Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Introduction
Assessment is an ongoing process that includes
collecting, synthesizing and interpreting
information about pupils, the classroom and
their instruction.
The younger the child, the more difficult it is to
obtain valid assessments.
Early development is rapid, episodic and highly
influenced by experience.
Performance on an assessment is affected by
childrens emotional states and the conditions
of the assessment.
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assumption
3 assumption
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4 assumption
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Performance assessment
Wiggins (1990) writes that "the best tests always
teach students and teachers alike the kind of work
that most matters; they are enabling and forwardlooking, not just reflective of prior teaching."
The main goals of performance assessment are to
gather data on students that focus on growth over
time rather than comparing them with each other;
to focus on what they know rather than on what
they don't; and to meet the needs of diverse
learning styles, cultural backgrounds, and
proficiency levels.(Tannenbaum)
Assessing reading
Reading is a complex set of skills that
includes specific abilities, such as
naming letters of the alphabet and
knowing their sounds, as well as
broader abilities such as
understanding that there are
different kinds of print (stories,
newspapers, lists, labels, and so on).
.cont.
The best way to assess children's reading skills at
age 3 is to take note of the whole range of their
language and literacy abilities.
To achieve success in learning to read, children must
have strong oral-language skills, including a wide and
deep listening and speaking vocabulary.
They must have plenty of exposure to books, both
hearing them read aloud and exploring them on their
own.
And finally they need to have plenty of opportunities
to write and draw, using a variety of pencils, crayons,
chalk, and kinds of paper.
cont.
Language Comprehension
Language comprehension can be measured in the
same way that you would assess reading
comprehension.
However, with language comprehension, the child
will not be asked to read any text.
From the instructions to the questions, everything
will be verbally presented to the child. It is wise to
compare a childs reading comprehension with his
language comprehension to make sure that he
understands the text both ways.
cont.
Decoding
Oral reading is another form of decoding assessment,
but it isnt a very clean assessment.
Most of the time, children tend to guess words that are
based on the text or clues that are provided by pictures.
This way, the difficulties within the childs guesses are
plainly visible and their difficulties in decoding are
revealed.
However, sometimes the child guesses correctly and so
the teacher will believe that the child decoded the word.
Decoding is typically done by measuring the childs
ability to read words out of the context.
cont.
Linguistic Knowledge
Semantics
Cipher Knowledge
Phoneme Awareness
Letter Knowledge
Background Knowledge
Phonology
Syntax
Lexical Knowledge
Knowledge of the Alphabetical Principle
Concepts about Print
SCORE SHEETS
Refer to notes given
Reading scale
3:Moderately fluent reader
Well-launched on reading but still needs to return to a familiar
range of reader text. At the same time beginning to explore
new kinds of texts independently. Beginning to read silently.
4:Fluent reader
A capable reader who now approaches familiar texts with
confidence but still needs support with unfamiliar materials.
Beginning to draw inferences from books and stories. Reads
independently. Chooses to read silently.
5:Exceptionally fluent reader
An avid and independent reader who is making choices from a
wider range of material. Able to appreciate nuances and
subtlety in text.
ASSESSING WRITING
Refer to notes given
Samples of writing
Sample
Sample
Sample
Sample
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3
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Conclusion
Recent years have seen a growing public interest in early
childhood education. We must guarantee that assessment
reflects our highest educational goals for young children
and neither restricts nor distorts the substance of their early
learning.
This brief sets forth the criteria for a comprehensive and
balanced assessment system that meets the need for
accountability while respecting the well-being and
development of young children.
Such a system can include testing, provided it measures
applicable knowledge and skills in a safe and child-affirming
situation. It can also include informal assessments, provided
they too meet psychometric standards of reliability and
validity.