{"id":476,"date":"2025-03-31T22:16:40","date_gmt":"2025-03-31T22:16:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/accintroductiontoece\/?post_type=chapter&p=476"},"modified":"2025-06-22T21:04:23","modified_gmt":"2025-06-22T21:04:23","slug":"12-2-assessment","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/accintroductiontoece\/chapter\/12-2-assessment\/","title":{"raw":"12.2: Assessment","rendered":"12.2: Assessment"},"content":{"raw":"

Early childhood education programs should have outcomes that relate to their philosophy and the objectives they have for children. As we examine the cycles of curriculum planning that we have completed, we can use that data to further inform curriculum planning and assess children\u2019s developmental progress.[1]<\/p>\r\n\r\n

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Assessing to Inform Curriculum Planning<\/h2>\r\n

The challenge for teachers and others who plan early childhood curriculum is to determine how much assessment data to gather and how to use the resulting information. The key is to organize a sustainable infrastructure that facilitates gathering meaningful information on every child regularly and systematically, by using the following guidelines:<\/p>\r\n\r\n

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  1. The best instructional assessment information is collected frequently and used continuously to inform curriculum and instruction decisions. Young children learn quickly, and regular monitoring of progress is necessary to document incremental improvements in skills and behaviors. Teachers and other adults are more likely to collect, interpret, and apply assessment data if the process is built into the daily classroom schedule and responsibilities.<\/li>\r\n \t
  2. Assessment to inform and monitor instruction is most accurate if multiple sources are considered and multiple methods used. Because much of young children\u2019s learning and development occurs outside classrooms, competencies and progress must be considered in all contexts and environments. The richest results are obtained when the perspectives of parents, caregivers, teachers, specialists, and children themselves are combined. Assessment instruments that gather information by observation and report, and include components for parents to report on children\u2019s developmental and academic progress, provide a helpful structure.<\/li>\r\n \t
  3. Methods used to collect instructional assessment information should resemble ongoing instruction and the interactions of home, child care centers, and classrooms. There are valid concerns about the negative effects of testing on young children. One of the biggest advantages of assessment to inform and monitor instruction is that the process seldom necessitates individualized testing. Adults should be able to collect instructional assessment data using the same experiences designed to facilitate preschool learning in group activities, support parent\/infant interactions at home, or provide instruction in primary classrooms.<\/li>\r\n \t
  4. Assessment instruments should be criterion-referenced with items that reflect functional skills. Actual assessment items and administration procedures will vary depending on whether the focus is on development or early academics. Nonetheless, repeated measures of performance across a sequence of skills that reflect curriculum goals provide the best documentation of children\u2019s progress. Assessment to inform and monitor instruction is only as good as the curriculum and instruction young children receive. Assessing what we teach and teaching what we assess is essential for meaningful instructional assessment.<\/li>\r\n \t
  5. Instructional and classroom assessment instruments should ideally reflect a logical teaching sequence. Assessments to inform and monitor instruction are most useful if items are organized in a sequence that reflects major skills in the curriculum, along with prior knowledge and\/or prerequisite skills. This organization maps the curriculum for teachers and guides the selection of subsequent learning goals.<\/li>\r\n \t
  6. Instructional assessment instruments and procedures must be culturally and linguistically relevant. If the basic skills represented in early developmental and academic curricula are functional and appropriate for young children, instructional assessments have the advantage of being able to incorporate familiar materials, people, routines, and important events of a child\u2019s life. If using an assessment in which items are culturally inappropriate, it is vital that those are revised, and parents can suggest more familiar and appropriate materials and behaviors. It is especially important that English Language Learners not be penalized by materials or directions that confuse cultural and language differences with cognitive or academic delays.[2]<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n
    [caption id=\"\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"391\"]\"clipboard_ee4128588bff55dd85e30ea6d3f1e59bc.png\" Figure 12.11: If materials, tasks, interactions, or the language being used are unfamiliar to a child, caution must be taken before making judgments about their development.[3][\/caption]<\/figure>\r\n
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    Pause to Reflect<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/header>\r\n

    What stood out to you about assessing to inform curriculum planning? What did you most agree with? What got you thinking a bit more? Was there anything you disagreed with or are unsure about?<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\nAssessing Children<\/span>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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    Each child and group of children will be at different points in their journey towards these program\u2019s outcomes. Children come with a range of interests, understandings, family and community experiences, developmental pathways, temperaments, and dispositions.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

    [caption id=\"\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"310\"]\"clipboard_edee54bfcf375d9221fb43ed31821da5a.png\" Figure 12.12: The way these infants are engaging in this literacy interaction with their caregiver may show their temperament and dispositions at work.[4][\/caption]<\/figure>\r\n

    Educators use their observations of children and feedback from children and caregivers, as well as evaluations of learning and wellbeing, to analyse and assess what children can do and areas for further development or progression. Learning stories, educator reflections, journals and child portfolios are strategies to not only document experiences, but also help educators become more familiar with the outcomes as they make frequent links from their documentation to the outcomes they have for children.[5]<\/p>\r\n\r\n

    Common Assessment Tools Used in Colorado:<\/h2>\r\n

    Here is a list of commonly used early childhood assessment tools in Colorado, approved by the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) for various programs such as Results Matter, School Readiness, and the READ Act: <\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n