Summary, conclusions
and reflections on
assessment
© McLachlan, Edwards, Margrain & McLean 2013
Assessment in the early years
reconsidered
We began by thinking about the many aspects of
assessment, which included:
• Thinking about what assessment is for;
• Different approaches to assessment;
• The relationship between educator beliefs about
learning, teaching and assessment; and
• The role of assessment in meeting children’s
developmental and learning needs
Thinking forward about assessment
• A pathways model of assessment has been proposed,
which includes:
• a foundation of principles for effective assessment;
• identifies that children need to be assessed using a range of
tools that are fit for purpose; and
• that teachers need to be able to identify when they need the
support of families and agencies to help with children's
learning.
• Principles of how to develop a portfolio of assessment
strategies for assessing the ‘whole child’ are considered
Understanding learning and
development through assessment
• A key notion underpinning assessment in ECE is that it should be
appropriate for understanding the learning and development of the
youngest members of our society. Learning is more like a roadmap
than orderly and sequential and we need to be alert to children’s
diverse learning pathways and journeys.
• It is helpful for teachers to know typical progressions, as this can
help teachers identify when children need further support.
• The concept of ‘need’ is synonymous with ‘right’ in terms of
assessment of the very young as children have the right to receive
focused support. Assessment is one of the ways in which children
can have their needs and their rights ascertained.
Assessment of young children
• Ensuring that assessment is fair and meaningful is a core
aspect of effective assessment of young children.
• The assessment should benefit children and their learning, be
appropriate to children’s age and cultural experiences, and
value parental contribution.
• Children are active and contributing agents in their social
contexts and learning and therefore also in their assessment.
• When teachers know what children can do, understand
children’s interests, and are aware of areas where children
may require additional support, they can plan teaching
experiences and curriculum that support further learning.
Contemporary assessment in ECE
Contemporary approaches to assessment in early childhood
education include the following criteria:
• Consider the whole child – reflecting the holistic way children
learn
• Include groups of children – acknowledging the collaborative
nature of learning
• Are accessible to families and children as well as to staff with a
range of qualifications
• Provide insights into children’s interests, dispositions and
learning process
• Include the voices of children and families
Changing theories of learning and
development
• Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory (1978) has informed research in
the area of assessment because it has shifted the focus of
assessment from the individual child to understanding what and
how children are learning through their social interactions within
a given context.
• Recent thinking about assessment has been informed by postdevelopmental theories (Nolan & Kilderry 2010; Lim & Genishi
2010) which emphasise that there are many ways of thinking
about children and childhood.
• Rather than thinking about there being one ‘true’ way to
understand how children learn and develop, educators can draw
on multiple ideas and representations of how children might
learn and what learning can be like.
Ongoing assessment
• Ongoing assessment processes provide validation of the
different pathways that children take to reach learning
outcomes
• In order for this to occur, culturally and linguistically
inclusive assessment, teaching, and curriculum practices
must prevail
• Teachers need to identify what each child brings to the
learning context and make curriculum and pedagogical
decisions aimed at fostering further learning and
development
Assessment of, for and as learning
• Assessment of learning examines what children know or can do – it
is usually retrospective and looks at what learning has occurred
previously and what skills or competencies have been achieved
• Assessment for learning is described as the process of gathering
and analysing information as evidence about what children know,
can do and understand
• Assessment as learning is an active process of cognitive
restructuring that occurs when children interact with new ideas and
critically assess their own progress; most likely to be seen when
children are involved in the assessment process
Our key principles for assessment
Assessment should:
• Gather information about ‘the whole child’ across developmental
domains
• Have purpose and involve key stakeholders, including the child
• Be part of long, medium and short term curriculum planning
• Be authentic and reflect learning and development in the child’s social
and cultural contexts
• Be inclusive of children with special learning needs
• Be ongoing and responsive to new developments in technology
• Occur at major points of transition for the child
Using the right tools
• Needs to address multiple perspectives
• Needs to incorporate the mantra of Reflect, Respect and Relate
• Recognise that curriculum planning, assessment and evaluation
are inseparable
• There should be constructive alignment between teachers’ beliefs
and views about learning, teaching, learning strategies and
assessment practices
• Strength-based assessment should be multidisciplinary,
multidimensional, multimethod, multisource, multicontext,
multicultural, proactive and involve ongoing information
exchange
Assessment of exceptional learners
• Teachers and other professionals need to gather
appropriate and relevant data about the range of skills
and competencies children have
• Such tools may need to move beyond the learning story
and include standardised tests with appropriate ceilings
and limits, formal behavioural observations and scales
• There is a common rhetoric that the modern teacher
works with all children ‘where they are at’, yet tools are
seldom used that truly allow teachers to ascertain where
the ‘at’ is; using the rights tools is crucial
Fit for purpose assessment
The principles of fit for purpose assessment are the following:
• It is used for making decisions about children and future teaching
and learning
• It involves the use of multiple assessment strategies
• It is integrally related to teaching, learning and curriculum planning
• It is used to support learning and to identify barriers to learning
• It is aligned to theoretical world views but based on sound empirical
research evidence
• It acknowledges children’s strengths but involves multiple measures
• It involves an appropriate range of tools for exceptional learners
Working with families and agencies
• Curriculum documents in both New Zealand and Australia specify that
teachers must work with families to assess children’s progress and to
identify when children need further support. We have argued that
responsibility for children’s learning is a partnership between teachers,
families and special education personnel.
• Bagnato’s (2007, pp. 4-6) eight criteria of utility, acceptability,
authenticity, collaboration, convergence, equity, sensitivity and
congruence are all of importance to developing an assessment plan that
meets the needs of children, their families, their teachers and the
specialised personnel from various agencies who may become involved
in their learning and development.
• Assessment must present a full picture of what the child is capable of at
home and at school and for this reason, the involvement of all parties is
not only desirable, but required. As the African proverb so rightfully
says, ‘it takes a whole village to raise a child’.
The unique issues of assessment of
young children
• Because children’s development is so rapid, assessment
needs to be frequent, ongoing and encompass a
‘feedback loop’ that takes into account development,
teaching strategies and intervention
• Assessment of young children needs to be dynamic and
ongoing
• Assessment of young children is best when it is
formative and ipsative
• Ethical issues associated with digital forms of
assessment need to be considered
Summary and conclusions
• Assessment is always a contentious topic, probably because
of its importance in child’s learning and development and it is
one that teachers often agree to disagree on
• We hope we have provided you with food for thought on the
assessment of the very young, as well as some practical
strategies and new ideas to try out in your centre or school
• We hope that you have enjoyed the opportunity to reflect
upon contemporary understandings of learning and
development and their implications for the assessment of our
youngest children