The PA Keys website is the resource I use for assessment in my daycare, and is the resource I feel comfortable recommending to any teaching professional. This website provides a detailed summary of the measurement process for children’s development and learning.
PA Keys defines the purpose of assessment measurements not primarily as a tool for diagnostics, such as identifying deficits or delays in children. Assessment measurements are used to provide information used to plan curriculum that will assist in the promotion of each child’s progress. Assessments are not used to verify a child’s readiness or exclusion from an education setting. Assessments are used to modify the setting to accommodate the child.
Often, when large groups of children must be evaluated, a screening tool is used. These tools do not assess the whole child, but are easy to use with large groups of children. Screening tools are often used in schools evaluating kindergarten readiness. These screening tools are usually effective only for catching severe cases of children who need to be assessed at a more thorough level.
The ideal method for childhood assessment in through ongoing observations. These observations should include a wide variety of activities which will give a thorough assessment of the whole child. These activities should include, but not be limited to, social, physical, constructive, creative, communicative, mathematical, and scientific domains. The use of portfolios, notes, observations, and checklists are a few ways observations can be recorded. School age children can be evaluated in this manner, but teachers have problems handling the larger class size. Therefore, to save time and consolidate paperwork, the school age teacher usually reverts to testing for scores.
I feel that our school system caters to children that excel in logical and linguistic learning. However, the children that have problems taking tests, the children that know the school work but cannot produce a good test result, are labeled unsuccessful. Large class sizes, and a lack of teaching using modernized multiple intelligences theories, creates an environment that is not conducive to learning for a large number of children. I feel that all children can succeed at school, if they are taught in the way they are able to learn, in the way their brain shows strengths.
China is commonly known as our primary educational competitor. China has the largest student population in the world, approximately 320 million students. Some differences between China and United States educational systems are worth mentioning. In the United States, a majority of our teachers are over 40 years of age. In China, most of the teachers are under 40 years old. In the United States, the accountability assessments focus on science, mathematics, reading and writing. In China, assessments focus on the whole child, which includes their academic growth, their learning style, their emotional health, their values, confidence, and fine arts. In China, the unit of analysis is the child, whereas in the United States, the unit of analysis is the school. In China, the child evaluates themselves, the teacher evaluates them, and the teacher evaluates themselves. In the United States, evaluations are by the teacher, concerning the child. China evaluates school children using a much more comprehensive system than the United States uses.
I feel that school age children are not being assessed and evaluated in the most complete way in our school systems. Teachers are often teaching children using boring, old fashioned methods. Children that don’t fit in are being labeled, and often are being medicated! How can we change the system? We need some advocates to become interested in the situation, and attempt to make a change!
References
Case, B. (2005). The age of accountability. Retrieved from http://www.pearsonassessments.com/NR/rdonlyres/9B951F2F-37A6-4508-A656-3EF8FE346B19/0/AgeofAccountability.pdf
PA Department of Education and Public Welfare. (2005). Early childhood assessment for children from birth to age 8 (grade 3). Retrieved from http://www.pakeys.org/docs/EarlyChildhoodAssessment.pdf
Mary, I believe that assessment should be used to show the areas that children need accomodation or enhance what children they already know. I think educator and adminsters look at assessemnt in the sense of fail or pass. I feel that testing data should be used to uplift our children and develop programs that will enchance their abilities. I will most definitely check the website resource that you gave. Thank Mary great insight.
ReplyDeleteMary,
ReplyDeleteI feel that screening children early on (as in the early childhood years) is important to screen for developmental delays because typically if the child receives intervention early then they may not need intervention or special services once they enter the primary grades. I feel screening and assessing are imporant because so many children do learn in different ways and do need to be taught with different methods. However I don't feel our system teaches to the child. I feel our system screens and assesses the child then tries to find ways of making the child fit into the classroom instead of making the classroom fit the child. I hope we are able to move in the direction of servicing the child and making their time in school a success for them. I was very impressed with the ways in which China screens and assesses their children using the whole child approach.
Amy
Mary there are so many children falling between the cracks because we can't reach them based on how they lear. I remember a theorist from my CDA course Howard Gardner he talks about there is an intelligence for everyone : Linguistic,logical-mathematical, musical, spatial, bodily-kinewthetic, interpesonal, intrapersonal and naturalist. If we can better understand the learners in our midst we can reach ALL our children.
ReplyDeleteMary - interesting comparison to China! Do you know if there is any effort underway to assess children using something similar to Robert Sternberg's three intelligence types: academic, creative, and practical (Berger, 2009)? Do you think an assessment based on these types would be inclusive of all children?
ReplyDeleteBerger, K. S. (2009). Middle Childhood: Biosocial Development, The developing person through childhood (5th ed.). (pp. 325). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.
Mary,
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to post a note of thanks to you! You are very inspiring when it comes to advocating for the rights of children/adults with developmental delays! You have such great knowledge regarding child development. Thank you for sharing the PA standards regarding quality with me! You have shared wonderful stories in regards to what your center is doing for children in your community! I encourage you to keep striving for the best for all the children who come through your door!
Amy