Preschool and Educational Assessment, Research Paper Example

Abstract

The research paper is focused on preschool and educational assessment. The paper outlines one of the assessment tools that measures a child’s preschool knowledge and skills. The informal assessment tool helps parents and teachers to understand whether a child is well-prepared for the further development or not. The authors’ research work proves the effectiveness of this tool.

Preschool and educational assessment has always been in the scope of psychology and other sciences. Pedagogical methodology is focused on the development and implementation of assessment tools that can easily be used by parents and teachers. It seems to be extremely essential to prepare a child for school. Nevertheless, most parents are concerned with the problem: how to assess the child’s knowledge and skills? There are many assessment tools, designed for preschool children that facilitate the process of measuring the child’s knowledge and skills. The research paper is focused on one of such assessment tool. Thus, the aim of the paper is to reveal the nature of preschool assessment through the chosen assessment tool, explaining its properties, advantages and disadvantages.

To deepen into the preschool assessment tool, it is vital to understand what the assessment is. Some researchers state that “assessment is the process of gathering information about children from several forms of evidence, then organizing and interpreting that information” (Early Childhood Education, 2008, p. 1). The value of preschool assessment is evident, and was explained by many researchers. For example, Gorman (2010) explained the importance of the assessment in the following way: “implementing a preschool academic assessment tool helps teachers and parents know that children are receiving a high-quality educational experience” (Gorman, 2010, ¶ 2). However, standardized tests have numerous disadvantages, because they do not assess a child in an informal, natural way. The groups of researchers, including Epstein and others (2004), offered their own alternative to standardized tests. Developing the balanced approach, the researchers recommend the following informal complex assessment testing that presupposes several forms of evidence: systematic observation of a child’s activity through give-and-take activities, portfolio, and teachers and parents’ rating.

The researchers believe that the power of observation is in the naturalness. Interactive style of children’ curriculum will help teachers to assess their knowledge and skills. The authors prove the effectiveness of the tool in the following statements:

“Although careful observation requires effort, the approach has high ecological validity and intrudes minimally into what children are doing. Children’s activities naturally integrate all dimensions of their development–intellectual, motivational, social, physical, aesthetic, and so on” (Epstein et al., 2004, p. 6).

The authors suggest that real-life tasks in natural and authentic environment are truly effective. The framework for this comprises the activities, initiated by a child: physical activity, social relationship, art, etc. Any assessment is the data collection. This informal tool has its own system.

Portfolio is the other form of children’s evidence in academic areas. This technique is realized through the collection of children’s works, done at home and in the classroom. They help to measure the academic progress. Also, there is an essential role of collaboration (between children, parents and teachers) and conversation with children about their works. Thus, in contrast to standardized test, it provides more information. However, portfolio should be followed by some rating system to assess children’s’ knowledge and skills.

There are teachers and parents’ rating in this tool. The researchers give their definition to teachers’ rating system: “teacher ratings are a way to organize teacher perception of children’s development into scales for which reliability and validity can be assessed” (Epstein et al., 2004, p. 7). Usually, reporting cards inform children’s grades that reflect their cognitive and language abilities. Teacher rating is related to other tools of assessment, for example scores on standardized tests. Teacher rating helps to predict future child’s performance and development.

Parent rating involve parents in the process of perceptions of children’s development. They complete scales with data that reflect their children’s performance. The authors of the assessment tool gives the example of parent rating: “the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey … study, in which parents’ ratings of their children’s abilities and progress were related to measures of classroom quality and child outcomes” (Epstein et al., 2004, p. 7). Many researchers consider the parental involvement is a valuable element of the balanced approach to children’s assessment (Bergeson et al., 2008). However, the informal assessment testing should satisfy the criteria of reliability (consistency) and validity (key aspects of the measurable area). To realize these criteria in a proper way, a teacher should provide children with a comfortable atmosphere during testing:

“Assessment should not make children feel anxious or scared. It should not threaten their self-esteem or make them feel they have failed. Tests should acknowledge what children know–or have the potential to learn–rather than penalizing them for what they do not know” (Epstein et al., 2004, p. 8).

Of course, the aim of testing is not to punish a child, but to show in what area he/she should develop more to get high scores. However, to use the mentioned assessment tool, a teacher needs to be specially trained to work with children in an informal way; probably, it is the principal disadvantage of this assessment tool.

In general, the informal balanced assessment tool of Epstein and other researchers seems to be one of the most effective tools in preschool assessment practice. Being engaged in give-and-take activities in an authentic environment, a child may show a good performance. Portfolio is the original way of data collection that is focused on collaboration and communication with children. Teacher and parent rating is an integral part of compiling the scale for each child that shows his/her grade in academic arenas and skills (for the preschool children, reading and writing serve the starting point for other skills).

References

Bergeson, T., Davidson, C., Mueller, M. T., & Williams-Appleton D. (2008). A Guide to Assessment in Early Childhood: Infancy to Age Eight. Olympia, WA: Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Early Childhood Education (2010). Preschool Assessment Manual. Retrieved from http://www.ade.state.az.us/earlychildhood/downloads/preschoolassessmentmanual.pdf

Epstein, A. S., Schweinhart L. J., DeBruin-Parecki, & Robin, K. B. (2004). Preschool Assessment: a Guide to Developing a Balanced Approach. NIEER: Preschool Policy Matters (7), 1-11.

Gorman, F. (2010). Preschool Academic Assessment Tools. Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/list_7611887_preschool-academic-assessment-tools.html