Walden University
1)Pages 35-41 of Assessing and Guiding Young Children's Development and Learning outline four general decision-making categories of assessment. Briefly, summarize each of these. Identify when assessment for each category is most likely to be effective.
When simplified teachers use assessment into two categories (1) to use the information to work with their students individually/group and (2) to monitor their progress. To avoid being overwhelmed with information the assessment process follows four general decision-making categories. The first is Assessing to Know Children Individually and as Members of a Group. The one thing that individuals and groups have in common is that they each have their own approaches to what and how they learn. Teachers will have to maneuver working with both and how their attitudes and habits can affect their learning. Knowing the abilities of children individually as well as in a group will help the teacher to aid in their educational development and interest. Assessment will be most effective when a teacher can discern when to assess a child individually and when to asses as a group. In addition a teacher should know the strength of the individual and the group. If an issue is clearly limited to an individual there is no need to assess the whole class. Teachers should also keep in mind what can influence a child's behavior such as the environment, time of day, materials available, and other children.
Another general decision-making category of assessment is Assign Progress Toward Expected Outcomes in Development and Learning. This means that as children progress through their education it is expected that they meet certain requirements. Children are expected to reach certain milestones not only in their growth and development but also in their academic’s studies. To ensure that children are reaching these milestones assessments should be frequent can cover various aspects for them to be the most effective. The third general decision-making categories of assessment are Expected Child Outcomes in Major Development Domains. When assessing student’s teachers should focus on the major domains of child development; physical, social, emotional, and cognitive. Each domain is important to the overall development of growth of a child. For teachers to successfully assess each domain of a child is to record the progress of each, even if it isn't required.
Conclusively Expected Child Outcomes Stated as Standards is the last category of the assessment decision making. Organization in child education from state departments to school districts have written out specific academic and developmental standards for children of every age group. Standards are directed towards content and performance from the general to the specific. In this regard, assessment is most effective when it is flexible and comprehensive so that it can progress towards success for any goal or standard.
2)Using the website http://www.childfind-idea-il.us listed under the Resources as an example, research a Child Find Project in the state where you live and identify the different professional roles in the assessment process.
The Child Find Project is a program that requires all school to find and assess any of their students with disabilities. It strives to have every state develop a system to determine which students with disabilities are receiving educational assistance and which are not. Children from birth through age 21 are required by their school to be identified and evaluated regardless of the nature of their disability or whether they attend a private school or public school. From federal, school districts to teachers each has a role to play in their assessment process. In the state of California federal departments are in place such as the Office for Civil Rights of the Educational Department sends out information through door-to-door surveys, brochures, public meetings, and physician referrals on how to identify and evaluate children with disabilities. Much of this information is available to many school districts and public libraries.
In the state of California, about 10% of public school enrollment is made up of students with disabilities. To accommodate these students, school districts use the information and regulation provided by the federal department to ensure that they are receiving a proper education. As a result, these districts design their schools to have separate settings for children whose nature and severity of their disabilities render the typical school environment impractical. Children with less severe disabilities such as those with speech or language impairments may receive specialized academic instruction. To properly address students with disabilities, California teachers use the Student Study Team (SST) and Response to Intervention(Rti) that involves both the I administration and parents to discuss the child's progress and provide interventions targeted to their needs. In addition, teachers can support their students with special needs is by using the Tool Kit on Teaching and Assessing Students with Disabilities (Tool Kit). This aids teacher by using models to create a framework to include children with disabilities into the assessment system.
3)The position statements, published by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), "Where We Stand on Curriculum, Assessment and Program Evaluation" and "Screening and Assessment of Young English-Language Learners" outlines recommended standards for developmentally appropriate and authentic assessment in early childhood. Review these standards, and explain, providing examples, how these standards can be used to ensure that appropriate assessment practices are in place
The NAEYC has made many statements on what is quality child education and recommended that many establishments strive to uphold and follow these standards to achieve this quality. Their standards also extend to curriculum, assessment, program evaluation as well as screening and assessing young English learners. The NAEYC stance on curriculum is that " thoughtfully planned, challenging, engaging, developmentally appropriate, culturally and linguistically responsive, comprehensive and likely to promote positive outcomes for all young children”. Teachers can know if their curriculum meets this standard if it builds on prior learning experiences, if the student are engaged in the material, and if it is comprehensive. To best assess a child's progress of the course material the NAEYC feels that assessment should be appropriate, valid, and reliable to ensure that they are getting the most out of their education and address any notable concerns that may need intervention. If teachers can create an assessment that is age appropriate, use multiple sources, and is significant for their development and education then they will be properly using the assessment for its intended purpose. When that is achieved then the program evaluation can be held accountable. It will assist teachers to continually improve their curriculum based on multiple source date from individual to group assessment.
The NAEYC feels that " All young children have the right to be assessed in ways that support their learning and development." This includes assessing young English learners which the organization feel is a growing concern. Their concerns are validated by the increase in diversity among young children and their family. It is becoming more and more common to have young students to learn English as their second language. In addition to having screenings and assessments be used for its intended purpose to track and support their development, assessing young English learners need to culturally appropriate to their linguistic characteristics. To ensure that appropriate assessment practices are in place for young English learners, teachers need to be educated in language acquisition and have cultural competence. When followed by policies within the administration program it this guideline will help improve screening and assessment practices for young English language learners.
resources
https://www.naeyc.org/sites/default/files/globally-shared/downloads/PDFs/resources/position-statements/WWSEnglishLanguageLearnersWeb%20%282%29.pdf
https://www.naeyc.org/sites/default/files/globally-shared/downloads/PDFs/resources/position-statements/StandCurrAss.pdf
. (n.d.). Retrieved December 08, 2017, from http://www.childfind-idea-il.us/Resources.aspx
McAfee, O., Leong, D. J., & Bobrova, E. (2016). Assessing and guiding young children's development and learning (6th ed.). Boston: Pearson. (pp.35-41)
(2013, January 03). Retrieved December 10, 2017, from http://www.lao.ca.gov/reports/2013/edu/special-ed-primer/special-ed-primer-010313.aspx#3
marshalldeshun
WK2ASSGN1AbronA3003.docx
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