Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
ASSESSMENT IN
EARLY CHILDHOOD
EDUCATION
Dr Olubiyi Adeniyi Adewale
6.3 Rubrics 90
6.3.1 Types of Rubrics 91
6.3.2 Advantages of Using Rubrics 95
6.3.3 Disadvantages of Using Rubrics 96
Summary 97
Key Terms 97
References 97
Summary 138
Key Terms 138
References 138
COURSE GUIDE
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INTRODUCTION
HBEC4203 Assessment in Early Childhood Education is one of the courses
offered by the Faculty of Education and Languages at Open University Malaysia
(OUM). This course is worth 3 credit hours and should be covered over 8 to 15
weeks.
COURSE AUDIENCE
This course is offered to all students taking the Bachelor of Early Childhood
Education with Honours programme. This module aims to impart the
fundamentals of assessment in early childhood. This module should be able to
form a strong foundation for teachers to design and practice the tools for
assessment in early childhood programmes.
STUDY SCHEDULE
It is a standard OUM practice that learners accumulate 40 study hours for every
credit hour. As such, for a three-credit hour course, you are expected to spend 120
study hours. Table 1 gives an estimation of how the 120 study hours could be
accumulated.
Study
Study Activities
Hours
Briefly go through the course content and participate in initial discussions 3
Study the module 60
Attend 3 to 5 tutorial sessions 10
Online participation 12
Revision 15
Assignment(s), Test(s) and Examination(s) 20
Total Study Hours 120
COURSE OUTCOMES
By the end of this course, you should be able to:
1. Analyse the role of assessment in early childhood classroom and to design
and implement effective programme practices;
2. Identify key elements of assessment in early childhood and the terminology
used;
3. Describe the cycle and functions of observation and assessment in early
childhood settings;
4. Design a personal strategy for gathering information and keeping records in a
specific early childhood setting;
5. Develop formats for documenting, sharing, informing and planning for
parents conferences; and
6. Explain manipulative skills as psychomotor processes which are developed
through scientific investigation.
COURSE SYNOPSIS
This course is divided into 10 topics. The synopsis for each topic can be listed as
follows:
Topic 3 explores the role of formal assessment and evaluation, the instruments,
characteristics and uses of standardized test result, and finally discusses the
advantage and disadvantages of standardized testing.
Topic 4 also explores the role of informal assessment and evaluation in early
childhood education, discusses the advantages and disadvantages in using
informal assessment and evaluation, and also discusses methods of informal
assessment.
Topic 6 continues with the discussion on checklists, rating scales, and rubrics.
Learning Outcomes: This section refers to what you should achieve after you
have completely covered a topic. As you go through each topic, you should
frequently refer to these learning outcomes. By doing this, you can continuously
gauge your understanding of the topic.
Activity: Like Self-Check, the Activity component is also placed at various locations
or junctures throughout the module. This component may require you to solve
questions, explore short case studies, or conduct an observation or research. It may
even require you to evaluate a given scenario. When you come across an Activity,
you should try to reflect on what you have gathered from the module and apply it
to real situations. You should, at the same time, engage yourself in higher order
thinking where you might be required to analyse, synthesise and evaluate instead
of only having to recall and define.
Summary: You will find this component at the end of each topic. This component
helps you to recap the whole topic. By going through the summary, you should
be able to gauge your knowledge retention level. Should you find points in the
summary that you do not fully understand, it would be a good idea for you to
revisit the details in the module.
Key Terms: This component can be found at the end of each topic. You should go
through this component to remind yourself of important terms or jargon used
throughout the module. Should you find terms here that you are not able to
explain, you should look for the terms in the module.
PRIOR KNOWLEDGE
No prior knowledge is required.
ASSESSMENT METHOD
Please refer to myVLE.
REFERENCES
Billman, J., & Sherman, J. (1996). Observation and participation in early childhood
settings: A practicum guide (2nd ed., 2003). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Bredekamp, S., & Copple, C. (1997). Developmentally appropriate practice in
early childhood programs (rev. ed.). Washington, DC: National Association
for the Education of Young Children.
Dominic F. Gullo (2005). Understanding assessment and evaluation in early
childhood education (2nd ed., 2005).New York :Teachers College Press.
Lidz, S. Carol (2003). Early childhood assessment. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons
Inc.
Wortham, Sue Clark. (2008). Assessment in early childhood education (5th ed).
Ohio: Pearson
Wright, J. Robert (2010). Multifaceted assessment for early childhood education.
USA: Sage Publication Inc.
INTRODUCTION
Every one who sees this collapsed
building (Figure 1.1) would shake their
heads at the collosal waste the owners
has incured due to faulty or wrong
foundation. And this should be a lesson
to us all: let us lay our foundations
properly! Early childhood has been
described as the foundation of the
childs academic and social future, hence
Figure 1.1: Collapsed building
we all need to pay serious attention to
the issue of assessment in early
childhood so that we do not construct faulty foundations for the future homes,
societies and ultimately our countries. With this at the back of your mind, I
welcome you to this course: Early Childhood Assessment and I believe that you
will put in all you have into this course as you would not want a future country
without a solid foundation!
ACTIVITY 1.1
it is the period when young childrens rate of physical, motor, and linguistic
development outpace growth rates at all other stages. Growth is rapid, episodic,
and highly influenced by environmental supports: nurturing parents, quality
caregiving, and the learning setting.
1.1.2 Assessment
Defining assessment is very important because it is one of those words that have
variety of meanings. For example, assessment may be taken as a synonym of
testing, which in this case may not be entirely applicable. Snow and van Hemel
(2008) basing their affirmation on McAfee, Leong, and Bodrova (2004) define
assessment as information from multiple indicators and sources of evidence that
is organised and interpreted and then evaluated to make an appraisal.
When the meaning of assessment is applied to early childhood, the picture comes
out better. For example, Slentz (2008) states that early childhood assessment
involves a process of gathering information about children in an attempt to better
Copyright Open University Malaysia (OUM)
TOPIC 1 EARLY CHILDHOOD ASSESSMENT 3
understand and support learning and development. This is why McAfee, Leong
and Bodrova (2004) define early childhood assessment as the process of
gathering information about children from several forms of evidence, then
organising and interpreting that information. This seems to be the most
acceptable definition of early childhood assessment as it exists in various forms
and has been quoted variously (Pelligrini, 1998; Lally & Hurst, 1992).
SELF-CHECK 1.1
1. Identify the various age ranges within the early childhood period.
2. Attempt a definition of early childhood assessment.
We can use our assessments to shape and enrich our curriculum, our
interactions, our provisions as a whole: we can use our assessments as a way of
identifying what children will be able to learn next, so that we can support and
extend that learning. Assessment is part of our daily practice in striving for
quality.
Assessment to guide learning and development has been further categorised into
three, namely: assessment of learning and development; assessment for learning
and development and assessment as learning (Flottman, Stewart & Tayler, 2011)
and undoubtedly all these categories of assessment to guide learning and
development have their role to play. It would be important to discuss these
categories briefly.
Findings or inferences are usually discussed with the child, the childs
family and when appropriate with other professionals. The information,
Hattie (2009) asserted are later used by professionals to design effective
programmes for responsive children.
ACTIVITY 1.2
1. Search the Internet, read more about and differentiate the following:
(a) Assessment of learning and development;
(b) Assessment for learning and development; and
(c) Assessment of learning.
When assessment is done for monitoring and guiding instruction, it can be used
for the following purposes as identified by Slentz (2008):
SELF-CHECK 1.2
1. List the three categories of assessment to support and guide
development and learning.
2. What are the functions of assessment to guide and support
development and learning?
What then is diagnostic assessment? Slentz (2008) defines diagnostic assessment as:
Diagnostic assessment begins with screening. McAfee, Leong and Bodrova (2004)
defines screening as a brief, relatively inexpensive, standardised procedure
designed quickly to appraise a large number of children to find out which ones
should be referred for further assessment. Buttressing this position, Shepard,
Kagan and Wurtz (1998) also opine as follows:
The importance of the screening lies not only in the identification of the children
needing interventions but also in the early detection as Appendix G states that it
has been clearly demonstrated that children with developmental delays who
receive early identification and intervention services require less intensive
services or no services at all when they are older.
It has to be noted that the results of screening assessments can only be used to
sort the children into various groups and categories in relation to the cut-off
scores. Therefore the quality of the screening instrument depends on the extent to
which it can sort the children (Slentz, 2008). Two elements make up the quality of
the instruments and these are: sensitivity and specificity. Sensitivity is the ability
of the screening test to identify all the children who might have been at risk
while specificity is the ability of the screening test to pick only those children that
are at risk. Crais (2011) says that measurement sensitivity means that children
who have a deficit in the target area are accurately identified as having a deficit.
Specificity means that children who do not have a deficit in the area are
accurately identified as not having a deficit.
After the screening test has selected the children that are supposed to be at risk,
further diagnostic assessment follows to determine what kind of intervention the
children would need. This stage would correspond to the Step 2 of the 10 Basic
Steps in Special Education. According to the National Dissemination Centre for
Children with Disabilities, this step includes the following:
(a) Determining if the child actually has a disability that requires intervention;
(b) Determining the actual type of intervention needed; and
(c) Determining the special education services that are appropriate in
addressing these needs.
the results of screening assessments can only be used to sort the children
into various groups and categories in relation to the cut-off scores (Slentz,
2008).
SELF-CHECK 1.3
There are four purposes for assessment, namely: supporting and guiding
learning and development, guiding planning and decision making,
identification of children who are at risk and evaluation and accountability.
Barker, Robin (2001). The mighty toddler: The essential guide to the toddler
years. Pan Macmillan: Australia.
BUILD (2005). Early childhood assessment for children from birth to age 8 (Grade
3).
Carr, M. (2001). Assessment in early childhood setting: Learning stories effective
early learning. London: Paul Rhapman Publishers.
Crais, E. R. (2011). Testing and beyond: Strategies and tools for evaluating and
assessing infants and toddlers. Language, speech, and hearing services in
schools, 42, 341-364.
Downs, A., & Strand, P. S. (2006). Using assessment to improve the effectiveness
of early childhood education. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 15, 671-
680.
Drummond, M. J. (1993). Assessing childrens learning. London: David Fulton
Publishers.
Dunphy, E. (2008). Supporting early learning and development through formative
assessment. A reserach paper commissioned by the National Council for
Curriculum and Assessment, Dublin.
Earl, L. (2003). Assessment as learning: Using classroom assessment to maximize
student learning. Corwin Press: Thousand Oaks, CA.
Flottman, R., Steward, L., & Tayler, C. (2011). Victorian early years learning and
development framework. Department of Education and Early Childhood
Development, The University of Melbourne.
Hattie, J. (2009). Visible learning a synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses relating to
achievement. Abingdon: Routledge.
Kagan, S. L., & Scott-Little, C. (2004). Early learning standards: Changing the
parlance and practice of early childhood education. Phi Delta Kappan, 85(5),
388-396.
Kozulin, A., & Falik, L. (1995). Dynamic cognitive assessment of the child. Current
Directions in Psychological Science, 4(1), 192-196.
Lally, M., & Hurst, V. (1992). Assessment in nursery education: A review of
approaches. In G. Blenkin & A. V. Kelly, (Eds.) Assessment in early childhood
education (pp. 46-68). London: Paul Chapman Publishing.
Leiberman, A. F. (1993). The emotional life of the toddler. Ney York: The Free
Press.
McAfee, O., Leong, D. J., & Bodvora, E. (2004). Basics of assessments: A primer for
early childhood education. National Association for the Education of Young
Children: Washington DC.
Mihayara, J., & Meyers, C. (2008). Early learning and development standards in
east Asia and the Pacific: Experiences from eight countries. International
Journal of Early Childhood, 40(2), 17-31.
Pearsall, J. (1999). The Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 10th edition, Oxford:
OUP.
Pellegrini, A. (1998). Play and the assessment of young children. In O. Saracho & B.
Spodek (Eds.) Multiple perspectives on play in early childhood (pp. 220-239).
New York: State University of New York Press.
de la Porte, C., Pochet, P., & Room, G. (2001). Social benchmarking, policy-making
and new governance in the European Union. Journal of European Social Policy,
11(4),
Shepard, L., Kagan, S. L., & Wurtz, E. (Eds.) (1995). Principles and
recommendations for early childhood assessments. The National Education
Goals Panel.
Slentz, K. L. (2008). Assessment in early childhood. In A guide to assessment in
early childhood: Infancy to age eight. Washington State Office of Supritendent
of Public Instruction.
Snow, C. E., & van Hemel, S. B. (Eds.) (2008). Early childhood assessment: Why,
what and how. Washington DC: National Academies Press.
Strand, P. S., Cerna, S., & Skucy, J. (2007). Assessment and decision making in early
childhood education and intervention. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 16:
209-218.
Taras, M. (2005). Assessment summative and formative some theoretical
reflections. British Journal of Educational Studies, 53(4), 466-478.
INTRODUCTION
In Topic 1, we have dealt exhaustively with the purpose of early childhood
assessment as well as the broad categories of the types of assessment. In this
Topic 2, we will be concerned with what domains are to be measured as well as
the outcomes. However, before we commence, it is important to note that
outcomes would vary in relation to the age of the child to be measured (Snow
and van Hemel, 2008). It is equally important to know that in selecting a domain
or a measure, it is crucial to start with a well-defined purpose and to explore
whether the outcomes and the measures chosen are well suited for that specific
purpose (Snow & van Hemel, 2008).
Over the past half-century, behavioral development has become an integral part of
regular pediatric evaluation, and pediatricians routinely provide clinical information
on behavioral, cognitive, and psychosocial factors, thus providing a more
comprehensive picture of each childs overall growth and development (p. 62).
A cursory view of these purposes would show that assessment at this stage is
purely screening to identify potential problems and also follow-up for in-depth
screening.
Other factors that may affect a childs performance include cultural differences
and language barriers, parents not having books to read to their child and a
childs lack of interaction with other children. Consequently, assessment of
infants, toddlers, and young children requires sensitivity to the childs
background, and knowledge of testing limitations and procedures with young
children (p. 1).
ACTIVITY 2.1
Search and read articles on the web and list various factors that can affect
effective screening of both infants and children.
(d) Phenylketonuria
Phenylketonuria is also known as PKU and is noted as the most common
metabolic condition affecting newborns. It is caused by the absence of a
liver enzyme called phenylalanine hydroxylase which is responsible for the
conversion of amino acid phenylalanine to tyrosine. With the absence of
this enzyme, the amino acid would not be converted and it would find its
Copyright Open University Malaysia (OUM)
TOPIC 2 CHILD-LEVEL OUTCOMES AND MEASURES 19
way into the blood and then into the tissues and finally it will damage the
brain. This disease is so dangerous because babies that are affected will not
have any symptoms. They are said to be asymptomatic. However, if left
untreated, PKU will lead to severe and progressive intellectual disability.
(f) Galactosaemia
Galactosaemia is caused by a deficiency in the enzyme called galactose-1-
phosphate uridyltransferase and thus results in the accumulation of
galactose and galactose-1-phosphate. Like the other metabolic conditions
mentioned above, it presents no symptoms at birth but after the first week,
it can lead to the following: failure to thrive, lethargy, vomiting, liver
disease, jaundice, cataracts, intellectual disability and septicaemia. It could
also lead to death. To screen for this condition, the level of the galactose and
galactose-1-phosphate would be measured. To treat, a diet free of galactose
is used so that the affected would avoid the complications of all forms of
galactosaemia.
The screening for this condition is a three-step process. The first step is a
screening for immunoreactive trypsinogen (IRT). If the IRT level is high, the
second step is to test for mutation in the gene responsible for CF, and the
third is a sweat test for those with heterozygous DNA results.
The screening for hearing problems can be done in two ways. The first one
is the Automated Auditory Brainstem Response (AABR) and the second is
Otoacoustic Emissions (OAE). When the AABR is used, a nurse places
sensors, connected to a computer, on the baby's scalp. These sensors
measure the baby's brainwave activity in response to little clicking sounds
that are transmitted through small earphones (Baby Centre Medical
Advisory Board, 2010). When the OAE is used, it measures sound waves
in the inner ear. The screener places a little device in your baby's ear that
makes soft clicking sounds, and a computer connected to the device records
the ear's response to the sounds (Baby Centre Medical Advisory Board,
2010).
Early assessment focus on ensuring that there is a clear pathway from the front of
the eye to the retina, where images are received; that the connection between the
retina and the relevant part of the brain is intact, indicated by pupillary
responses to light; and that the eyes move in a coordinated fashion.
Visual acuity is not done until between the ages of two and four (American
Academy of Paediatrics, 1996). Baxstorm (2006) opines that visual
assessment in infants has three components, namely; 1. Can the baby see? 2.
Are the eyes straight? 3. Are the eyes healthy? Baxstorm (2006) says further:
the concept of infant eye care should include developmental vision care
with an emphasis of its affect upon child development. This would include
the evaluation of visual acuity/refractive issues, eye alignment and the
health of the eyes. Doing this, amblyopia, strabismus and significant
refractive error which are the most prevalent vision disorders of childhood
(The Vision in Preschoolers Study Group, 2004) would be identified at an
early stage and intervention can commence early too as recent evidence
supports the effectiveness of intensive screening for reduction of amblyopia
and improved visual acuity (Snow and van Hemel, 2008).
of iron deficiency actually are two different stages as the iron deficiency
without anaemia may progress to the iron deficiency anaemia stage.
For treatment, Kaal (2002) opts for a complete course of iron therapy:
Apart from this, you should also know that because children with elevated
BLLs in the 10-25g/dL range do not develop clinical symptoms, screening
is necessary to identify children who need environmental or medical
intervention to reduce their BLLs (Bloch and Rosenblum, 2000).
SELF-CHECK 2.1
A childs motor abilities are therefore essential tools for learning, and motor skills
at different stages in development provide a reflection of maturity in the
functioning of the central nervous system the relationship between the brain
and body which provides the foundation for learning (Blythe, 2011).
Dewey, Kaplan and Wilson (2002) point out that motor development is an
important aspect of child development and it is being used globally to assess the
overall rate of child development during the early years.
It is thus important to screen children for problems in this area because: early
identification of social and emotional problems in young children is critical for
improving developmental outcomes. Early identification and intervention with
social and emotional problems can have a lasting impact on the developing child
in three major areas. These three areas are further identified as quality brain
development, avoiding change resistant social/emotional development and the
cost of anti-social and criminal behaviours.
These abilities that are supposed to be developed via social and emotional
development are very important as they are strongly related to school readiness
and future school success (Henderson and Strain, 2009).
The following screening tools have been suggested to be used for social and
emotional development screening: The Ages and Stages Questionnaires: Social-
Emotional (ASQ:SE), the Devereux Early Childhood Assessment Program
(DECA) and the Brief Infant-Toddler Social and Emotional Assessment (BITSEA).
Most of these skills listed above are important to academic success. Snow and
van Hemel (2008) say that several studies have found significant associations
between young childrens learning-related behaviour and their academic
performance. To ensure that children develop these necessary skills, Conn-
Powers, (2006) suggests the following:
(a) Approaches to learning are to be included in the programmes curriculum:
making approaches to learning a goal of early education will make teachers
work towards children developing these key skills.
(b) Providing opportunities that elicit these skills: early childhood educators
should provide multiple activities from which the children can choose on a
daily basis to explore their activities of interest.
(c) Challenge children with moderately difficult tasks: doing this will
encourage childrens curiosity and initiative, persistence and problem
solving skills early.
(d) Directly teach and support children to use these approaches: through this,
the teachers would prompt, guide, support, and reinforce the child to
engage in the desired approaches to learning.
This domain is mostly assessed through the use of questionnaires that are to be
completed by the teacher. Examples are The Preschool Learning Behaviour Scale
and the Teacher Rating Scale.
The assessment of this domain in early childhood has been singled out to be
functional:
The assessment of emergent literacy skills can serve to identify children who may
be at risk for later reading difficulties. Furthermore, assessment can guide the
content and delivery of early literacy instruction. Failure to identify children
early and provide appropriate intervention to promote emergent literacy skills is
likely to have serious repercussions for later development of conventional
reading skills (Spencer, Spencer, Goldstein & Schneider, 2013).
The following set of language and literacy skills have been identified as germane
to later literacy achievement by the National Early Literacy Panel as culled from
Spencer et al., (2013):
(a) Alphabet Knowledge: knowledge of letter names and sounds;
(b) Phonological Awareness: the ability to detect, manipulate, or analyse
spoken words independent of meaning, including syllable and phoneme-
level tasks;
(c) Rapid Automatised Naming: the ability to rapidly name a repeating
sequence of random sets of letters, numbers, colours, or pictures;
(d) Early Writing or Name Writing: the ability to write letters in isolation or
write ones own name;
(e) Phonological Memory: the ability to remember spoken information for a
short time;
(f) Concepts about Print: knowledge of print conventions and concepts, such
as reading from left to right;
(g) Print Knowledge: combination of alphabet knowledge, concepts about print
and early decoding ability;
(h) Oral Language: the ability to produce and comprehend spoken language,
including semantics and syntax;
(i) Visual Processing: the ability to match or discriminate symbols; and
(j) Reading Readiness: combination of alphabet knowledge, concepts about
print, vocabulary, memory and phonological awareness.
It is important to know that there is a correlation between the language and the
literacy environment of the childs home as well as economic status.
SELF-CHECK 2.2
1. List the five domains to be assessed when a child is to be assessed
for development and learning.
2. When assessing language and literacy, list all the areas to be
assessed.
ACTIVITY 2.2
Infants are children from one month to twelve months old while toddlers
range from one year to three years old.
Contextual factors and nature of children are two major factors that pose
challenge to effective infant/toddler screening.
BUILD (2005). Early childhood assessment for children from birth to age 8 (Grade
3).
Carr, M. (2001). Assessment in early childhood setting: Learning stories effective
early learning. London: Paul Rhapman Publishers.
Lichtenberger, E. O. (2005). General measures of cognition for the preschool
child. Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Research Reviews,
11: 197-208.
Reinsberg, K. (n.d.) What is social-emotional development? An internet article
available on www.abilitypath.org/areas-of-development/social--emotional/
what-is-social-emotional.html
Snow, C. E., Burns, M., & Griffin, P. (eds.). (1998). Preventing reading difficulties
in young children. Washington: National Academy Press.
Spencer, E. J., Spencer, T. D., Goldstein, H., & Schneider, N. (2013). Identifying
early literacy leraning needs: Implications for child outcome standards and
assessment systems. In Shanahan, T. & Lonigan, C. J. (eds.). Early Childhood
Literacy: The National Early Literacy Panel and Beyond. Baltimore: Brookes
Publishing.
Squires, Jane. (2003). The importance of early identification of social and
emotional difficulties in preschool children. A paper presented for the Center
for International Rehabilitation.
INTRODUCTION
In Topic 2, we have examined the foundations of authentic assessment. In the bid
to do this, we have closely examined developmental characteristics as well as the
charateristics of learning environments that have roles to play in the childs
development. In this topic, we are going to examine the role of formal assessment
and evaluation. We are going to look at the formal assessment and evaluation
instruments, the characteristics and use of standardised test results as well as the
The standardised tests that are referred to here as the formal assessment and
evaluation instruments are of various types. Of these, only four used during
early childhood education, namely: developmental screening tests, diagnostic
tests, readiness tests and achievement tests. These would be discussed briefly
below.
Though similar in outlook to the achievement tests, readiness tests are not
as comprehensive as the achievement tests either in depth or breadth. This
is because readiness tests are designed only to assess content that has been
mastered by the children in order to determine their readiness for the next
stage of learning. By their nature then, readiness tests describe childrens
current level of academic knowledge and skills (Gullo, 2005).
ACTIVITY 3.1
Cryan (1986) states three reasons for using norm-referenced tests and
they are as follows:
They are to assess individuals on non-sequential information and
where no specific level of competency is essential for making
educational determinations.
They are also used where there is the need to choose an individual
from among a group. An example is the selection for admission to
higher educational level. Norm-referenced tests are suitable here
because they would give the teacher selection information
concerning the childs relative performance.
Standard Scores
This is also called derived scores because it is derived statistically
using the childs actual performance score (also called raw scores)
and comparing it to the average score and theoretical range of
scores to be expected for the population (Gullo, 2005) (brackets
mine).
Percentile Scores
Percentile score is an indication of the ranking of an individual
child in the distribution of scores indicated by the comparison
group. This score would be able to tell what percentage of the
comparison group scored either above or below the target childs
score. Explaining this further, Gullo (2005) opines that if a child
receives a percentile score of 72, it would indicate that this
particular child scored better than 72% of the children that he or
she was being compared to and lower than 28%.
Age-Equivalent Scores
The age-equivalent scores indicate the average chronological age
of children achieving a particular score on a test. For example, if a
child of 5 years and 6 months receives a raw score on a test that
translates to an age-equivalent score of 6 years, it means that the
score was 6 months above the score expected of a child of his or
her age (Gullo, 2005).
Grade-Equivalent Scores
This is similar to the age-equivalent scores except that the
comparison is made by grade rather than by chronological age.
Gullo (2005) explains this further when he said that a grade-
equivalent score of 2-6 means that the score attained would be one
that would be expected from the average child in the sixth month
of second grade.
SELF-CHECK 3.1
1. Define a norm-referenced test.
2. Without looking at this material, list the manners in which the
test scores of a norm referenced test may be reported.
Two major advantages have been advanced for the use of criterion-
referenced tests. Firstly, it does not concern itself with the comparison
of the child with another but with the childs mastery of instructional
skills, knowledge or processes (Gullo, 2005). Secondly, the results of
criterion-referenced tests can be translated into instructional goals
easily. This is possible because criterion-referenced tests are related
directly to instructional objectives, are based on task analysis, and are
designed to measure changes in successive performances of an
individual (Montgomery & Connolly, 1987:1873). As a result of this,
criterion-referenced tests can facilitate individualised instruction.
Source: Notar, Herring, & Restauri, 2008; Montgomery & Connolly, 1987
ACTIVITY 3.2
Go through the above table carefully then list the similarities and the
differences between norm and criterion-referenced tests on separate
sheets.
Content Validity
This measures the relationship between the tests contents and the
intended purpose of the test. Explaining this further, Wortham
(1990) opines that if a test is supposed to measure reading
readiness, the content would be the curriculum content,
instructional strategies and curriculum and instruction goals.
Content validity is the extent to which the items in the test assess
the objectives outlined in the test.
Criterion-related Validity
Criterion-related validity provides evidence that the resulting
scores on a particular assessment instrument are related to one or
more outcome criteria (Gullo, 2005). Two types of criterion-
related validity are usually mentioned, and they are the
concurrent validity and the predictive validity.
Predictive validity deals with the stability of the test score for a
period of time. A test with good predictive validity can be used to
indicate the future scores of a particular child.
Test-retest Reliability
In establishing the test-retest reliability of a test, the same test is
administered to the same group of children gathered for the
purpose twice. A short interval is allowed between the two test
administrations. The test scores from the two administrations are
compared. If the two scores are close, it is likely the correlation
coefficient is high and positive. This would indicate that the test
was consistent in measuring its objectives.
Split-half Reliability
In using split-half reliability, the experimental group will be
administered the test only once. Then the test scores on one half of
the test would be correlated with that of the second half. If the
correlation coefficient is high and positive, then the test is
internally consistent in measuring the same objectives.
Alternate-form Reliability
This is used when two different forms of a test are designed to
measure the same characteristics. These two forms of tests are
administered to the same group of children with short intervals in
between. The scores on the two forms are then correlated. If the
correlation coefficient is high and positive, then it is an indication
that both test forms can be used interchangeably.
ACTIVITY 3.3
1. Read more on how to determine the validity of a test.
2. Read more on how to determine the reliability of a test.
3. Set some questions and try to validate it.
What is important here is that the teachers also provides descriptions of actual
classroom behaviours to go along with the test score so that the parents have a
better understanding of the meaning and implication of their childs score. It
would also be helpful to provide the parents with examples of actual classroom
work that would also amplify the meaning of the score.
This way, parents would not be thrown into confusion if their children
happen to be a bad test taker and have low grades in the test but have
excellent classroom work grades. The teacher also needs to let the parents
know how the test scores would be used for their childs future curriculum
plan and also let the parents know that the score is just a reflection of a
moment in time and may not be an actual performance indicator for their
child.
decisions. The following are the disadvantages that go along with standardised
tests.
(a) Administration
Though the administration of standardised tests has been listed as a
strength, it is also a weakness in some regards. We need to note that more
often than not, children in the early childhood group are usually very
diverse. We have children with vast differences in developmental levels,
prior experiences, approaches to learning, motivation and individual
needs (Gullo, 2005). Apart from this, every country has begun to
experience constant increase in the number of children who are not
proficient in the dominant language. Unfortunately, standardised tests do
not take this class of children into consideration.
(b) Bias
Gullo (2005) notes that the bias in standardised tests mostly has been
committed during the test design stage. This is because during the
composition of the sample group that would be used to create the norm
scores, children from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds as well
as children with developmental delays or special needs are usually
excluded.
This being the case, it is then not surprising if a larger percentage of those
failing the standardised tests are from the groups that have been excluded
from the sample group. Yet, it has always been stated that all children must
be assessed using the standardised tests regardless of their special needs
(Wortham, 2008).
Standard scores are derived statistically using the childs actual performance
score.
INTRODUCTION
In Topic 3, we have examined the role of formal assessment in early childhood.
Specifically, we examined standardised tests and the four types of standardised
tests that are related to early childhood education (developmental screening
tests, diagnostic tests, readiness tests and achievement tests). We also looked at
the characteritsitcs of these tests among others.
From this definition and the ensuing explanation, it is obvious that informal
assessment unlike formal assessment takes place within the classroom and is not
the standardised type of tests/assessments that is based on the right or wrong
answers or predetermined criteria. This major difference from the formal
assessment is the reason for it being called authentic assessment as it is seen as
being more authentic in result than formal assessment.
Informal assessment unlike formal assessment takes place within the classroom
and is not the standardised type of tests/assessments that is based on the right or
wrong answers or predetermined criteria.
ACTIVITY 4.1
Read more about the differences between formal and informal assessments
and list your findings. These would be discussed later through the
myVLE.
As pointed above, you will also agree that skills such as reading,
comprehension of passages read, listening and the like are best assessed
during the classroom activities rather than with a standardised test. For
example, a teacher can ask a child to read a passage in the class to know
how well the child can identify the alphabets. Asking a child to summarise
a book read would also reveal the childs level of comprehension of the
book read.
the time of usage, the test may already be two years obsolete especially
where there has been a change in curriculum. Informal assessment however
can be easily altered because most of the time, they are in the control of the
teachers. As Wortham (2011) says, teacher-designed evaluation measures,
however, can be altered when necessary. If instructional materials are
changed or learning objectives modified, the teacher can keep classroom
measures current by redesigning assessment strategies to reflect changes.
The ability to reflect immediate changes gives the classroom assessment an
edge over the standardised assessment procedures.
As a teacher does this, he or she can change his instructional strategies and
also his/her objectives and the test methods as well. This is only possible in
informal assessment.
Finally, after decades of assessing what children cannot do, there has been a shift
towards focusing instead on what children can do. Such positive approaches to
assessment are thought to be helpful in viewing the child as an individual with
unique characteristics and abilities rather than disabilities.
SELF-CHECK 4.1
The training is necessary because most of these techniques are novel and
the teachers need retraining and recertification before they can use these
techniques with confidence. There is thus the need for all tiers of
government to organise trainings for the teachers they are directly
responsible to, so that they can use the classroom assessment strategies in
an informed manner.
If one considers the amount of time needed by the teacher to for example,
observe and document his or her observation of all the children in the class,
this apathy to use the informal assessment then would be real.
SELF-CHECK 4.2
ACTIVITY 4.2
Compare and contrast formal and informal assessments through the
advantages and disadvantages and suggest the better form for your
school with reasons.
(a) Observation
Gullo (2005) describes observation as the most basic of all informal
assessment techniques. This is an informal assessment method that requires
active participation on the teachers part during daily classroom routines
when children are engaged in curricular activities (Gullo, 2005). This
method can be used to assess certain behaviors in children that formal
assessment may not be able to do (Wortham, 2008).
(c) Rubrics
Rubrics are defined as the quantitative measure applied to the actual work
of the children with the purpose of assessment. Wiggins (1996) sees it as
guidelines that would be used to distinguish performances. They are said to
be of three types, namely: holistic, analytic and developmental rubrics.
(d) Others
Apart from these listed methods, other assessment procedures that would fall
under the class of informal assessment are performance based strategies and
portfolios. These would also be discussed in detail later in topics 7 and 8.
Gullo (2005) describes observation as the most basic of all informal assessment
techniques.
SELF-CHECK 4.3
Informal assessments can assess both the lower-order and the higher-order
thinking skills.
Bowers, S. (2007). Assessing young children: Whats old, whats new, and where
are we headed? An internet article available at www.earlychildhoodnews.
com accessed 26/02/2013.
Bracken, B. A. (2004). The psychoeducational assessment of preschool children.
Mahweh, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Council of Chief State School Officers. (2007). Early childhood glossary: Informal
assessment. An internet report avaibale from www.ccsso.org/projects/
early_childhood_education_assessment_consortium/publications_and_prod
ucts/2873.cfm accessed February 20, 2007.
Dossey, J. A., Mullis, I. V. S., Lindquist, M. M., & Chambers, D. L. (1988). The
mathematics report card: Are we measuring up? Princeton: Educational
Testing Service.
Dunlap, K. (2008). How to compare formal and informal student assessment. An
internet article available on http://voices.yahoo.com/how-compare-formal-
informal-student-assessments-1745703.html accessed 26/02/2013
Goodwin, W. L., & Goodwin, L. D. (1993). Young children and measurement:
Standardized and nonstandardized instruments in early childhood
education. In B. Spodek (Ed.), Handbook of research on the education of
young children. New York: Macmillan.
Gullo, D. F. (2005). Understanding assessment and evaluation in early childhood
education. 2nd ed. New York: Teachers College Press.
Kamii, C., & Kamii, M. (1990). Negative effects of achievement testing in
mathematics. In C. Kamii (Ed.), Achievement testing in the early grades: The
games grown-ups play. Washington DC: National Association for the
Education of Young Children.
Sulzby, E. (1990). Assessment of writing and childrens language when writing.
In L. M. Morrow & J. K. Smith (Eds.), Assessment for instruction in early
literacy. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall.
Teale, W. H. (1988). Developmentally appropriate assessment of reading and
writing in the early childhood classroom. Elementary School Journal, 89, 173-
183.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this topic, you should be able to:
1. Define classroom assessment;
2. Define classroom observation;
3. List the advantages of observation;
4. Identify the purposes of observation;
5. Appraise the weaknesses of observation; and
6. Construct any of the types of observation.
INTRODUCTION
In the previous topics, we have covered the theoretical issues related to formal
and informal assessment. From this topic, we will be concentrating on the
various types of informal assessment, also known as alternative or authentic
assessment, beginning from classroom assessment.
Despite all these reasons deduced against the use of teacher observation in
assessing children, the fact that these teachers have access to this rich and diverse
range of evidence on students learning outcomes from the observation of their
students cannot and should not be ignored. For Maxwell (2001), the use of
teacher observation assessment can be justified by the fact that teacher
(d) Inconsistency
In assessment judgment, inconsistency means that evidence is interpreted
differently in different circumstances like different occasions, outcomes or
students (in the case of the same teacher), different teachers (within the
same school) and different schools. Of all these, the worst level of
inconsistency is that which occurs by the same teacher. It has to be noted
that inconsistencies by the same teacher are usually the consequences of
prejudgment or prejudice, selective perception or inappropriate inference
(Maxwell, 2001). The limitation of the above listed errors would reduce the
level of inconsistency in the case of the same teacher.
Children communicate with us through their eyes, the quality of their voices,
their body postures, their gestures, their mannerisms, their smiles, their jumping
up and down, and their listlessness. They show us, by the way they do things as
well as by what they do, what is going on inside them. When we come to see
childrens behaviour through the eyes of its meaning to them, from the inside
out, we shall be well on our way to understanding them. Recording their ways of
communicating helps us to see them as they are.
In the same vein, Conner (1991), quoting Harlen (1977) says that children
are showing their attitudes and abilities all the time in their normal work;
they are telling us all we need to know about their characteristics if only we
can receive and interpret their messages (p. 50). Consequently, through
observation, teachers can understand the behaviour of the children in their
class. It is however important to note that to observe with the purpose of
understanding childrens behaviour, we cannot just use casual observation.
As Wortham (2008) notes, skilled observation is important to correctly
determine what is behind a childs classroom behaviour. Misinterpretation
leads to difficulties for both teacher and child stemming from the teacher
thinking that one cause has led to the childs behaviour, while the truth
may be quite different.
SELF-CHECK 5.1
1. What are the elements that make observation systematic?
2. List the purposes of observation.
ACTIVITY 5.1
What can make an observer become "skilled" since skilled observation is
important? Read up widely on this and discuss your answers with your
colleagues.
Cartwright and Cartwright (1984) and Goodwin and Driscoll (1980) listed the
characteristics of anecdotal records (Figure 5.1) and the procedures to be
followed in using them as follows:
(a) They are supposed to be the result of direct observation of behaviour and
the recording must be done immediately after the event (obviously to avoid
forgetting the behaviour).
(b) An anecdotal record should include the description of a single event.
(c) It should also include contextual and supportive information because it
would later assist in the interpretation.
(d) The interpretation of the behaviour should be done separately from the
recording of the behaviours and the events recorded.
Anecdotal records can be used by various workers with the young children like
the teacher and the caregiver.
Copyright Open University Malaysia (OUM)
TOPIC 5 CLASSROOM ASSESSMENT 71
(viii) The teacher can increase accuracy and recognise her own bias by
checking against the viewpoints of others.
(ix) The teacher learns to convert impressions and judgments into
accurate data, which can be used as a growing body of evidence to
understand why a child behaves as he does, and report assessments
fairly and reliably.
(x) The teacher may learn to reserve judgment and attain greater
objectivity about situations which are difficult to interpret.
(xi) The experience encourages the teachers to gain respect for the
childrens ability and for their own skills of thinking, reflection and
observation.
(xii) Experience with anecdotal records may encourage a teacher to have
closer relations with children, both personally and professionally
ACTIVITY 5.2
1. List step by step the procedures to be followed in using anecdotal
records.
2. Using the example above, construct anecdotal record for your use.
Before using the running record, the observer has to decide when to observe the
child. This may be at a particularly time or during a particular activity.
According to Corrie (2002), the observation shall not be less than five minutes at
any one observation. However, Wortham (2008) suggests that running records
may be recorded from a few minutes to a few weeks or months. As such, running
records provide a rich description of a chunk of a childs life or a situation. In
addition, running records describe relationships and interactions that children
have in the school day (Corrie, 2002).
The running record includes everything that occurred over a period of time
that is, all behaviour observed rather than the particular incidents that are used
for the anecdotal records (Wortham, 2008).
Discussing the procedure of use for the specimen records, Pellegrini (1996) says
that to use specimen records, the observer should first describe the scene of the
observation, the participants, their actions as well as language. He comments
further:
Descriptions are recorded in narrative form and should be objective to the extent
that physical actions, such as twitching, and exact verbalizations of participants
are recorded. Observers should record everything relevant to the question that is
done by and to the focal participant. A time dimension should also be recorded.
When separate narratives are cobbled together, they should form a diary-like
collection, albeit a diary specific to a certain location, for a specific child; this
record is the specimen record for the child.
ACTIVITY 5.3
Compare and contrast the anecdotal records with the running records.
The observer decodes ahead of time what behaviours will be observed, what the
time interval will be, and how the behaviours will be recorded. The observer
observes these behaviours and records how many times they occur during
preset, uniform time periods.
Prejudgment and prejudice are major elements that affect the validity of
observation.
INTRODUCTION
This is the continuation of Topic 5. In Topic 5, we started looking at classroom
assessment. In the first part, we examined the advantages and the disadvantages
of classroom assessment and the purposes of classroom assessment before we
began to examine observation as the major type of classroom assessment,
especially in the early childhood era. We have also looked at the advantages and
disadvantages of observation as well as the various types of classroom
observation such as anecdotal records, running records, specimen records, time
sampling and event sampling. In this topic, we will complete our examination of
classroom assessment by looking at checklists, rating scales and rubrics.
6.1 CHECKLISTS
Wortham (2008) identifies a checklist as a list of sequential behaviours arranged
in a system of categories. Gullo (2005) defines checklist as an instrument of
recording and examining sequenced series of behaviours usually directly related
to educational or developmental goals.
Teachers can match the experiences they wish to use with the checklist to
determine whether they are using the correct level of complexity or difficulty.
They can determine what came before in learning or development and what
should come next.
(e) Availability
Because the checklist is always available to the teacher, new behaviours or
developmental traits can always be recorded anytime they show up. In
other words, checklists can be updated easily. As Wortham (2008) opines
unlike paper-and-pencil tests or formal tests, the teacher does not have to
wait for a testing opportunity to determine whether the child has mastered
an objective.
(a) Mismatching
According to Gullo (2005), if the sequence of skills or concepts do not
match the curriculum goals, then the information collected would be
useless at best and somewhat damaging to the curriculum at worse. Thus,
it is important that the sequence of skills or concept and the curriculum
goals are balanced during the construction of the checklist.
Wortham (2008) indicates that usually, two types of indicators are usually used.
The first one is a simple Yes/No. The second one is Mastery/Nonmastery.
Another approach is to indicate the date the concept was introduced and when it
was mastered and the columns become Introduced/Mastered. Three columns
have been suggested so as to accommodate intermediate position. Examples are:
Introduced/Progress/Mastery or Not Yet/In Process/Proficient. Table 6.1 shows
an example of a checklist.
ACTIVITY 6.1
Rating scales are used mostly to report personal characteristics as well as social
development on the report card. Wortham (2008) observes that such attributes
as work habits, classroom conduct, neatness and citizenship commonly appear
on elementary school report cards.
In the body of the rating scale, the quality or skill to be measured is stated
and the numbers are listed below for the rater to pick the most applicable.
The example below is taken from Wortham (2008):
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
The following are the commonly used descriptors for graphic rating scales:
Never
Seldom
Occasionally
Frequently
Always
The example of a graphic rating scale below is also taken from Wortham
(2008):
According to Wortham (2008), graphic rating scales are easier to use than
numerical descriptors because the descriptors are more specific, raters can
be more objective and accurate when judging student behaviours.
SELF-CHECK 6.1
1. List the advantages of rating scales.
2. List the disadvantages of rating scales.
3. Differentiate a numerical rating scale from a graphic rating scale.
Before this sub-section on rating scales is closed, it is important that you have a
graphic idea of what a rating scale looks like (Figure 6.2).
6.3 RUBRICS
Rubrics are similar to rating scales because they are also qualitative instruments.
However, unlike other classroom assessments strategies, rubrics can be used to
assess students progress as well as score students works (Wortham, 2008).
Quoting Wiggins (1996), Wortham (2008) defines rubric as follows:
From this, it is clear that the benchmarks are to be followed in classifying the
work and allocating the scores. This is also corroborated by Wortham (2008) that
rubrics are related to performance assessments. They provide guidelines to
distinguish performance from one level to another.
1. Inexperienced Writer
Uses scribble writing or letter-like marks. Uses pictures. May dictate a sentence to the
teacher.
2. Beginning Writer
Attempts to write words on paper, but is very limited. May copy words or sentences.
Can write familiar words from memory.
3. Developing Writer
May show understanding of conventions of print. Uses spacing for word boundaries.
Attempts to sequence thoughts. Uses inventive spelling.
4. Mature Writer
Writing is on topic; confident, developing fluency. May write multiple sentences.
There is a beginning, middle, and end. Shows some accuracy in punctualisation and
capitalisation. Still makes errors.
This holistic rubric has four levels of competence that is rated from the
inexperienced writer to mature writer.
0 No attempt
1 Completely misinterprets the problem
2 Misinterprets major part of the problem
3 Misinterprets minor parts of the problem
4 Complete understanding of the problem
0 No attempt
1 Totally inappropriate plan
2 Partially correct procedure but with major fault
3 Substantially correct procedure with major omission or procedural errors
4 A plan that could lead to a correct solution with no arithmetic errors
This example of an analytic rubric, is tackling the student work from three
dimensions, namely: the students understanding of the problem, the
procedure taken by the students to solve the problem and the answer the
students arrived at. Each of the dimensions has descriptors and each of the
descriptors have a numerical scale. Following this rubric would lead the
teacher to arrive at the score for each of the students and can also help the
teacher to give necessary feedback to the students.
SELF-CHECK 6.2
ACTIVITY 6.2
1. Read more of the checklists, the rating scales and the rubrics and then
compare and contrast them as effective assessment strategies.
2. Search the web for five samples of rubrics. Study them and then
write the type of rubric they are on them.
Except for the modality of measurement, rating scales and checklists are
similar.
There are two types of rating scales: the numerical and the graphical rating
scales.
There are three types of rubrics: the holistic, analytic and developmental
rubrics.
INTRODUCTION
In Topic 6, we have examined other types of classroom assessment. We have
looked at checklists, rating scales and the use of rubrics. With that, we have
closed the discussion on classroom assessment. This will now lead us to another
type of alternative assessment, called performance-based assessment.
This form of assessment requires the classroom teacher to observe the behaviour
of the children or to examine the product that is reflective of that behaviour, and
to apply clearly articulated performance criteria in order to make a judgement
regarding the level of proficiency demonstrated.
(a) Interviews
Interviews can be used to find out students understanding about concepts.
It can be particularly suitable for young children who are just beginning to
develop literacy skills and cannot yet express themselves with a paper-and-
pencil activity (Wortham, 2008). Interviews can also be of three types:
unstructured, structured and diagnostic (Table 7.1).
(b) Contracts
Contracts are a form of agreement between the teacher and the children as
to what activities the teacher is expecting of the child. According to
Wortham (2008), contracts serve a dual purpose. They provide a plan
between the teacher and the child and a record of the childs progress. This
contract can be in durations of one day to one week.
interview. The core of this method is that the teacher gives a specific
assignment or task for assessment purposes. According to Hills (1992)
when this type is used, the childs ability to undertake the assignment is the
focus, though interviews and discussions may be used as part of the
process.
(d) Games
Through the use of observation, while games are in progress, it is possible
for a teacher to assess a childs abilities and thinking systematically (Kamii
& Rosenblum, 1990). Games are particularly good in assessing concepts and
skills.
(f) Projects
Wortham (2008) defines a project as an activity conducted by a student or
a group of students that is lengthier than a classroom activity conducted
during a single class period. A product of some type is always the result of
a project. For example, an extended essay may be the result of courses like
literature and collection of nature may be the result of the natural sciences.
(g) Portfolios
Portfolio assessment is the process whereby artefacts from the student's
performances in his or her work are stored, graded and interpreted. They
might be paper folders containing examples of assignments the student has
completed, checklists, anecdotal records, summary reports for a grading
period and any other material that the teacher and the child feel are
relevant to demonstrate the performance of the child (Wortham, 2008). This
would be discussed in detail in next topic.
...rather than examine the cognitive domain alone, which is a low-order skill,
performance assessment would be able to examine the affective and
application skills, which are higher-order skills.
SELF-CHECK 7.1
1. List the advantages of performance-based assessment.
2. List the disadvantages of performance-based assessment.
SELF-CHECK 7.2
All these qualities of play make it very applicable to children. This is why the
core of early childhood curriculum consists of play, especially from infanthood to
toddlerhood (Gullo, 2005). Kelly-Vance and Ryalls (2005) assert that play is
enjoyable and motivating for children, and it is how they spend much of their
time.
From these two definitions, we can say that play-based assessment is when play
is used as the means through which a child is assessed. The rationale for play-
based assessment is given by Kelly-Vance and Ryalls (2005) when he opines that,
not only is play an important part of childrens daily routine, it is also a window
into their developmental levels and a context where valuable teaching and
learning can occur. It is because of these two reasons, that play provides a
window to determine the childs development as well as a context for the
assessment and this is why play-based assessment is a rapidly growing means
of evaluating preschool children in a nonthreatening, naturalistic fashion (Fagan
& Warden, 1996).
ACTIVITY 7.1
Considering the nature of play in children, would you recommend play-
based assessment for children?
PIECES TPBA
It is an observation of a child engaged in It is an observation of a child engaged in
free play. free as well as structured play.
Can be conducted in any setting with large Can be conducted in any setting with large
and varied number toys. and varied number toys.
It can be video-taped Video cameraman is always part of team
Child play is done without facilitator Allows play facilitator to lead or initiate
intervention play
Multidisciplinary team of observers is not Multidisciplinary team of observers is used
necessary. for the observation process.
Guidelines are broken down into multiple Guidelines are broken down into multiple
scales examining different domains of scales but the domains to be examined are
cognitive development. different.
Items are not drawn from Linder but on Items are drawn from Linder.
literature on development of play.
ACTIVITY 7.2
Compare the three types of play-based assessment instruments and
decide on the one to propose for your institution.
Using this form of assessment can again give the children another opportunity to
interact with the curriculum in another avenue which will lead to the
development of understanding and competence rather than just cognitive
development (Gardner, 1999).
Play-based assessment occurs when play is used as the means through which
a child is assessed.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this topic, you should be able to:
1. Define a portfolio;
2. List the purpose of portfolio assessment;
3. Discuss the methods of assessing portfolios;
4. Discuss the steps to take in producing quality portfolios;
5. Differentiate between the types of portfolios; and
6. Develop rubrics to assess artefacts in portfolios.
INTRODUCTION
In Topic 7, we have dealt with the performance-based assessments. We have
talked about curriculum-based assessment, play-based assessment and project
assessment. You will also recall that we mentioned the portfolio as one of the
types of performance-based assessment. In this topic, we are going to deal with
the last of the alternative assessments, and this is the portfolio assessment.
Paulson, Paulson, and Meyer (1991) define and describe portfolio as follows:
The portfolio should include many examples of a students work that will
provide multiple assessments of concepts, skills, and projects that result in an
accurate picture of what the student understands and is able to use in a
meaningful context.
From the above quotation based on Valencia (1990) and Micklo (1997), the
students work to be included in the portfolio, if it is meant for assessment
and evaluation must represent a wide spectrum of the curriculum moving
from concepts (that may reflect the low order thinking skills) to skills and
projects (that may reflect the higher order thinking skills). You should also
note that assessment here can be seen on the two fronts: student assessment
and teacher assessment. In other words, using the portfolio, the teacher can
assess the children and the children can also assess the teacher.
These are the curriculum products that are then scrutinised by teachers in
order to elucidate the childrens level of accomplishments. This particular
type of portfolio also gives teachers a better understanding of how to
structure or restructure the curriculum for the childs next step.
teacher in the next grade accurate information about the child. This is the
type of portfolio that Gullo (2005) refers to as permanent portfolio.
ACTIVITY 8.1
Read further on the web or undertake a library search to determine if
there are other types of portfolios. If there are, compare with the above
list and harmonise your list or findings.
Whichever way the assessment goes, each item in the portfolio is very important
in the process of the assessment. The teacher is expected to use an established
criteria to develop a profile of the childs strength and weaknesses as well as
interests and creative expressions (Wortham, 2008).
Cole, Ryan and Kick (1995) also identify two steps in the process of assessment of
portfolios.
Step 2: This is what they termed product portfolio that includes final evidences
that demonstrate goal attainment. The most important element here is the criteria
for judging merits.
Children
Behaviours
Makes groups
consistently when
given a basis for
classification.
Names basis for
classifying.
Devises basis for
classifying.
Makes
subclassifications
Other
Figure 8.1: A checklist for classifying skills
Source: Wortham, S.C. (2008).
Assessment in early childhood education (5th ed.). Ohio: Pearson
Children
Qualities
Applies
Information
Conveys
information clearly
Represents creative
work
Neatly made
Clearly explained
(as applicable)
For group projects,
was project work
shared?
Was work
cooperative?
Other
Figure 8.2: A checklist for classifying skills
Source: Wortham, S.C. (2008).
Assessment in early childhood education (5th ed.). Ohio: Pearson
ACTIVITY 8.2
Develop a rubric that would assist you in assessing and grading portfolio
artefacts for young children in a subject of your choice.
After the format, Wortham (2008) advocates the use of a table of contents
and suggests the following:
(i) A table of contents
(ii) Title Page (this identifies the student, purpose of portfolio and its
contents)
(iii) Dividers with labels (to identify contents by section)
(iv) Dates on all entries
(v) A review or assessment section (containing teacher and self-
assessment with teachers comments).
(c) Storage
It is also important to note that the purpose of the portfolio as well as likely
contents would determine type of storage containers to use. Boxes may be
used where project works and or video/audio tapes may be part of content.
Other suggestions include expendable file folders, x-ray folders, pizza
boxes and paper briefcases among others (Wortham, 2008).
SELF-CHECK 8.1
1. Define a portfolio.
2. Describe the types of portfolio.
3. What is the link between purpose, content and organisation?
The purpose of assessment influences the type and contents of the portfolio.
Hanson, M. F., & Gilkerson, D. (1999). Portfolio assessment: More than ABCs and
123s. Early Childhood Education Journal, 27, 81-86.
Hebert, E., & Schultz, L. (1996). The Power of Portfolios. Educational Leadership,
53(7), 7071.
Kuhs, T. (1994). Portfolio Assessment: Making it Work for the First Time. The
Mathematics Teachers, 87 (5), 332-335.
Micklo, S. K. (1997). Math portfolio in the primary grades. Childhood Education,
73, 194-199.
Paulson, F. L., Paulson, P., & Meyer, C. (1991). What makes a portfolio?
Educational Leadership, 49(5), 60-63.
Puckett, M. B., & Black, J. K. (2000). Authentic assessment of the young child:
Celebrating development and learning (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River:
Merrill/Prentice Hall.
Valencia, S. (1990). A portfolio approach to classroom reading assessment.
Reading Teacher, 43, 338-340.
Wortham, S. C. (2008). Assessment in early childhood education. (5th ed.). Ohio:
Pearson.
INTRODUCTION
In the last four topics, that is, Topics 5 through 8, we have examined the various
types of assessments. Our work however will not be complete without taking a
look at the assessment of children with special needs, and this is the focus of this
topic.
Everything that has been discussed about the assessment of young children so far
is equally applicable to special needs children though there are going to be some
differences (Gullo, 2005). Cases of special needs vary both in types as well as in
severity. Gullo (2005) opines that special needs type can range from a minor
speech or language problem to something more debilitating such as a severe
physical condition or cognitive delay.
Sometimes, there are cases where individual children can suffer from multiple
special needs areas. These are all part of the factors that are put into
consideration in determining the type or types of assessments that are used, the
types of specialists that will become involved in the assessment process , and
ultimately the kind or kinds of intervention programming that is suggested
(Gullo, 2005:133). Gullo (2005) suggested four goals as the focus of assessment
and evaluation of special needs children.
If, for example, a childs primary disability is in the physical domain, this could
lead to cognitive or language delays if appropriate intervention is not pursued.
This may also be true among children who have sensorial disabilities, such as
deafness or blindness. It should be noted that some of these primary conditions
might also lead to emotional or social problems as well.
In assessing these children with special needs then, the goal would be to
identify the extent of the childs needs so that the secondary disabling
condition could be reduced or avoided altogether.
The answers to these questions would help to determine if the child needs to
be referred as any of these impairments could affect the childs education.
The aim at this level is to determine the presence of the condition as well as
its severity if it exists. It is also important to note that it is at this level that
children with multiple conditions would be identified.
The determination of the childs eligibility leads to the next decision point.
(ii) What does the child need to be independent in the classroom, home,
and community?
(iii) What are the effects of adaptation and assistance on the childs
performance?
(iv) What usual patterns of responding and what relationships with
environmental variables appear to influence the childs performance?
Please note that it could be that multiple services are needed if the child has
multiple special needs as discussed earlier.
ACTIVITY 9.1
1. Why are the above listed decisions important in the case of special
needs children?
2. Which type of instrument do you need to make the relevant
decisions?
times when the setting can affect a childs performance as well as the mode
of assessment can also affect it.
Gullo (2005) also opines that in some situations, one particular special need will
have to improve or be ameliorated before others will benefit from intervention
in cases of children with multiple special needs.
The large and increasing population of children from other backgrounds in our
societies makes the assessment of these groups an issue. For example, it has been
asserted that public school enrolment in the United States has a population of
17% non-Hispanic blacks; 14.4% Hispanics; 3.9% Asians/Pacific Islanders and
1.2% American Indians/Alaskan natives (National Centre for Education Statistics
(2002).
The major issue in this case is that cultural differences effect the way learning
occurs as well as the type of information that is learned. For example, Bracken
(2004) says that individuals of different culture will recall and understand those
aspects of a lesson that are most relevant to their own culture.
The realisation of the issues raised has made scholars to assert that using the
same assessment instruments for these categories of children is inappropriate
(Neisworth & Bagnato, 1996). This made McLean (1998) suggest that the
achievement of valid and reliable assessment results begin with the selection of
assessment instruments and the procedure used for the assessment. In fact, Gullo
(2005) asserts that the assessment procedures for this population of young
children need to be different.
(a) Instrumentation
As asserted above, the instrument that can be used with these groups of
children must be carefully selected. For valid and reliable results, the
instrument to be used must be sensitive to cultural differences. Explaining
sensitivity to cultural differences, Gullo (2005) states that it has to do with
built-in safe guards that would be able to distinguish between the impact of
cultural and linguistic diversity on the childs development and the
existence of developmental delay.
(b) Procedure
The issue of sensitivity of the instrument to be used is also true for the
procedure. That is, the procedure to be used should also be able to
distinguish between the impact of cultural and linguistic diversity on the
childs development and the existence of developmental delay.
It is in the light of this that The Division of Early Childhood of the Council
for Exceptional Children recommends three additional practices to be
added to the procedure. These are reported in McLean (2000):
(i) Before the assessment takes place, professionals should gather
information that would aid them in deciding if a child should be
referred for special education assessment or if the developmental
pattern can be explained by cultural and/or linguistic differences.
(ii) Appropriate procedures should be followed to determine the
language to be used for the assessment and also to understand the
impact the acquisition of a second language would have on the childs
development and performance in the early childhood setting.
(iii) In the event that culturally appropriate and nonbiased instruments
cannot be identified appropriate assessment strategies are tailored to
the individual child and family.
Moving away from the test design, issues will also arise over scoring and
standardisation. Gullo (2005) rightly points out that if the scoring and
standardisation procedures of an assessment instrument have been based on a
limited population, then the results would not be applicable to children from
To help assessors decide on the right type of assessment instrument that would
be valid and reliable for such groups of children, the Early Childhood Research
Institute for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) has given
four guidelines. These are treated below as presented by Gullo (2005).
ACTIVITY 9.2
Check the web to locate three or four assessments and determine if the
instruments are free of cultural and linguistic bias.
The first goal of assessment of children with special needs is the amelioration
of the disability.
Barona, A., & Santos de Barona, M. (1987). A model for the assessment of limited
English proficient students referred for special education services. In S. H.
Fradd & W. J. Tikunoff (Eds.), Bilingual education and bilingual special
education (pp. 183210). Boston: College Hill Press.
Bracken, B. A. (Ed.). (2004). The psychoeducational assessment of preschool
children (3rd ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Goodwin, W. L., & Goodwin, L. D. (1993). Young children and measurement:
Standardized and nonstandardized instruments in early childhood
education. In B. Spodek (Ed.), Handbook of research on the education of
young children. New York: Macmillan.
INTRODUCTION
Congratulations as we have come to the last topic in this course. You may count
yourself lucky that you have come this far as some might have dropped out on
the way. In this final topic, we are concerned with carrying the major
stakeholders, especially, the parents along in the process of sharing assessment
reports.
Interpreting the data derived from the informal assessment data is the key to
getting parents and other users to make meaning out of the assessment materials.
Apart from making parents and other stakeholders understand the assessment
records, it is also important to interpret the assessment data before any
educational decisions are made concerning the children. Having seen the
importance of interpreting the assessment data, we can then go on to examine
how these data are to be interpreted.
to do with some kind of comparison but it does not work the same way the
norm-referenced comparison of standardised testing.
With this, you would know that a student who has a total score of 5 would
be placed at the positive end of the continuum and the student with a score
of 1 would be placed at the negative end (Anderson, 2003).
In this case, the student with the score of 90 and above will fall into the A
range, until we get to the failure range which would be from 39
downwards.
In all, the most suitable for informal assessment is the comparison with an
underlying continuum.
strength of this, that it was said that it is important to know what the child
is on the home front which would be their natural habitat.
One way in which we can have an ever flowing information from the home
to the school and from the school to the home is to reach out to the parents
through the parents conference. Once parents have attended the parents'
conference, it is most likely that relationship would be facilitated between
the teacher and the parents that would keep the two-way communication
open and alive. And if this starts, the parents do not need to stay until the
next conference before discussing anything with the teacher.
The student has an opportunity to present and discuss his or her work
through a portfolio, the parents have an opportunity to introduce relevant
information about the childs progress, and the teacher has the opportunity
to summarise what has been accomplished during the time period. All
participants plan together for future goals, projects and general learning (p.
284).
In this type of conference, the teacher spends time explaining to all parents the
assessments that have been used, the nature of those assessments, and
information on projects or thematic study topics. Classroom documentation in
various forms is explained and parents are invited to spend time looking at them.
It is however important that whatever the option the teacher has picked for
his/her report, he or she must be confident and feel at home in presenting
the report.
Apart from communicating with body language, there are three forms of
expressed language, and these are one-way communication and two-ways
communication. It has been recommended that teachers and schools should
employ these two ways of communication.
(b) The teacher is also to help the parents accurately interpret the evaluation
information; and
(c) The teacher is to solicit for parental and child input for assessment and
planning for the child.
There are three methods through which assessment data can be interpreted.
Parents' conferences are critically important and there are no alternatives for
the conference.
OR
Thank you.