Appropriate Assessment of Young Children
Introduction
Assessment of young children assists the teacher to determine the appropriate pedagogy and classroom instruction that match the beliefs and values of the child, in an attempt to bridge the cultural and classroom construction. However, it is noteworthy that assessment and testing are different, therefore, demand different requirements. Therefore, to carry out an assessment of a young child, it is essential that the teacher obtains information about childhood activities and experiences (Fiore, 2012). Assessment must make use of all input from different collaborators and sources like guardians, parents, advocates, legislators, child welfare administrators or any person working with the child. It is also noteworthy to consider different informal and formal set ups using different techniques in the assessment process (Fiore, 2012). Lastly, an effective assessment approach is designed around understanding and evaluation.
Appropriate Assessment: For Young, Disabled, Developmentally Delayed, Culturally & Linguistically Diverse, and Special Need Children
From the description given above, the assessment of a young child will take into account the use of understanding and evaluation of the child’s background. This is to offer information to assist in the improvement on instructional decisions for the child and curriculum. The assessment must identify the child’s limitations, strengths, and learning styles. It also must identify factors in the child’s environment that may affect their learning like nature of family system, support by others, and learning environment (Brassard & Boehm, 2008). The assessment of the young child will consider the comprehensive evaluation of the child’s behavior in the home and at school, and their interaction with peers. Moreover, a comprehensive assessment will move beyond the child’s factors and consider factors like instructional practices in the school environment (Brassard & Boehm, 2008). These are like the provision of a caring and stimulating environment by adults, reinforcement that encourages or discourages learning and appropriate behavior (Brassard & Boehm, 2008). This also includes the consideration of the adults’ role in serving as a model in language acquisition and development especially in second language learners (Brassard & Boehm, 2008). Assessment also involves the evaluation of the role of adults in the child’s life and their participation in offering bridges to learning, contribution to a child’s sensitivity to stress. It also involves the assessment of the goals and belief system of the child’s parents, guardians, caregivers, and teachers (Brassard & Boehm, 2008). This entails the evaluation of a child’s emotional and behavioral signals, through a thorough evaluation of the child’s environment.
Effective assessment of young children requires a collaboration effort between the parents and teacher. This is because consultation between the parents and teachers creates a foundation for assessment as it is founded on problems solving. Collaborative assessment of children especially those between the ages of two and eight requires consultation with family members and child professionals involved in decision making (Brassard & Boehm, 2008). The role of these professionals entails the provision of insight and information in the evaluation process, as well as educating the family on the child’s learning abilities and requirements. The professionals assist the assessment process in making use of multiple measures of different assessment techniques like curriculum-based evaluation (Fiore, 2012). The professionals assist the assessment process by gathering different information, across time and multiple developmental areas (Brassard & Boehm, 2008). Therefore, assessment of the young child will consider different assessment functions like placement, description, prescription, and prediction. Moreover, the assessment must lead to teacher in understanding the child’s cognitive processes, which underlie learning goals as well as the problem-solving strategies the child uses.
The assessment of the young child must also consider children culturally and linguistically diverse. This requires the evaluation of their families and social-cultural background to offer the teacher information that will make them cultural sensitive to the needs of the child (Cecile & Elaine, 2007). The assessment must lead the teacher to understand the cultural practices and beliefs of the child and their families. The assessment of such children must consider the identification of critical issues like language learning and the influence of culture on behavior and learning development (Fiore, 2012). This offers information that assists in the development of appropriate and effective instruction and curriculum material for the child that offers high quality services (Cecile & Elaine, 2007). The assessment of children from linguistically and culturally diverse backgrounds also requires collaboration with parents, guardians, and caregivers like that of regular young children. This is because consultation with collaborators reveals the developmental needs of the child as well as the learning needs.
Assessment of the child must also consider those with mental retardation or disabilities. This entails the evaluation and understanding of a child’s capabilities by measuring their intelligence and deficits in adapting appropriate behavior (Bracken, 2011). Assessment of the disabled, mentally retarded, or special need children must be comprehensive, non-biased, and linked to appropriate intervention measures. The assessment must lead to the development of instruction that includes the child in the regular education programs, increasing their involvement in the community, adapting instruction and curriculum to match their skills and competencies (Bracken, 2011). Assessment must consider the children’s needs according to the 1991 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. It should evaluate the child from different developmental areas like cognitive, physical, social, emotional, adaptive, and communication.
Therefore, assessment for all children must be from multiple domains of development involving adaptive behaviors. These include domains of self-direction, community use, social skills, home living, health and safety, leisure, work, functional academics, and communication (Bracken, 2011). Assessment must consider multiple sources this not only makes use of teachers, caregivers, and parents, but also makes use of structures and individual testing of the child (Bracken, 2011). Apart from structured tests, assessment of the child must be a continuous and systematic approach. The assessment is systematic if the teacher makes use of regular observations of the child in the classroom. Systematic assessment entails the continuous observation, testing, and documentation of the child’s requirements (Bracken, 2011). The goal is the identification of the child’s needs while matching them to the learning goals set by the curriculum. Systematic assessment must therefore involve the processes of identification, collection, description or the child’s adaptive behavior, interpretation and evaluation of behavior, and application to plan for future educational needs.
Making Assessment of the Young Child an Integral Part of Instruction and Curriculum
The assessment of young children to integrate instruction and curriculum must follow the set guidelines by the early childhood specialist from the Department of Education. This assessment will consider the need for evaluating the fairness and quality of curriculum and instruction matching the learning needs of the child (Cecile & Elaine, 2007). Effective assessment also recognizes that the teacher is the primary assessor of the child, and thereby, their key role is to collaborate with other professionals and families. This is because the teacher is in the best position to identify the daily performance and progress of children in the classroom. This leads to the identification of children with specialized learning placement needs, and identifies the appropriate teaching programs and strategies (Fiore, 2012). Assessment also evaluates the child’s learning progress and tries to match their learning needs with appropriate teaching instruction and curriculum. This implies the identification of learning needs, problems in collaborating with peers and teachers, reading, writing, problem-solving difficulties, and issues with task-based assignments. Assessment will lead the teacher to identify those teaching instruction and curriculum content that cause problems to children, limiting their strengths, qualities, and needs in the classroom. This involves observation of the child in classroom activities to identify obstacles and opportunities of learning to match their curriculum and learning needs (Cecile & Elaine, 2007). An effective assessment strategy considers the child activities in the classroom by making observations of their characteristics, limitations, and strengths in relation to specific instruction strategies and tools. This assessment also includes the evaluation of the child’s ability to make use of instructional tools like technologies including computers, calculators, and videotapes.
Case Analysis: Assessment of a Disabled Child
An assessment was carried out on a child suspected to be disabled, using structured assessment tests, and detailed observations of the adaptive child in the classroom. The assessment also made observation of the child at school and at home, with feedback from parents forming part of the assessment. The results indicate that the child has a learning handicap and has a developmental level within 1 to 2 years range, indicating they are at the exploratory stage of development. This led to the special placement of the learner in the classroom, since he met the criteria for a special learning resource classroom (Cecil & Randy, 2003). This is because he had a performance of four, a standard deviation below the required mean for the intelligence test, an adaptive behavior below moderate mental handicapped range (Cecil & Randy, 2003). The assessment of the child considered the ethical and legal issues since the teacher was the initiator of the assessment. This required the involvement of the parents and family, therefore, calling for the assessment to follow the set ethical and legal guidelines set by Code of Ethics given by the Disability Education Improvement Act (2006) (Cecil & Randy, 2003). This led to consultation with professionals within the school, and the education and provision of the family with information for the need for assessment. By empowering the family, it was easy for the teacher to get authorization to proceed with the assessment and application of appropriate measures for the child. The assessment also informed the student prior to the administration of the structured tests to measure the adaptive behavior. In the process, a collaborative community was created between the teacher, parents, and professional teacher for special need children to carry out the assessment and prepare an action plan. The result was that the child was placed in a special classroom program within the regular classroom to encourage their participation and increase their social skills. Moreover, the exercise led the family to create learning activities in the home to encourage and motivate the child to learn.
References
Bracken, A.B. (2011). The Psychoeducational Assessment of Pres-school Children. Taylor & Francis e-Library.
Brassard, R.M. & Boehm, A.E. (2008). Preschool Assessment: Principles and Practices. New York, NY, The Guilford Press.
Cecil, R.R. & Randy, W.K. (2003). Handbook of Psychological & Educational Assessment of Children: Intelligence, Aptitude, and Achievement. 2nd ed., New York, The Guilford Press.
Cecile, R.R. & Elaine, F-J. (2007). Encyclopedia of Special Education, Volume 3 Set. New Jersey, U.S.A.: John Wiley & Sons Inc.
Fiore, B.F. (2012). Assessment of Young Children: A Collaborative Approach. New York, Routledge.
