Questions: Ask Dr. Katz
Archive: Question 5
Dr. Katz
The issue you raise is such an important one. My own reservations about the use of standardized testing with very young children include, first of all, recognition that they are notoriously poor test takers. (Many adults are also poor test takers, but the young ones are even worse!) They are easily distracted and may not be fully aware of what the test giver really wants. I wonder if you have heard the true story about a Head Start teacher who was giving the required test to a child in which she had to point to various parts of her body--nose, eyes, ears, etc., and ask the child, “What do you call this?” The child was fine with it until the teacher raised her thumb, and the child's answer was "Good Job!" She then asked again, "What do you call this?" and again he responded, "Good Job!" She tried again with the same result and eventually had to fail the child on that item!
A related problem is that testing almost always requires high levels of specificity, and there seems to be a general rule that the more specific a test item is, the more trivial it is.
Furthermore, a child’s patterns of development vary such that there are often slow periods and spurts, so that it is easy to misjudge a child who might have reached a plateau for a while.
There are alternative strategies for evaluating a child's progress, such as Sam Meisel's Work Sampling System adapted for Illinois preschool settings as Work Sampling Illinois (PDF). Some teachers may use portfolios of children's work or other kinds of documentation. If, however, a parent or teacher has a concern that a developmental delay (e.g., in speech) may have an impact on evaluation of a young child’s progress, it may be best to consult an expert.
Web Resources
Eager to Learn: Educating Our Preschoolers
Issues in Standardized Assessment of Young Children (see pages 235-240)
http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?isbn=0309068363
Assessment in Early Childhood Education.
http://wps.prenhall.com/chet_childhood_cluster_1/0,6413,497909-,00.html
Key Resources from the Early Childhood Education Assessment Consortium (ECEA) State Collaborative on Assessment and Student Standards (SCASS) on Early Childhood Assessment
http://www.ccsso.org/projects/scass/projects/
early_childhood_education_assessment_consortium/publications_and_products/3002.cfm
Assessments and Young Children
http://www.nasbe.org/index.php/file-repository?func=download&id=155&chk=53561414248ebbbeb52f82b4aad1ce77&no_html=1
Principles and Recommendations for Early Childhood Assessments 1998
http://www.ccsso.org/content/PDFs/NEGPgoal1.pdf
Critical Issue: Assessing Young Children's Progress Appropriately
http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/students/earlycld/ea500.htm
Performance Assessment in Early Childhood Education: The Work Sampling System
http://ceep.crc.uiuc.edu/eecearchive/digests/1995/meisel95.html
Early Childhood Curriculum, Assessment, and Program Evaluation (see pages 10-13)
http://www.naeyc.org/about/positions/pdf/CAPEexpand.pdf
Choosing an Appropriate Assessment System
http://www.journal.naeyc.org/btj/200401/shillady.pdf
School Readiness Assessment
http://www.journal.naeyc.org/btj/200401/maxwell.asp
Assessment Basics: From Observation to Instruction
http://www.ccids.umaine.edu/ec/growingideas/assesstip.htm
Integrating the Illinois Early Learning Standards and Performance Assessment
http://illinoisearlylearning.org/chat/grace/trans.htm
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