Organizing for Assessment
Required Resources
Course Text: Assessing and Guiding Young Children’s Development and Learning
Chapter 6, “Compiling and Summarizing Information”
Chapter 7, “Interpreting Assessment Information”
Chapter 9, “Organizing for Assessment” (p. 165–1 66)
Optional Resources
Web Article: “Choosing an Appropriate Assessment System”
http://www.naeyc.org/files/yc/file/200401/shillady.pdf (PDF document)
Web Article: “Routine Use of Standardized Tests for All Young Children”
http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/students/earlycld/ea5lk10.htm
Web Article: “Developmentally Appropriate Assessment”
http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/students/earlycld/ea5lk2.htm
Compiling and Interpreting Assessment Information
Consider the following scenario:
You are invited to attend a staff meeting in the preschool where you are doing your student teaching. During the meeting, there is a discussion about strategies that can be used to assess children’s social and emotional development. One staff member enthusiastically suggests, “Let’s set up a chart that lists all of our children and the behaviors that we want them to demonstrate. We can place stickers next to each child’s name when that child exhibits specific behaviors. This will certainly encourage everyone to behave well in class. Then we can use the number of stickers that each child earns as an indicator of their social and emotional growth and development.”
Consider what you have learned about compiling assessment information in Chapter 6 and interpreting assessment information in Chapter 7.
By Day 3:
Post
An evaluation of effectiveness of the proposed idea in terms of both how information is being compiled and interpreted.
Other strategies that you would suggest for assessing children’s social and emotional development.
