, identify children who need additional support or interventions, and track the effects of these interventions over time.
All of the children enrolled in Way to Grow’s programming who will be entering kindergarten next year take the IGDI assessments three times a year: at the start of the school year, mid-way through, and then right before they begin kindergarten.
“After the IGDIs scores come in, we are able to engage with families individually and share areas where parents can work with their children to ensure they will be fully prepared for kindergarten,” explains Ashley Saupp, Way to Grow’s Education Manager.
This approach pays off: Last year, 87% of Way to Grow’s children were deemed ready for kindergarten!
