Assessment in the early years

 

Assessment vs observation

I must avow that when I was teaching in preschool, there was not as much information available as there is now to become a reflective practitioner. I used to feel satisfied with the outcomes in my daily practice. However, I acknowledge the fact that I could have been a better teacher if I'd had the opportunity to access this outstanding plethora of information, webinars, and workshops, but above all, if I'd had the opportunity to be part of a collaborative community of teachers to share experiences and to help me reflect on my practice. At that time, the main focus of the assessment was placed on the outcome of assigned tests. The observation was mainly used to elaborate items and tasks in order to develop formal tests. I am currently working on a certification from the British Council about the way children learn and all this new information has shaken my beliefs and conceptions as I came across this statement:

“Young children learn in a very different way to adults or even older children (Guddemi and Chase 2004), which cannot, and should not, be assessed by written ‘exams’ or formal tests. Young children need to express themselves with the whole of their being, during play and without any constraints.” - Kathy Brodie (2013) Observation, Assessment, and Planning in the Early Years: Bringing it all Together

I dug deeper into this enthralling topic and I found out that giving scores to the children may tell us only how familiar they are with the questions or the tasks assigned in a test. Therefore, the validity of the tests could be biased. Moreover, young children may not be familiar with the structure of the questions and the test format as they present cognitive demands beyond the children's understanding. These demands are focused on measuring the child's ability to process the language, but they do not provide information about the child's knowledge of the content being assessed. 

I invite you to watch the following video provided by the British Council 

Now I believe that observation should be the main focus of our practice. We should observe children as they play; we listen to them and take notes. We should do this in their everyday activities and during more structured activities. Through observation, we get to know the child, their interests, their abilities, and their existing knowledge. On the other hand, assessment is about analyzing our observations and understanding their potential. After finding out what the information tells about each child, we ought to highlight what the children CAN do and not what they CAN'T as Scott-Little & Niemeyer posit, "Preschool and kindergarten children are more apt to show than tell what they know" (2001). 

• What do you think about this? Please write your thoughts in the comments