Assessment of Young Children

Interview Project for FACS 294Western Kentucky University

Amanda Hayes

Assessment

What is assessment? “the process of gathering information

about children from several forms of evidence, then organizing and interpreting that information.” (McAFee, Leong, & Bodrova, 2004, p.3)

Purpose: via Assessment in Early Childhood Education, Sue C.

Wortham, p. 3

Assessing to promote children’s learning and development

Identifying children for health and social services

Monitoring trends and evaluating programs and services

Assessing academic achievement to hold individual students, teachers, and schools accountable (Shepard, Kagan, Lynn, & Wurtz, 1998).

Screening

What is a screening? followed by an assessment, a screening

is to help identify children at risk for failing to succeed in school and/or developmental disorders or disabilities (Wortham, 2012, p. 14).

Purpose:

to identify health, developmental and/or other factors that may interfere with a child's learning, growth and development.

Reliable, the extent to which the assessment will provide consistent information repeatedly.Reliability answers the question: Is the tool producing consistent information across different circumstances?

Valid, the extent to which the assessment tool measures what it says it measures. Validity answers the question: Is the tool assessing what it is supposed to assess?

What Are Reliability and Validity and Why Are They

Important?

via Kentucky’s Early Childhood Continuous

Assessment Guide

for developmental screening, diagnostic evaluation, and instructional planning.

to evaluate achievement by comparing groups of children

measure a child’s achievement on specific test objectives

combine elements within a classroom of informal teachers assessment strategies, to observe behavior and other areas of development that cannot be measured using a standardized test.

Types of Assessments:

Ways to gather

information?Assessment practices cover a wide range of instruments and

techniques including structured one-on-one child assessments, standardized

assessments, portfolios, rating scales, and observation.

A variety of assessment tools and approaches, including

rating scales, checklists, norm-referenced tests, portfolios,

and observations, can be used to learn more about the child’s

strengths and challenges.

Reference: ELORS Teacher's Guide by Margaret Gillis, Ph.D., Tracey West,

Ph.D., and Mary Ruth Coleman, Ph.D.

I have had the opportunity to interview four different individuals in order to learn more about screening and assessment tools

and how they benefit the ever growing development in children. I conducted interviews with four different individuals, three of which are from three different professions, and then a

parent interview. The roles in which these individuals play make up the system in which children begin learning from home to

outside the home in an educational setting. These professionals and parents bring together much knowledge and experience in providing children with the opportunity to develop to the best of their abilities and to assist them in areas in which they struggle.

Ultimately, working together for the success of a child.

Interviews: 4 categories

Health: Speech Therapist

Infant/Toddler: Preschool Teacher

Preschool/Kindergarten: ECEAP/Head start Teacher

Parent: Self

Speech-language pathologists (SLP), sometimes called speech therapists, assess, diagnose, treat and help to

prevent disorders related to speech, language, cognitive-communication, voice, swallowing and fluency.

Ms. M is a licensed, credentialed and certified Speech-language pathologist and has been

working in her profession for about a year now. She travels between Beachwood Elementary

school and Evergreen Elementary school, here in Washington state. Working with children from

kindergarten to 5th grade. She is able to determine their strengths and weaknesses

through listening to a child, assessing a child, or observing children in their normal classroom

setting.

Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals— Fourth Edition (CELF–4), a four-tiered model of assessment. This tool is designed to assess the

presence of a language disorder or delay using a comprehensive and flexible assessment

approach.

Assessment Tool:

CELF–4Is appropriate for children ages 5:0 to 21:11 years.

Can be administered to bilingual students, but it may be necessary to modify the administration.

Includes a four-level assessment process in which the presence of a language disorder can be determined by calculating a Core Language score using only four subtests: morphology and syntax, semantics, pragmatics, and phonological awareness.

Screens receptive, expressive, grammatical, and semantic skills.

Parent involvement:

M is able to provide recommendations on further therapy services, discuss rating scale results with parents and the student’s teacher, areas in which need re-testing, and ways in which to incorporate activities in the classroom or at home.

Parents are essentially active partners in their child’s ongoing development together with the Speech Therapist, teachers, and other professionals.

Preschool TeacherTeach children ages 3 to 5 about the basics of

subjects like reading, writing, math, and science.

Ms. D is a long time preschool teacher and has been teaching and working for the Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) Child

Development Centers for the last 17 years. She teaches Part-Day Preschool at Clarkmoor CDC, along side an assistant teacher - Mr.

E, this class is dedicated to a child’s development and learning abilities. Their goal is to work with social-emotional, language-

literacy, and fine-gross motor skills in children. They are essentially preparing these children for the next step into Strong

Beginnings. Strong Beginnings being a pre-k developed class there at Clarkmoor. Between the quarterly CDC trainings,

observations for her trainings, and her holding a degree in Child Development. She has been able to successfully administer

assessments from her ongoing education and certified trainings.Assessment Tool:The Teaching Strategies Gold for Early Childhood, is a developmental assessment used to document the progress of

children. The particular tool that she uses is an ongoing type of assessment. Allowing her the opportunity to assess a child during

their regular activities on a regular day. With a purpose to: observe and document children’s development and learning over time, support, guide, and inform planning and instruction, identify

children who might benefit from special help, screening, or further evaluation, and lastly report and communicate with family

members and other professionals.

Teaching Strategies Gold

This tool is available birth through kindergarten.

This assessment is available in both English and Spanish, for dual-language learners.

Teaching Strategies, covers a total of ten domains of development and learning, which are further composed of 38 objectives. Concrete experiential learning activities encompass the following six domains: Social-Emotional, Physical, Language, Literacy, Cognitive, and Mathematics.

Parent Involvement:The “Development and Learning Report” shares information with family members by providinga narrative for every objective or dimension. The report helps family members understand their child’s skills, knowledge, and behaviors, and it identifies likely next steps in the child’s development and learning.

Most times Ms. D does inform the parents on their chid’s level. She finds it important to keep parents informed, generally, on their child’s development or areas of struggle. She also makes the effort to speak with each parent at the end of class, just to let parents know how their child did for the day.

ECEAP (Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program) Head Start teacher

Early Childhood Educational Assistance Program (ECEAP), is a comprehensive program including early childhood education, nutrition, parenting skills and health components.

Ms. F is a head start teacher, more specifically ECEAP (Early Childhood Educational Assistance Program) and has been teaching for over 13

years. She currently holds a degree in Early Childhood education. This classroom includes Ms. F the head teacher, her assistant, and Ms. B a

Social Worker/Family Support Specialist - who is part of this class due to the nature of this particular program. This program serves primarily four

to five year olds from low-income families at Evergreen Elementary School and other locations through out Washington. Ms. F uses this tool

as a placement tool to pre-test children and later a post-test to determine progress made during the year. She can also choose to test in one area as opposed to all areas to gather further information on a child

or in areas of concern. She had direct training in using this tool, to be qualified to administer it correctly.

Assessment Tool:

Developmental Indicators for the Assessment of Learning, Third Edition(DIAL™-3), a norm-referenced screening tool. This tool is not only

user friendly, but provides teachers with a fun environment, is age appropriate, and child-friendly.

DIAL-3

For children ages 3 to 6:11 years.

The DIAL-3 is available in English and Spanish versions. It is not a translated test and the development of the Spanish edition is included in the manual with statistics for sample distributions for both English and Spanish.

DIAL-3 measures children’s skills across five major areas: motor, concepts, self-help, social development and language skills.

Parent Involvement:

Included in this assessment is a Parent Questionnaire. This will list a child’s health history, background, self-help and social development. Also, a Parent-Child Activity Form to enhance the child’s development in motor, concepts, and language skills. Allowing parents to opportunity to continue with their educational development outside of school.

Parent

As a parent and having three children, we have a had the opportunity to frequent pediatric doctor appointments - some for check-ups, others for one being sick. With that on most occasions, I as their parent, have to fill

out a parent questionnaire in regards to their ongoing development. Recently I had to take my youngest to the pediatrician for her 15 month

check-up. I was to fill out a Denver Prescreening Developmental Questionnaire II, 9-24 months, (PDQ-II), in regards to her current

development. This screening took about 10-15 minutes, give or take. I was to acknowledge if my child had reached a certain milestone or was

able to perform a certain skill. What I come to realize, is that me assuming I have had no experience in assessments, that in fact I have

by completing these screenings on my children. I was given simple instructions to fill it out, to the best of my abilities, about my child and to

stop when circled 3 NO’s, which did not have to be consecutive, or all front and back have been answered.

Assessment Tool:

Denver Prescreening Developmental Questionnaire II, 9-24 months - the age range I was recently given, (PDQ-II). A developmental screening. A scale that may be used to determine if a child’s development is within

normal range. This is a 105 item parent answered questionnaire regarding his/her child's current level of development.

Denver Prescreening Developmental Questionnaire II, 9-24 months

Ages covered by the tests range from birth to six years.

Available in English and Spanish.

Screening for developmental, sensory, motor, language, social, cognitive, perceptual, emotional skills and behavioral concerns.

Parent Involvement:

Parents are the ones conducting this screening in reference to their child. I am to write my child’s name, testing date, and birthdate on the form, also who I am - the one conducting the screening.

It is simple to follow and the Doctor can further evaluate the child for any concerns a parent may have in regards to the questions answered. The Doctor is also able to elaborate on the screening itself and it’s purpose. This tool is essentially helping Doctor’s determine if a child is developing normally.

Thoughts:Assessments in young children hold the key in assisting not only professionals, but parents as well. With appropriate instructional decisions about how to best understand and support

children in their development, in allowing them the ability to work towards their fullest potential.Assessments and screenings can identify learning skills, behaviors, and other areas of development

to adjust educational objectives in supporting children as they grow and develop.

Reference:Wortham, Sue C. (2012). Assessment in Early Childhood

Education. Sixth Edition. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. Rous, B. & Townley, K. (Eds.). (2006). Building a strong

foundation for school success: Kentucky's early childhood continuous assessment guide. Frankfort, KY: Kentucky

Department of Education.Early Learning Observation Rating Scale:

http://www.getreadytoread.org/screening-tools/early-learning-observation-rating-scale

CELF-4:

http://images.pearsonassessments.com/images/tmrs/tmrs_rg/CELF_4_Tech_Report.pdf?WT.mc_id=TMRS_CELF_4_Technical_Report

Teaching Strategies GOLD:http://shop.teachingstrategies.com/content/pageDocs/GOLD-assessment-system-reports-brochure.pdf

DIAL-3:http://clas.uiuc.edu/special/evaltools/cl02542.html

Denver Prescreening Developmental Questionnaire II:http://denverii.com/denverii/index.php?

route=information/information&information_id=7