Assessments for children

Assessments should be made and given to benefit children. They should be tailored to a specific purpose and should be reliable, valid, and fair for that purpose. When assessing children, one should address the full range of early learning and development, including physical well-being and motor development; social and emotional development; approaches toward learning; language development; and cognition and general knowledge. When I was a Head Start teacher, every nine weeks we had to assess each child holistically using a ten page form. The information we got from this assessment was used to help us pin pint areas where the child was weak and strong. We would share this with the parents and they worked with us to help their child. In the three year old classroom, play was a big component of my curriculum. Through play, I could observe when a child was having difficulty; whether it was physically or socially. My interactions with that child and my curriculum were aimed at improving their weaknesses. With older children, I think it is important to understand that some of them find paper and pencil tasks intimidating therefore at a high risk of failing. This is causes an incorrect measurement of their skills. Their skills need to be assessed in a familiar context. Children need to feel comfortable while they are being assessed for actual skill measurement.

           

           While researching assessment in other countries, I found Finland’s approach to educational assessment to be the most interesting. In Finland, children start school when they are seven years old and may go to preschool before if the parents choose to. They are graduated from school by the ninth grade and can continue grades 10-12 if they choose to. While in school, assessments follow these principles:

 • Assessment of study skills, working skills and behavior should be individual, truthful and versatile

• Feedback should support the development of self-knowledge and motivation of the pupil

 • Learning-to-learn, learning to set goals for own learning, studying and working at school have been understood to be key competencies for life-long learning

• According to the legislation (Act for comprehensive education 628/1998) assessment is considered to be a tool to counsel and support studying and learning, and to develop the pupil's self-evaluation skills;

• Student assessment is divided into two phases:

1. Evaluation during the studies is based on the goals and framework defined by the curriculum guidelines and school's syllabus. Assessment is focused on the learning and development process of an individual pupil.

2. The second phase deals with the school leaving certificate (final school report) which should be nationally comparable and the pupils should be equally treated. The orders dealing with the school leaving certificate are connected with the joint application system. The pupils apply for a study place in the second stage of secondary education (either upper secondary general or vocational education) through the joint application system.

The key priorities for student assessment are:

1. Student assessment should contribute to the socialization process and the individual development of the pupil. Development has a broad connotation here, it includes cognitive development, development of learning skills and social/ emotional development

2. Student assessment should contribute to the development of a pupil’s study, learning and working skills (self-regulation skills).

3. Student assessment should contribute to the development of general skills and knowledge.

4. Student assessment supports pupils in obtaining a study place after compulsory education.

The principles and goals of the assessments in the schools of Finland support each child’s individual development and growth. Towards the end of the article, it explains how teachers help the students and gives a detailed explanation of their teaching methods. I like the methods and approaches!

Here is the article: http://www.oecd.org/edu/ceri/34260381.pdf