Assessment and evaluation in early childhood education has a variety of benefits. Assessment can support young children on a grand scale, like in program planning and research, and on an individual basis, like when children are diagnostically evaluated or identified for health and social services (Wortham, 2012). It also helps with accountability standards for schools, teachers, and individual students (Wortham, 2012). Assessment of young children began with Johann Pestalozzi and the child study movement, where children began to be seen as individuals rather than "pre-adults" (Berger, 2016; Wortham, 2012). It evolved as programs like Head Start and federal legislation for children with disabilities attempted to level the playing field for children. According to Wortham (2012), testing should use multiple sources of information, benefit the child and improve learning, involve the child and family, and be fair for all children. Wortham also outlines 9 principles for assessment of young children:
Assessment is ongoing
Assessment focuses on progress
There is a contextual framework for understanding the results
Methods of assessment are appropriate
Assessment includes scaffolded experiences
Assessment involves familial input
Assessments are tailored to a purpose
Major decisions do not rely on assessment results alone
Follow-up occurs after red flags are indicated in assessment.
One major concern about testing in the modern era is its influence on program funding (Fair Test, 2003). Fair Test (2003) suggest that testing young children should result in stronger teaching practices and not serve as an evaluative method. Another concern is fairness- again and again traditional testing, standardized testing in particular, proves to be inadequate for children of cultural and linguistic diversity (Wortham, 2012). The child is a holistic being, and the principles for assessment outlined above help educators and other professionals design, implement, and execute testing that shows a more holistic picture of the child and serves positive purposes that support young children and families.
I was interested in learning more about how testing of young children occurs in England. I learned that a program called National Curriculum Assessments began in the 1990's where children are tested at ages 7, 11, and 14, and has been revamped this year (Richardson, 2016). These tests focus on reading, math, spelling, punctuation, and grammar, and are described as rigorous and face stark criticism among parents, with some families even staging a walk-out of school in response to the updated standards (BBC, 2016). Ethical challenges exist in England too, where the highest performing schools on the Sats (the National Curriculum Assessments) are ranked and published (BBC, 2016). Teachers in England are advocating for a change in policy- they say the tests are too hard (Richardson, 2016). According to Richardson (2016), some of the teachers are wary that the updates to the testing process involve teachers grading their own children’s tests with little guidance on the scoring process. These tests, like many in the United States, focus on only certain aspects of development. In my opinion, these standardized tests are not appropriate for young children and certainly should not inform school ranking or funding. The testing process in England is remarkably similar to that in the United States, and we face similar ethical issues about what makes a test reliable, how to test children, and the purpose for testing children.
References
BBC (2016, May 16). Primary tests: What are the changes? BBC News. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/education-35907385
Fair Test (2003). Head Start letter. Retrieved from http://www.fairtest.org/nattest/Head_Start_Letter.html
Richardson, H. (2016, April 29). Primary tests in England too hard, say head teachers. BBC News. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/education-36160158
Wortham, S. C. (2012).
Assessment in Early Childhood Education (6
th ed.). Boston: Pearson.
