assign mod1 8083

Running head: RESPONSIBLE ASSESSMENT 1

RESPONSIBLE ASSESSMENT 5

Early childhood assessment

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Responsible assessment

Responsible assessment is the process by which educators analyze the strengths and weaknesses of children to determine their capabilities and areas that they may need to be helped. Responsible assessment helps educators, parents, and families with crucial information about a child’s development in various areas such as language, social-emotional and cognitive. Therefore, it helps the teachers to adjust their learning schedules to help children to perform better (Goldstein and Flake, 2016).

There are two elements of NAEYC that support my philosophy and which are important in this field. The first statement is to respect the dignity, worth, and uniqueness of every child, family member, and colleague. I have developed the philosophy of respecting the dignity and worthiness of people. I believe that we are all equal and hence, we also have the same potential of growing and becoming better regardless of our physical or mental conditions. Understanding the dignity of a child can help the teachers to put more effort into helping the children to improve in their performance. Furthermore, this element is crucial as it helps the teachers to incorporate the children with various needs. Respecting the dignity and worthiness of a child can help to improve their morale and self-esteem in their studies (Bowman, Donovan and Burns, 2001). Respecting the uniqueness of children helps the tutors to undertake performance assessments to improve their academics. Performance assessment helps to determine the level of competency of a child. It is a learning context that helps the teachers to observe record and evaluate the knowledge, skills, and accomplishments of the learners.

The performance of children in a class may vary. Some students perform better than others. However, by respecting the dignity of a child, the teachers evaluate the means of helping such learners to overcome their difficult situations. There are different of undertaking the performance assessment. First, Jiban (2013) notes teachers need to observe the behavior of children including how they interact with their colleagues, and also respond to the questions in class. For the weak students, the teachers need to develop positive intervention programs to help them improve in their studies. One of the positive intervention methods that teachers can use is congratulating the learners for the efforts that they put into the class. Secondly, polite and frequent feedback is also crucial in helping the learners. Frequent feedback can help to form a positive bond between the children and their teachers. Furthermore, feedback also allows the teachers to determine the key areas that children need to improve. Although Bowman, Donovan, and Burns (2001) note that feedback and positive interventions are time-consuming, they help the teachers to keep a track record of children’s growth and academic progress.

The second statement that NAEYC emphasizes is to close the academic achievement gaps based on race and social-economic backgrounds. I fully support diversity and inclusivity because it allows people to interact, work or get an education in the societies that they chose. Therefore, the teachers should also learn to incorporate this idea into their work. Cultural considerations are among the factors that can be used to close the academic gaps based on race and socio-economic backgrounds. As Bowman, Donovan, and Burns (2001) state, education should be viewed as a journey from the natal culture to school culture and the culture of the larger society. America is technologically advanced in many aspects including the education system. Therefore, they need to welcome children from different backgrounds to promote diversity. Furthermore, academic gaps based on race and social-economic classes can be closed if the teachers also become culturally sensitive. Cultural sensitivity means the process of studying and welcoming the learners from different cultural backgrounds (Jiban, 2013).

Race and social-economic background not only involves the culture and the social classes. It also involves assessing children with various disabilities. This is a crucial step that can help the teachers to determine if disabled children may require specialized treatment or be taken to special schools. However, Goldstein and Flake (2016) state that this is one of the most challenging areas in early childhood assessment. NAEYC has a list of tools that can be used to monitor children with disabilities. The first tool is a rating scale that can be used to evaluate the child’s participation and performance in academic studies. The second tool is through observation and interviews. Through interviewing and observation, the teachers can determine if children with disabilities are fit to study with other normal children or not.

To conclude, responsible assessment is crucial in shaping and improving the performance of children. However, the NAEYC model is crucial in helping teachers to evaluate the academic growth of children. With its policy of closing the academic gaps, respecting the dignity of children, and respecting the culture of children, it has become easier for the teachers to evaluate the performance of children. 

References 

Bowman, B., Donovan, S., and Burns, S. (2001). Educating Our Preschoolers.

The National Academies of Science Engineering Publishers. Online at: https://www.nap.edu/read/9745/chapter/7#223

Goldstein, J., & Flake, J. K. (2016). Towards a framework for the validation of early

childhood assessment systems. Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Accountability, 28(3), 273-293.

Jiban, C. (2013). Early childhood assessment: implementing the effective practice.

NWEA publishers. Online at:http://info.nwea.org/rs/nwea/images/EarlyChildhoodAssessment-ImplementingEffectivePractice.pdf