Early childhood educators, as well as all other educators, are asked every day to make decisions that come, in one way or another, from assessment. All of these decisions will affect a child’s learning outcomes. In a world where abuse of assessment and charges of misuse run rampant, what exactly are responsible assessment practices, and what do they mean to an early childhood educator?This Discussion examines responsible assessment and the NAEYC’s position on what constitutes good practice. You will examine your own practice and select assessments that are appropriate for use in the learning environment. You will determine the best uses for these assessments and explain how they should be used and what data they will provide. Selecting the proper assessment instrument is crucial to supporting healthy development and positive learning outcomes in young children.
To prepare:
• Review this module’s Learning Resources and reflect on the material. Pay particular attention to NBPTS Early Childhood Generalist, NAEYC Position Statement, the video How to Observe Children, along with the Jiban (2015), Sparks (2015), and Dennis, Rueter, and Simpson (2013) articles and recommended readings.
• Then, considering the definition of assessment, carefully note the various ways to assess young children while considering your own practice.
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EDD 8083 Discussion 1:
What Are Responsible Assessment Practices? And How Do They Support Healthy Development and Positive Learning Outcomes for Young Children and Their Families?
Early childhood educators, as well as all other educators, are asked every day to make decisions that come, in one way or another, from assessment. All of these decisions will affect a child’s learning outcomes. In a world where abuse of assessment and charges of misuse run rampant, what exactly are responsible assessment practices, and what do they mean to an early childhood educator?
This Discussion examines responsible assessment and the NAEYC’s position on what constitutes good practice. You will examine your own practice and select assessments that are appropriate for use in the learning environment. You will determine the best uses for these assessments and explain how they should be used and what data they will provide. Selecting the proper assessment instrument is crucial to supporting healthy development and positive learning outcomes in young children.
To prepare:
· Review this module’s Learning Resources and reflect on the material. Pay particular attention to NBPTS Early Childhood Generalist, NAEYC Position Statement, the video How to Observe Children, along with the Jiban (2015), Sparks (2015), and Dennis, Rueter, and Simpson (2013) articles and recommended readings.
· Then, considering the definition of assessment, carefully note the various ways to assess young children while considering your own practice.
ASSIGNMENT PART 1:
Post the following in 2 pgs.:
· In your own words, define “responsible assessment” and provide a rationale for your definition. Support your statements from the assigned readings.
· Identify two elements from the NAEYC position statement that best reflect your personal philosophy regarding assessment and that you believe are of the greatest importance to the field. Explain your selection and support your statements from the assigned readings.
· Then, describe your personal experience with authentic assessment and identify two assessments you use or plan on using in your learning environment.
· Select two assessments that are appropriate for young children from two different age groups (choose from infants, toddlers, preschool, kindergarten, and primary; identify age group selected). Explain your choice of assessments, their use, and how they are developmentally appropriate for the age group selected.
· In addition, explain how these two assessments support healthy development and positive learning outcomes for young children and their families. Do you believe these are culturally responsive assessments? Why or why not?
Note:
Cite appropriate references in APA format to substantiate your thinking.
ASSIGNMENT PART 2
Read a selection of your colleagues’ postings.
Respond to two of your colleagues post in 125 words each whose posts reflect different perspectives from your own in the following way:
· Reflect on the readings from this module and explain why you agree with your colleague or not.
· Pose a question asking your colleague to clarify their position on one or more of the elements in their post. Offer constructive feedback on the clarity of their response.
Note: Cite appropriate references in APA format to substantiate your thinking.
Note: Throughout the week, continue the professional dialogue by answering questions your colleagues have asked.
ASSIGNMENT PART 2
Read a selection of your colleagues’ postings.
Respond to two of your colleagues post in 125 words each whose posts reflect different perspectives from your own in the following way:
· Reflect on the readings from this module and explain why you agree with your colleague or not.
· Pose a question asking your colleague to clarify their position on one or more of the elements in their post. Offer constructive feedback on the clarity of their response.
Note: Cite appropriate references in APA format to substantiate your thinking.
Note: Throughout the week, continue the professional dialogue by answering questions your colleagues have asked.
Taylor Thomas
RE: Discussion 1 – Module 1
In education, assessment is the fuel that powers the ship. Assessment is what drives our instruction and helps teachers plan meaningful instruction that meets the needs of each particular learner, either through the need for remediation or the need for enrichment. With this in mind, teachers must be sure to use assessment the correct way. This can also be referred to as responsible assessment. Responsible assessment can be defined as ongoing assessment through various formative and summative approaches that inform decisions and teaching of curriculum based on children’s strengths and weaknesses (NAEYC, 2003).
When reviewing the NAEYC position statements, the elements that best reflect my personal philosophy regarding assessment and are of the greatest importance are inclusion and developmentally appropriate practice. Inclusion is critical in early childhood education and assessment because it “embodies the values, policies, and practices that support right of every infant and young child and his or her family, regardless of ability, to participate in a broad range of activities and contexts as full members of families, communities, and society” (NAEYC, 2003). Inclusion in assessment allows for teachers to fairly assess all of the students in their classroom with the goal to help reach them where they are in their educational abilities. Furthermore, inclusion is important to remove bias and to give all students an equal opportunity. Developmentally appropriate practice is of great importance and needed in assessment so that educators can help “foster young children’s joyful learning and maximize the opportunities for each and every child to achieve their full potential” (NAEYC, 2003). Developmentally appropriate practice, when used in the same light as testing, allows teachers to assess students with realistic, achievable, and measurable goals in mind for students based on age-appropriate standards and curriculum. Furthermore, developmentally appropriate practice and assessment can be used to plan engaging curriculum that is “culturally and linguistically responsive and developmentally and educationally significant” (NAEYC, 2003).
When working with children, it is important that authentic assessment is used. In my classroom, authentic assessment is used on a daily basis. Authentic assessment is a collection of information regarding children’s behavior and functional abilities as they naturally occur in the classroom setting (Dennis, Rueter, Simpson, 2013). In my personal experience, two types of authentic assessment I use are observations and formative performance tasks. From observations, I can observe the behaviors and determine developmental stages of each individual learner (Walden University, 2015a). From formative performance tasks, I can determine how a student is learning, where their strengths and weaknesses are, and determine strategies to help improve student learning (Sparks, 2015).
An assessment that I feel is appropriate for children who are in kindergarten is observational assessment. When students enter kindergarten, they come to school with vastly different learning experiences. Some students have attended preschool, been read to at home on a daily basis, and had a caregiver stay home with them throughout their entire childhood. Likewise, there are other students who have not had those same opportunities. This is why observational assessment is so critical in kindergarten. Teachers must use observations to gather a complete view of the child and see how the child can demonstrate competency in a variety of ways (Dennis et al., 2013). This type of assessment is developmentally appropriate because it creates a level playing field for all students and allows for teachers to work to meet the needs of all students based on what students are displaying. An assessment that I feel is appropriate for primary-aged children is running records. Running records allow for insight into students reading abilities and behaviors over a period of time (Dennis et al., 2013). Running records are useful because students can display their ability to read and comprehend texts that are on appropriate levels for them. This is what makes running records developmentally appropriate and especially useful. Students in primary grades are learning to read and need very specific, intentional instruction from their teaching to sculpt them into strong readers.
Each of these assessments support healthy development and positive learning outcomes for young children and their families. These assessments support healthy development by allowing for teachers to observe the specific abilities of students in a natural environment. These assessments are not designed with clear-cut thresholds of a student. These assessments are designed to inform instruction based on displayed attributes and allow for educators to adapt their instruction to each individual child. These assessments support positive learning outcomes for children and their families by helping create authentic, developmentally appropriate instruction that is based on assessment.
I believe each of these assessments are culturally responsive assessments because they help foster learning and build teacher awareness regardless of culture or past knowledge. These assessments paint a picture of where students currently are in their learning journey. This is critical because our nation is becoming more diverse, especially in the early childhood setting (NAEYC, 2003). Students need teachers who are going to adapt to their needs and who are responsive to them as learners.
References
Dennis, L. R., Rueter, J.A., & Simpson, C.G. (2013). Authentic assessment: Establishing a clear
foundation for instructional practices. Preventing School Failure 57(4) 189-195.
National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). (2003). Early childhood
curriculum, assessment, and program evaluation.
Sparks, S. D. (2015). Comparing assessments (Renamed: Types of assessments: A head-to-head
comparison). Education Week 35(12) S3.
Walden University, LLC. (Producer). (2015a). How to observe children [Video file]. Baltimore,
MD: Author.