{"id":298,"date":"2019-09-09T20:49:34","date_gmt":"2019-09-09T20:49:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-canton-echd250\/?post_type=chapter&p=298"},"modified":"2019-09-17T20:41:42","modified_gmt":"2019-09-17T20:41:42","slug":"assessment-purpose-and-considerations","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-canton-echd250\/chapter\/assessment-purpose-and-considerations\/","title":{"raw":"Challenges of Early Childhood Assessment","rendered":"Challenges of Early Childhood Assessment"},"content":{"raw":"Today\u2019s educational climate of standards and accountability extends even to preschool programs (Bowman, Donovan, and Burns, 2001). The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) mandates assessment and accountability at all levels of public school, even in early childhood\u2013\u2013defined as birth through age 8\u00a0(NAEYC, 1987). Additionally, the current preschool initiative Good Start, Grow Smart requires a demonstration of positive child outcomes and ongoing assessment efforts. The initiative dramatically affects accountability measures for Head Start (Horn, 2003).\r\n\r\nIn light of this background, it is critical to understand how both formal and informal assessments, when developmentally appropriate in design and purpose, are beneficial for early childhood. This age period is often broken into three groups for discussion: infants\/toddlers (ages 0 through 2), preschoolers (ages 3\r\nthrough 5), and primary children (kindergarten through grade 3).\r\n

The Challenge of Early Childhood Assessment<\/strong><\/h4>\r\nThe assessment of young children is very different from the assessment of older\u00a0children and adults in several ways. The greatest difference is in the way young\u00a0children learn. They construct knowledge in experiential, interactive, concrete,\u00a0and hands-on ways (Bredekamp and Rosegrant, 1992, 1995) rather than through\u00a0abstract reasoning and paper and pencil activities alone. To learn, young children\u00a0must touch and manipulate objects, build and create in many media, listen and act\u00a0out stories and everyday roles, talk and sing, and move and play in various ways\u00a0and environments. Consequently, the expression of what young children know\u00a0and can do would best be served in ways other than traditional paper and pencil assessments.\r\n\r\nAssessment is also challenging during early childhood because a child\u2019s development is rapid, uneven, episodic, and highly influenced by the environment\u00a0(Shepard, Kagan, and Wurtz, 1998). A developing child exhibits periods of both\u00a0rapid growth and frequent rest. Children develop in four domains\u2013\u2013 physical,\u00a0 cognitive, social, and emotional\u2013\u2013and not at the same pace through each. No two\u00a0children are the same; each child has a unique rate of development. In addition, no two children have the same family, cultural, and experiential backgrounds. Clearly, these variables mean that a \u201cone-size-fits-all\u201d assessment will not meet\r\nthe needs of most young children (Shepard, et al.).\r\n\r\nAnother assessment challenge for young children is that it takes time to\u00a0administer assessments properly. Assessments primarily should be administered\u00a0in a one-on-one setting to each child by his or her teacher. In addition, a child\u2019s\u00a0attention span is often very short and the assessment should therefore be\u00a0administered in short segments over a period of a few days or even weeks. While\u00a0early childhood educators demand developmentally appropriate assessments for\u00a0children, they often complain about the time it takes to administer them and the\u00a0resulting loss of instructional time in the classroom. However, when quality tests\u00a0mirror quality instruction, assessment and teaching become almost seamless,\u00a0complementing and informing one another (Neuman, Copple, and Bredekamp, 2000).\r\n\r\nNAEYC Position Statement Early Childhood Curriculum, Assessment, and Program Evaluation<\/a>\r\n\r\n ","rendered":"

Today\u2019s educational climate of standards and accountability extends even to preschool programs (Bowman, Donovan, and Burns, 2001). The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) mandates assessment and accountability at all levels of public school, even in early childhood\u2013\u2013defined as birth through age 8\u00a0(NAEYC, 1987). Additionally, the current preschool initiative Good Start, Grow Smart requires a demonstration of positive child outcomes and ongoing assessment efforts. The initiative dramatically affects accountability measures for Head Start (Horn, 2003).<\/p>\n

In light of this background, it is critical to understand how both formal and informal assessments, when developmentally appropriate in design and purpose, are beneficial for early childhood. This age period is often broken into three groups for discussion: infants\/toddlers (ages 0 through 2), preschoolers (ages 3
\nthrough 5), and primary children (kindergarten through grade 3).<\/p>\n

The Challenge of Early Childhood Assessment<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The assessment of young children is very different from the assessment of older\u00a0children and adults in several ways. The greatest difference is in the way young\u00a0children learn. They construct knowledge in experiential, interactive, concrete,\u00a0and hands-on ways (Bredekamp and Rosegrant, 1992, 1995) rather than through\u00a0abstract reasoning and paper and pencil activities alone. To learn, young children\u00a0must touch and manipulate objects, build and create in many media, listen and act\u00a0out stories and everyday roles, talk and sing, and move and play in various ways\u00a0and environments. Consequently, the expression of what young children know\u00a0and can do would best be served in ways other than traditional paper and pencil assessments.<\/p>\n

Assessment is also challenging during early childhood because a child\u2019s development is rapid, uneven, episodic, and highly influenced by the environment\u00a0(Shepard, Kagan, and Wurtz, 1998). A developing child exhibits periods of both\u00a0rapid growth and frequent rest. Children develop in four domains\u2013\u2013 physical,\u00a0 cognitive, social, and emotional\u2013\u2013and not at the same pace through each. No two\u00a0children are the same; each child has a unique rate of development. In addition, no two children have the same family, cultural, and experiential backgrounds. Clearly, these variables mean that a \u201cone-size-fits-all\u201d assessment will not meet
\nthe needs of most young children (Shepard, et al.).<\/p>\n

Another assessment challenge for young children is that it takes time to\u00a0administer assessments properly. Assessments primarily should be administered\u00a0in a one-on-one setting to each child by his or her teacher. In addition, a child\u2019s\u00a0attention span is often very short and the assessment should therefore be\u00a0administered in short segments over a period of a few days or even weeks. While\u00a0early childhood educators demand developmentally appropriate assessments for\u00a0children, they often complain about the time it takes to administer them and the\u00a0resulting loss of instructional time in the classroom. However, when quality tests\u00a0mirror quality instruction, assessment and teaching become almost seamless,\u00a0complementing and informing one another (Neuman, Copple, and Bredekamp, 2000).<\/p>\n

NAEYC Position Statement Early Childhood Curriculum, Assessment, and Program Evaluation<\/a><\/p>\n

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