Early childhood should be an exciting time in
young children’s lives however, as we all know that is not always the case.
Early childhood is complicated for many children, and as early childhood
educators (ECEs) it is part of our responsibility to provide children with the
best education possible with positive learning outcomes. One way for ECEs to
achieve this goal is by assessing young children. Assessments give ECEs
objective information on children’s learning and development (Ebbeck et.al.,
2013). Assessments are a crucial part of early childhood education, equally as
important is choosing the correct assessment tool. There is no one-size-fits-all
assessment. Ebbeck et. al. (2013) stated “Assessment has to be an integral part
of the curriculum, not as an additive but as a purposeful, ongoing, shared
communication about children’s learning” (p. 122); consequently, ECEs must have
knowledge on assessments, assessment procedures, and assessment practices to
effectively choose the right tool. Below I have included two scenarios that
require assessing a student however, I did not include the name of assessment I
would use; which assessment do you think is the right tool for each scenario?
Marcus is a
three-year-old who lives with his two moms, he is adopted. Marcus has had a difficult
start into this world, he is hearing impaired, was born with brain damage due
to his biological mother’s drug use and domestic violence. Marcus is extremely
violent at home and at school; he screams, hits, spits, and kicks the teachers
as well as his peers. Marcus currently receives speech and occupational therapy
from the Head Start preschool he attends; he also goes to an outside agency for
behavioral therapy.
Marcus is very unpredictable, he will have
a good day i.e. following rules and class expectations, and then the next day
he is back to exhibiting violent behaviors. Marcus can her about 60% however
the sounds are muffled. Marcus speaks American Sign Language (ASL). The teacher
is teaching the other children in the class ASL so they can communicate better
with Marcus. Marcus is very smart, he did very well on the Brigance assessment
however his teacher is concerned that Marcus needs intervention services to
better serve his needs. What intervention assessment would be appropriate for
Marcus?
James is a four-year-old who
lives with his mother and occasionally his father when he visits from Ethiopia.
James attends the local Head Start preschool; the teacher is concerned about
James’s behavior patterns. Upon arriving at school James immediately starts
running around the classroom, and it takes the teacher about fifteen minutes to
stop his running. James has very little attention span, he often makes a loud
mumbling sound for long periods of time. When the teacher tries to interact
with him he does not look her in the face. James is very possessive over the
cars in the classroom; he is especially attached to a black car, and whenever
another child gets the black car before James he has a meltdown which entails
screaming, crying, and hitting the teacher and peers.
The teacher has spoken to
James’s mother about his behavior and his mother is concerned as well because
James exhibits some of the same behavior patterns at home. James’ mother shared
with the teacher that James will run and touch the walls for hours at a time
and she is unable to get him to stop; whenever she tries to intervene he looks
at her with a blank stare, screams, hits her and then continues running.
The teacher understands she
needs to assess James and she is considering referring him for intervention
services. Banerjee and Luckner (2013) explained that one of the purposes of
assessment is early identification of instructional or therapeutic needs. The
teacher discusses James’s behavior with other staff members and they
collaborate on which assessment to use.
Reference:
Banerjee, R., & Luckner, J.
L. (2013). Assessment practices and training needs of early childhood
professionals. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 34(3), 231–248.
My definition of purposeful
assessment is teachers intentionally gather information on each child to
measure how children are developing. The assessment allows teachers to take the
results from assessments and incorporate the information into their curriculums,
share information with children and families, identify learning goals, and
focus on using developmental learning outcomes (Ebbeck et.al., 2013). The purposeful
assessment also identifies children who may be at risk or may need intervention
services. The purposeful assessment provides information about any gaps in the
curriculum so the teacher has knowledge of what areas need improvements.
References:
Banerjee, R., & Luckner, J. L. (2013).
Assessment practices and training needs of early childhood professionals. Journal
of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 34(3), 231–248.
Ebbeck, M., Teo, G. L. C., Tan, C., & Goh,
M. (2014). Relooking assessment: A study
on assessing developmental learning outcomes in
toddlers. Early Childhood
Education Journal, 42(2), 115–123.
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