CHAPTER 3
Assessment
AUTHENTIC ASSESSMENTS
1. Visit in a field work early childhood setting and through observation in the classroom and discussion with
the teacher, describe the types of assessments used and their intended purposes. Write a short paper on
your learning.
2. In a classroom setting over time, with teacher permission, select one child and assess his or her progress
and learning using at least three types of documentation.
3. Add to your own personal philosophy statement, at least one page addressing your beliefs that relate to
appropriate early childhood assessment.
4. Develop your own set of guidelines for early childhood assessment that will be posted in your future
classroom for parents and visitors to read.
SUGGESTED TEST QUESTIONS
1. The best measure of a child’s success will be the child’s performance on a standardized test.
2. Assessment tests should be used to determine grade or level placement for children.
3. Early childhood professionals should use entrance tests to determine readiness and admittance for
kindergarten.
4. Letter grades and scores should not be used until after 3rd grade.
5. During early childhood years (K-3rd grade) paper-and-pencil tests are not as appropriate as hands-on
activities for assessment purposes.
6. Group-administered standardized tests are recommended once children are in 1st grade.
7. Reflection is an important element for children in an early childhood portfolio.
8. Rubrics are not an appropriate use of self-assessment in early childhood.
9. Assessment information should be used at parent-teacher conferences to confirm the child’s abilities and
achievements and provide proof of the child’s developmental level.
Fill–in-the-Blank Questions
1. Tests used primarily to identify potential problem areas with young children are called
.
2. Tests used to determine what children have learned are called .
3. Documentation is _____________________________ of individual children’s growth and
Multiple-Choice Questions
1. When early childhood teachers use a needs assessment, they learn
I. individual children’s strengths.
II. developmental needs of individual children.
III. competencies that need to be taught and those that need stressing.
IV. which children can be advanced and which retained.
a. All of the above b. II, III, IV
c. I, III, IV d. I, II, III
2. Assessment
I. is the process of determining the degree to which children‘s needs are being met.
II. is the procedure to determine the extent to which desired objectives are achieved.
III. includes evaluating the teacher’s role and functioning in the classroom during a particular
time period.
IV. includes evaluating the performance of the children.
V. encourages adjustments and redirection in the curriculum planning and teaching in the
classroom.
a. All of the above b. I, II, IV, V
c. II, III, IV d. I, III, V
3. Observation-based data:
I. Describe specifically what is seen and heard.
II. Consider the whole child.
4. Some of the purposes of assessment in early childhood are:
I. Document children’s learning and achievement.
II. Monitor development of the whole child.
III. Identify and support meeting the needs of exceptional children.
IV. Determine which children should be retained in a particular grade.
V. Identify children who need early intervention.
a. All of the above b. I, II. V
c. I, III, IV, and V d. I, II, III, and V
1. Describe four guidelines for early childhood assessment.
2. Describe some tools or techniques for acquiring assessment information.
3. Describe five specific types of documentation.
4. As an early childhood teacher, describe how you might use checklists for assessment purposes.
Chapter 3
