1. Observing and Assessing Young Children
Chapter 6
Observing and Assessing Young Children

2. Observing and Assessing Young Child
Assessment is viewed as an important component of the educational process. Teachers collect information on the children they teach and the programs in which they teach, in order to make important educational decisions, and to communicate information to families and early childhood education stakeholders. This chapter reviews the ways assessment and observation are used in early learning environments. Upon completion of the chapter, you will be able to explain how assessment of children and programs impact early childhood education programs.

3. Understanding Assessment
Assessment is the process of collecting information or data on children’s development and learning. Assessment involves:
Assessment
Collecting data and information on children
Determining the significance of that information
Using the information for individual and program planning
Communicating finding to families and other stakeholders

4. Purposes of Assessment
Assessment serves the following purposes
Assessment provides data and information for individual and group instructional planning;
Assessment provides data and information that is used to communicate with families about their children;
Assessment allows teachers and others to identify children in need of special services or intervention;
Assessment provides information to inform program development.
See Figure 6.1 for more detail on the purposes of assessment.

5. General Principles of Assessment
Assessment policy should reflect the fact that reliability and validity increase with children’s age
Assessment should be valid, reliable, and fair, and be tailored to a specific purpose
Assessment must clearly benefit the child or quality of education
Parents should be valued as both a source and audience of assessment
Assessment should be linguistically appropriate
Assessment should be age appropriate in content and method of data collection

6. Communicating with Parents
When communicating assessment information to families, remember to:
be honest and realistic about the
information being communicated;
Avoid jargon—communicate with
parents in language they
understand;
share ideas, information, and resources
that will help parents help their children learn.

7. Observation
Observation is the systematic and intentional act of watching children’s behavior in a particular setting or situation.
Observation is used to:
determine children’s cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional, and physical development;
identify children's interests and learning styles;
plan for activities;
meet the needs of individual children;
determine children's progress;
provide information to parents;
provide professional insights.

8. Observation
Information can be gathered that cannot be gathered using other means
Observation is ideal for learning about children in play settings
Teachers can learn about children’s pro-social behavior and peer interaction
Using observation as a tool for gathering data has the following advantages:
Teachers can learn what children are capable of developmentally
Teachers can learn about children’s performance over time
Teachers have concrete information to share with parents

9. Types of Assessment Authentic Assessment
Authentic or performance assessment is the evaluation of children’s actual learning instructional situations.
It is based on children’s actual work
It is curriculum-based
Teachers learn about the whole child
It allows for ongoing assessment
Many different tools can be used
to assess children
It assesses what
individual children can do
Children & parents are involved
Assessment is part of the learning process

10. Types of Assessment Traditional Assessment
Traditional assessment refers to standardized or teacher- made test where there is usually one correct answer to specific test items.
(See Figure 6.4 for differences between traditional and authentic assessment.)

11. Formal and Informal Assessment
Normally uses traditional tests that have set instructions for administration of the test. Children’s performance is normally compared to that of other children.
Informal Assessment
Procedures are used to make judgments about children's learning, behavior, and development that do not include standardized tests.

12. Formal Assessment Screening is an example of formal assessment.
Screening identifies physical,
social, linguistic, or cognitive
needs of a child.
Screening provides information
for:
initial instruction
agency referral
the need for further testing

13. Informal Assessments Informal Assessments:
Checklists –tool for observing and collecting information of a wide range of children’s behaviors.
Portfolios-compilation of samples of children’s work, artifacts, and teacher
observations.
Anecdotal records –written description of children’s behavior.
Running records-detailed narrative of a child’s behavior over time.
Time sampling –recording of events or behaviors over continuous time
intervals.
Event Sampling- recording of behavior observed during a particular event.
Rating scales- numeric scales that contain a list of descriptors for behavior.
Interviews- process of engaging children in conversation in order to collect
information.

14. Appropriate Assessment
Appropriate assessment reflects the following:
Developmentally appropriate
Culturally and linguistically appropriate
Tied to children’ s daily activities
Includes families
Connected to clearly identified and specific purposes.
(See pgs for indicators of effective assessment)

15. Assessment for Accountability
The use of standardized test to measure of accountability has increased.
The general public, along with parents believe assessment is a means for making schools and teachers accountable for teaching children.
Assessment also plays a critical role in educational reform.
High-stakes testing takes place when assessments are used to make important and life-influencing decisions.
Early childhood professionals are opposed to high-stakes testing because young children develop too rapidly to make important decisions based on performance of a single test.

16. What’s next
After reviewing this presentation and reading Chapter 6, Observing and Assessing Young Children, check your understanding of the terms and concepts listed below. You will then be ready to complete the Chapter 6quiz.
Meaning of assessment
Purposes of assessment
Principles of assessment
Parents and assessment
Meaning of observation
Uses of observation
Advantages of observation as an assessment strategy
Authentic/performance assessment
Traditional assessment
Formal and informal assessment
Examples of informal and formal assessments
Assessment and accountability
High-stakes testing