Assessments for Early Childhood Programs Essay

William J. Wilson once said, The person who scored well on an SAT pull up stakes non necessarily be the best(p) doctor or the best lawyer or the best businessman. These screens do not mensurate character, leadership, creativity, or perseverance. Why do we test learners? What is the purpose of sound judgments? Do these tests and assessments realize the scholars? These argon questions educators agree been asking for years. It is impossible for one to coiffure a shavers academic abilities based solely on a test.Yet there still needs to be some skeletal frame of assessments performed in ordering to gauge the academic level each school tyke has reached. But how often assessing is too much? How heavily do educators trust on the results of these assessments? The briny issues, when it comes to assessing early infanthood assimilators, are the consequences of the assessment results and how they bear on the boor. According to The National Academies of Sciences, there are two key principles that underpin the success of assessment. The first is that the purpose of an assessment should be a fill for assessment decisions.The purpose for any assessment must be heady and clearly communicated to all stake- holders before the assessment is ended or implemented. roughly important, assessment designed for programs should not be employ to assess mortal small fryren. Because different purposes require different kinds of assessments, the purpose should drive assessment design and implementation decisions (The National Academies of Sciences, 2008). The second principle is that any assessment performed should be completed in a coherent system of health, educational, and family support go that promote optimal development for all children. mind should be an integral part of a coherent system of early childhood accusation and education that includes a range of services and resources (The National Academies of Sciences, 2008). These two principles rationa lize the main purpose of why assessing is important and how assessments should be conducted. After having an rationality of the purpose of assessments, why is it so important to begin evaluations at such a young age? What is the purpose of evaluating infants and toddlers?Author Sue Wortham explains evaluating toddlers and infants limit whether the child is developing normally or if they show any signs of detention and need assistance. All in all, the main purpose of assessment is to good the child (Wortham, p. 32). The NAEYC believes that during a childs early years, evaluating and assessing their development should be the primary focus. They want to study how young children grown and learn. All the results of assessment are used to inform the planning and implementation of experiences, to communicate with the childs family, and to appraise and improve teachers and programs breathed-hittingness (Wortham, p.34).Teachers overly use assessment results to in order to plan thei r curriculum accordingly. So exactly do assessments search for? opinions look not only for what the child is already capable of doing independently but also what they cease do with the sustain of a teacher or another student (Wortham, p. 35). So how are they assessed exactly? There are many different assessments minded(p) to children across the U. S. everyday. These may be administered orally or as compose body of works, such as questionnaires, surveys, or tests. These may include standardized tests, observations, checklists, grade scales, rubrics, interviews, or portfolios.Each of these serve a different purpose in order to give different pieces of tuition needed to try the child in question. Standardized tests, though many disagree with them, are meant to measure individual characteristics. Observations, on the other hand, are one of the most centreive representations to measure students characteristics. When children are young, it terminate be hard at times to determi ne if there are any developmental delays (Wortham, p. 39). developmental checklists, or scopes, are mainly used at all levels of education.These checklists are lists of the learning objectives that have been established by the teacher in order to keep track of their learning and development. Items on a checklist are rated with a blackball or positive response from the teacher. Rating scales, unlike checklists, run measurement on a continuum and are used when a array of criteria is needed to attain specific information. Another form of assessment teachers commonly use is Rubrics. Rubrics were created to evaluate authentic and surgical operation assessments (Wortham, p. 41). Rubrics, like rating scales, have a range of criteria that must be met.However, unlike rating scales, rubrics can be used to not only determine the quality of performance required, but are also used to assign grades. Rubrics make it liberal for students to understand what is expected and is makes it easier f or teachers to grade assignments. The final types of assessments that are most frequently used are performance and portfolio assessments. These evaluations might be administered through interviews presumptuousness directly by the teacher in order to understand the childs thinking and understanding (Wortham, p. 41). Teachers may present these evaluations through say assignments, activities, or games.The performance results are typically kept in a student or teacher portfolio. These portfolios contain samples of students work and are used as a sort of progress paper card. Keeping detailed reports of students work in the portfolios help teachers keep track of their students progress and help determine which areas of learning are lacking attention (Wortham, p. 41). Overall, according to Wortham, these tests, whether administered to an individual child or a group of students, are meant to determine a students abilities, achievements, aptitudes, interests, attitudes, values, and perso nality characteristics (Wortham, p.39).Now having an understanding of the different types of assessments used to evaluate students and the purpose, let us turn to the negative and positive do of these evaluations. It is of the essence(p) for educators to administer tests and evaluations carefully, because it they are poorly articulated, it can lead to decisions that are below the belt or unclear, and they may do harm to programs, teachers, and, most importantly, children ( juggle, C. E. & Van Hemel, S. B. , p. 341-342). Evaluations and assessments are not meant to punish a child, and therefore, should never be overseen lightly.It is important that the information fulfiled outweighs any negative effects. Editors of primordial childishness discernment Why, What, and How, Catherine E. Snow and Susan B. Van Hemel, explain that although the said(prenominal) measure may be used for more than one purpose, prior consideration of all potential purposes is essential, as is careful ana lysis of the actual content of the assessment instrument. Direct test of the assessment items is important because the title of a measure does not of all time reflect the content (Snow, C. E. & Van Hemel, S. B. , p. 346).So what are some negative effects? Negative consequences of assessment findings may include program de-funding, climax a center, firing a teacher, mislabeling a child, or a decrease in program resources (The National Academies of Sciences, 2008). These effects, such as mislabeling a student, can follow students for the rest of their education career. Once a child is entered into a program, it can be difficult at time for teachers to look ancient that label. Children all develop at different his or her own pace. No one child will develop and learn the same federal agency as another child.They all grow up and develop at different stages. Yet educational theorists have been able to observed and gather enough information to conclude that children, if divided in age groups, do tend to follow a certain development pattern. The problem is, it is hard to determine which children are the outliers in these results without carefully administering proper assessments. Assessments are not used to necessarily judge student or punish them. Their main purpose is to help students, teachers, and parents. So what are some positive effects of assessment and evaluations?Students that benefit from assessments and evaluations are those that are properly observed and tested. Teachers also benefit from the use of assessments because it helps them create an appropriate curriculum for their students. Evaluating children at a young age can have a positive effect if a delay or disability is in fact found, and because it was caught early, the student has a better chance of exceeding their potential in school. espial developmental delays or disabilities at a young age is the same as finding cancer at an early stage in the sense that the earlier the cancer is found the chances of survival are spectacularer.Assessment results are used to plan for instruction, evaluate instructional programs, and report student progress. These are all positive results of assessments. Without the results of assessments and test, how can educators determine what to teach their students? Evaluations, if aforethought(ip) and administered properly, can be more ripe than harmful. Unfortunately, not all teachers evaluate children fairly or appropriately. So it is important for parents to stay involved in their childrens education in the event that the results of an evaluation do not match the potential of their child.Parents should know the norms and abnormalities of their childs behavior. Therefore, it is always beneficial to the child for parents and teachers to communicate. This way if a child is acting up in class, and the teacher notifies the parent, the parent may confirm any fears right outdoor(a) by simply saying, that isnt like him or hes safe nervous. Avoidi ng drastic measures and not jumping to conclusions is the proper way to evaluate a child fairly. What are the predicted long-term benefits to premature childishness Assessments? Are assessments and student evaluations accurate?Should teachers be required to assess and evaluate students as much as they already do? These are just a few of the questions that plagued educators for years. Too much assessing has placed so much pressure on students and teachers, inevitably taking away a childs desire to learn for the sake of learning. The purpose of assessments and evaluations is a great concept, but placing too much pressure and emphasis on the test results is tainting the original purpose of learning. References Bers, T. H. & Mittler, M. L. (1994). New Directions for Community Colleges.Assessment & Testing Myths and Realities A Critical Review of Student Assessment Options, 69-83. Brink, M. (2002). Involving Parents in Early childhood Assessment Perspectives from an Early Intervention Instructor. Early Childhood information Journal, 29(4), 251-7. Retrieved from Education Full Text database Early, D. M. , McKenna, M. , & Slentz, K. L. (2008). A Guide to Assessment in Early Childhood Infancy to Age Eight. Washington call down Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. The National Academies of Sciences (2008). Early Childhood Assessment Why, What, And How.Retrieved October 19, 2011 from http//www. bocyf. org/head_start_brief. pdf. Early Learning Standards Task Force and Kindergarten Assessment Work Group. (2005). Early Childhood Assessment For Children From Birth To Age 8 (Grade 3). Harrisburg, PA protoactiniums Departments of Education and Public Welfare. Snow, C. E. & Van Hemel, S. B. (2008). Early Childhood Assessment Why, What, And How. Washington, D. C. The National Research Council Of The National Academies Wortham, S. (2012). Assessment in Early Childhood Education, (6th ed). Upper Saddle River, NJ Pearson.