1

Topic 1

Upon completion of this Topic, you should be able to:

1. Identify the purpose of assessment

2. Differentiate between formative and summative assessment
3. Discuss the types of assessment methods
4. List some general principles when assessing children

1.1 What is Assessment?

1.2 Purpose of Assessment
1.3 Types of Assessment Methods
1.4 Formative and Summative Assessment
1.5 Assessment Cycle
1.6 Guidelines for Assessing Children

Words You Should Know

Summary
References
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1.1 What is Assessment?

Four-year-old Sharmila has Five-year-old Farid cannot count. He is

difficulty paying attention and unable to identify the sequence of
completing a task. What can numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and so forth. He
teachers do to help her stay more tends to skip certain number such as 1,
focused? 2, 4, 5, 6 and so forth.

Three-year-old Swee Leong doesn’t talk as well as other

children of his same age. He communicates using gestures and
a few one-word phrases, and his articulation is difficult to
understand. Is his language delayed? Does he need special
services?

The above are stories of problems parents face at home and teachers face in the classroom. Are
they serious? What should the teacher do? A comprehensive assessment system can be useful
in helping teachers and school administrators decide on what to do with Swee Leong, Sharmila
and Farid. Assessments can used to identify appropriate learning materials and teaching
strategies for helping these children. For example, teachers can develop a systematic plan to
document Sharmila’s progress in doing a task and to identify which teaching strategies help
her. Similarly, a screening tool can be used to determine whether there is cause for concern
about Swee Leong’s language development. If results from the screening show a delay, then
recommendations can be made for intervention.

Note that in the paragraph above the word ‘assessment’ is used several
times. The word assessment comes from the word ‘assess’ which
means to assign a value to something. For example, a new born baby
is assessed by a medical practitioner to determine if the child’s hearing
is normal or her vision is normal and so forth. Oftentimes people
associate assessment with testing where a young child is seen sitting
in silence doing a test under stressful conditions (see picture). This is
a narrow meaning of assessment. Assessment is much more than paper
and pencil tests.

= Getting to Know Children

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This is a more accurate meaning of assessment in early childhood education. Assessment is an

ongoing process where multiple methods are used to gather information in an attempt to
better understand children.

Unfortunately, many early childhood teachers and schools use assessment to ‘label’ children.
Giving one 5- year old an ‘A+’ and giving another child a ‘C+’ in mathematics. Or labelling
one child as ‘good’ and another child as ‘average’ in drawing.

Assessment is not intended to label children. This quote

expresses how a child feels about being given labels on his
or her ability. Remember, the 6-year has another 75
years to live. Labelling children at such a young age may
have negative effects on how they feel about themselves.

There is no universally accepted definition of assessment but the following are some
suggestions:

• Huba and Freed (2000) define assessment as the process of gathering information
about children using different methods. The aim is to develop a deep understanding
on what children know, what children can do, how children feel and so forth. Based
on this information, teachers can take steps to improve learning.

• Meisels (2001) defines assessment as the process of gathering ongoing and

comprehensive information about specific aspects of a child’s knowledge, behaviour,
skill level, or personality for the purpose of making decisions.

• Resources for Learning (2014) defines assessment as a process of gathering

information about a child, reviewing the information, and then using the information
to plan educational activities that are at a level the child can understand and is able to
learn from.
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• Rowntree (1977), defines assessment as a process in which a person (teacher or parent

or professional) interacts with a child directly or indirectly with the purpose of
obtaining information about the knowledge, understanding, abilities and attitudes
possessed by the child.

• The Early Years Learning Framework (2015) defines assessment as the process of
gathering and analysing information as evidence of what children know, can do and
understand’

Based on the information gathered, the teacher, parent or professional we can determine
whether Teck Eng who was identified as delay in language needs special help him in
developing his reading skills or whether Khairul who was idenftified as dylexic needs special
attention.

Note the the following key words from the different definitions of assessment:
• Process of collecting data
• Using different methods to gather information
• Collect data on child’s abilities, knowledge & abilities
• Gain a deep understanding of the child
• Use information to make decisions on how to help the child
• Use information to improve teaching and learning

“It is more accurate to say that we assess young children’s behaviours, skills,
competencies, preferences, and interactions than to say that we assess children”

- Washington State Office, 2008).

The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC - 2003) stresses that
the curriculum (what is taught), instruction (how is it taught) and assessment (what children
know and can do) should be closely linked or aligned (see Figure 1.1).

Figure 1.1 Alignment

between Curriculum,
Instruction & Assessment
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In one way or another, all early childhood assessments involve gathering information to
determine the extent to which the learning standards or learning outcomes stipulated in the
curriculum (such as the National Preschool Standard Curriculum – KSPK) have been achieved
by all children.

Based on the information gathered, teachers will modify or change their teaching strategies
and approaches if they realise that some children HAVE NOT achieved the learning
standards. For example, some children are still unable to count after being in kindergarten for
two months or unable to read simple words after being in kindergarten for four months.
Teachers and the school will have to decide on the types and methods to assist them and getting
to know more about the children in their classroom.

a) What is assessment in early childhood education?

b) Do you agree that children should not be labelled?
c) Why should assessment, curriculum and instruction be aligned?

1.2 What is the Purpose of Assessment?

Assessment in early childhood education is complicated and involves the using of different
methods in providing teachers, school administrators and parents with critical information
about a child's development and growth. FOR WHAT PURPOSE? (see Figure 1.2)

Getting to Know Developmental

Children Screening

Keep Parents
Tracking Informed
Progress

Identify Provide
Children With Feedback on
Learning Issues the Programme

Figure 1.2 Purpose of Assessment

in Early Childhood Education
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• Getting to Know the Children

Assessing children in can help teachers to better understand the strengths and
weakness of each individual child. Assessment can help teachers make
adjustments to the environment to improve a child’s behaviour and facilitate
learning. Regular assessment and careful analysis of childrens’ behaviours and
personality traits can help teachers build a stronger relationship with each child
and connect with them in a more meaningful way.

• Tracking Progress
With assessment, teachers will be able to monitor the progress of each child’s
development over time. Assessment should track important changes in each child
over a period of time. Some of the areas that will be assessed should include
cognitive (language skills, mathematics skills, social studies skills), social, physical
and emotional well-being of children.

• Identification of Learning Issues

Assessment is used to determine if there are
children struggling or falling behind in one or more
areas of development. Assessment and regular
reflection can help teachers to more quickly identify
children who may need additional support and
intervention. Having detailed data on each child will
make it easier to discuss with parents about
children who are struggling and can help in setting
future goals for the child.

• Developmental Screening
Developmental screenings are short tests that are conducted to help teachers
identify major developmental delays that indicate the need for a more thorough
diagnostic assessment. Screening assessments should not necessarily screen out
a child as “not ready,” but rather serve as a guide on what to do. For example,
screening for vision problems, screening for hearing problems, screening for
dyslexia, screening for dyscalculia (arithmetic problems) and so forth.
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• Keep Parents Informed

Every parent is keen to know how their children are
getting along in school. It is most important that
teachers and school provide accurate and precise
information about each child. Precise and accurate
information to parents about how their children are
doing in mathematics, reading, writing, speaking,
science and so forth. This means that teachers and
school should conduct assessment of children in a proper manner that will give
results that is reliable, valid and objective and easily understood by parents. It is
unfair to tell parents; “Your daughter is weak in arithmetic” or “Your son cannot
read” and so forth.

• Provide Feedback on the Early Childhood Programme

Assessment that is properly conducted provides feedback to teachers,
school administrators and parents on the strengths and weaknesses of a
programme and how well it meets the goals and needs of the children.
Results from assessment can provide insight into how the mathematics
programme or the language programme that has been implemented is
working. The school may be using the National Preschool Standard
Curriculum (KSPK) or some other early childhood programme. For example,
if your early childhood programme is using the ‘phonics method’ in teaching
language, results from assessment will provide evidence how successful or
unsuccessful is the method. Does the method work for only some children?

a) Assessment is for ‘tracking progress’ of children. Explain

b) Assessment is for ‘identification of learning issues’. Explain
c) Assessment is for providing ‘feedback about the early childhood
programme’. Explain
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1.3 Types of Assessment Methods

Many early childhood specialists argue that teachers and the school that assess children the
early years should use a variety of methods and techniques. Reliance on a few assessment
methods such as ‘paper and pencil tests’ constructed by teachers or taken from workbooks or
downloaded from the internet do not give a holistic picture of the capabilities and abilities of
children. Briefly described below are several of the assessment methods adopted in early
childhood education: [Note that these types of assessment methods will be discussed in detail
in the Topics that follow]

Teacher-Made Tests
Most of you are familiar with ‘paper and pencil tests’ because most of you may have taken
some test or other. Tests are widely used in early childhood education to determine if children
have achieved the level required in subjects such as mathematics, reading, science and so forth.
Tests are given to measure whether children have gained from teaching by the teacher.

Standardised Tests
These tests are administered and scored in a standard manner and are often used to assess the
performance of children in several areas such as language, mathematics and
others. Standardised assessments are typically administered in groups and the performance of
an individual child is compared to the performance of a set of norms. For example, a child who
score 20 on a reading test is compared to the set of norms and it will tell whether the child is
performing above or below standard. Standardised tests are administered under very stringent
rules and procedures. Typically, standardized assessments are paper/pencil-based and designed
to capture only the child’s response without administrator bias

Observations
Observations is an assessment method that is widely used in early childhood education. It is
conducted with minimal or no intrusion into children’s activities. Educators can observe all
facets of development, including intellectual, linguistic, social-emotional, and physical
development, on a regular basis. Observational assessment is based on what a teacher observes
a child to know or be capable of doing. For example, if a teacher wants to know whether or not
a child knows her colours, she may ask the entire class to take out a red colour pencil or crayon
and hold it up high. The teacher can then observe who was able to complete the task
successfully. Observations of child behaviours and skills provide the teacher with a powerful
measure of a child’s abilities.
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Anecdotal records
They are short, factual, narrative
descriptions of child behaviours and
skills over time. Anecdotal records
should be as objective as possible and
only a few sentences long. “Gina, age
4 pretended to read Snow White to
two doll babies and Jessica. She
turned each page and recited with
expression the memorised words on
each page. She showed the pictures in
the book”
Running Records
Running records are similar to anecdotal records but are much longer. An observer objectively
writes in a narrative format everything the child did and said for a specific time period such as
30 minutes. Running records are especially helpful in analysing social skill development or
behaviour concerns.

Portfolios
They are a record of data that is collected through the work children have produced over a
period of time. The collection clearly shows the progress of a child’s development. Portfolios
can be an important tool in helping facilitate a partnership between teachers and parents. A
portfolio is a flexible and adaptable collection over time of various concrete work samples
showing many dimensions of the child’s learning. This type of assessment tool is particularly
ideal for use in the primary grades when children are developing knowledge and skills in
several subject areas at different rates. This type of assessment also focuses on the child’s
strengths and demonstrations of knowledge and skills.

Ratings
They are useful in assessing children’s cognitive and
language abilities as well as their social- emotional
development. These ratings can be linked to other methods of
assessment, such as standardized tests or other assessment
tools. Included are parents’ ratings. Parents are encouraged to observe and listen to their child
can help detect and target important milestones and behaviours in their child’s development.

Home Inventories
Parents may see behaviours and skills that children demonstrate in only the home setting. Home
inventories collect valuable information through a survey or set of short, open-ended response
items completed by the adult at the child’s home.
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1.4 Assessment Cycle

Assessment is a cycle that helps teachers individualise learning for every child. Although
teachers and schools may different assessment method such as paper and pencil tests or
observations, the assessment process is cyclical (see Figure 1.3). The assessment cycle consists
of FOUR steps: Observe & Collect, Analyse & Respond, Evaluate and Summarise, Plan &
Communicate.

Figure 1.3 Four Steps of the

Assessment Cycle

Step 1 – Observe and Collect Facts

A teacher’s daily job involves continual observations of children. “There is always something
new to learn about a child—even a child you think you know well.” When a teacher observes
a child’s knowledge, skills, and behaviours and records these observations systematically, she
discovers what is unique and special about that child; this forms the basis for building a positive
relationship in which teachers can plan experiences that allow the child to flourish.

Step 2 - Analyse and Respond

It involves using the information gained during the first step to respond to each child and
support his or her learning appropriately. Knowing what each child can do in relation to the
objectives for development and learning helps a teacher decide how much support an individual
child needs, as well as whether the classroom routines and rules are working for the group as a
whole. Teachers use this knowledge to help decide when, what, and how to teach.

Step 3 – Evaluate
It means deciding which learning standard or learning outcomes have been achieved and not
achieved. By consistently analysing and evaluating test scores, their observation notes and
portfolio samples, teachers are able to determine each child’s level of knowledge, skills and
behaviours in relation to each objective.
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Step 4 – Summarise, Plan and Communicate

This comprises the final step of the assessment cycle. Teachers summarise what they know
about each child, develop plans for individual children and the group, and then communicate
their findings to families and administrators.

a) Explain the difference between ‘teacher-made tests’ and

‘standardised tests’.
b) What are ‘anecdotal records/?
c) Discuss the FOUR steps of the assessment cycle.

1.5 Formative and Summative Assessment

When do teachers and school conduct assessment? Some schools give children a paper and
pencil test upon completion of a topic, or unit or at the end of each month or at the end of the
semester. There are TWO types of assessment which schools are already doing but may not be
aware of its name. These are called Formative Assessment and Summative Assessment (see
Figure 1.4).

Figure 1.4 Formative and

Summative Assessment

‘When the chef or cook tastes the soup’ it is called formative assessment. You will agree, that
it is common practice for a chef or cook (or anyone cooking) to take taste the food to see if it
has enough salt or is spicy enough and so forth. When the soup is ready and served, and ‘when
the guests taste the soup’, it is called summative assessment.
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FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT
Formative Assessment is also referred to ‘assessment FOR learning’. It is conducted by
teachers during instruction to provide feedback to adjust ongoing teaching and learning to
improve children’s achievement of intended instructional outcomes. The primary purpose of
the formative assessment process, is to provide evidence on the teaching strategies and
techniques used by the teacher is good or needs modifications. Effective formative assessment
involves collecting evidence about how children’s learning is progressing during the course of
teaching so that necessary instructional adjustments can be made to close the gap between
children’s current understanding and the desired goals. Formative assessment is not a
supplement to teaching, but rather integrated into teaching and learning with teachers and
children receiving frequent feedback.

Formative assessment is regarded as a process rather than a particular kind of assessment. In

other words, there is no such thing as “a formative test.” Instead, there are a number of
formative assessment strategies that can be implemented during classroom instruction. These
include observations, interviews, paper and pencil tests, portfolios, checklist, observing
children working with their hands and so forth with the aims of getting evidence of children’s
learning to inform and adjust teaching.

Formative assessment is a process that requires the involvement of both teachers and
children. The children must be actively involved in the assessment process intended to
improve their learning. The process requires the teacher to share learning goals with children
and provide opportunities for children to monitor their ongoing progress.
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Formative assessment is ongoing and is an integral part of teaching and learning in early
childhood education. Teachers should immediately address the difficulties children have
(whether it be numbers, addition, the alphabets, words and other) from the beginning not let it
accumulate until the middle of the year. The moment children have difficulties in learning any
aspect of the syllabus, adjustments have to be made teaching-learning strategies in meeting
the needs of individual children. Among the adjustments teachers could do are re-teaching,
different teaching method, using teaching-aids or offering more opportunities for practice.

SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT
Summative Assessment is also referred to as Assessment OF Learning which seeks to assess
the performance of children at the end of unit, end of the semester or end of the year or at tend
of defined period. In some cases, summative assessment is conducted at the end of a semester
or end of the year to compare grades between early childhood centres in a state or across the
country. Such practice is not widely done in Malaysia.

Summative assessment is used in some early childhood centres to determine how successful
the school has been. These assessments are designed to show how well the child hs done at the
end of the year. Scores on these assessments usually become part of the child’s permanent
record and are statements as to whether or not the child has fallen short of, met, or exceeded
the expected standards. Whereas the results of formative assessments are primarily of interest
to children and teachers, the results of summative assessments are of great interest to families,
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the school as a whole maybe the public at large (However, it is more common practice in
primary and secondary school with the UPSR, PT3 and SPM!).

a) What is formative assessment?

b) What is summative assessment?
c) Explain how you have used both formative and summative assessment in
your school.

1.6 General Principles of Assessment

The following general principles that should be practiced in early childhood centres when
assessing young children:

• Assessment should bring about benefits for children

Gathering accurate information from young children is difficult and potentially
stressful. Assessments must have a clear benefit; either in direct services to the child
or in improved quality of educational programs.

• Assessment should be tailored to a specific purpose and should be reliable, valid,

and fair for that purpose
Assessments designed for one purpose are not necessarily valid if used for other
purposes. In the past, many of the abuses of testing with young children have occurred
because of misuse [The issue about assessment is reliable and valid is discussed further
in Topic 2 – Teacher-Made Tests]

• Assessment policies should be designed recognising that reliability and validity of

assessments increase with children’s age
The younger the child, the more difficult it is to obtain reliable and valid assessment
data. It is particularly difficult to assess children’s cognitive abilities accurately before
age six. Because of problems with reliability and validity, some types of assessment
should be postponed until children are older, while other types of assessment can be
pursued, but only with necessary safeguards.

• Assessment should be age appropriate in both content and the method of data
collection.
Assessments of young children should address the full range of early learning and
development, including physical well-being and motor development; social and
emotional development; approaches toward learning; language development; and
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cognition and general knowledge. Methods of assessment should recognise that

children need familiar contexts to be able to demonstrate their abilities. Abstract paper-
and-pencil tasks may make it especially difficult for young children to show what they
know.

• Assessment should be language appropriate, recognising that to some extent all

assessments are measures of language
Regardless of whether an assessment is intended to measure early reading skills,
knowledge of colour names, or learning potential, assessment results are easily
confounded by language proficiency, especially for children who come from home
backgrounds with limited exposure to English, for whom the assessment would
essentially be an assessment of their English proficiency. Each child’s first- and second-
language development should be taken into account when determining appropriate
assessment methods and in interpreting the meaning of assessment results.

• Parents should be a valued source of assessment information, as well as an

audience for assessment
Because of the fallibility of direct measures of young children, assessments should
include multiple sources of evidence, especially reports from parents and teachers.
Assessment results should be shared with parents as part of an ongoing process that
involves parents in their child’s education.

• Assessment aligns with instructional goals and approaches

Different types of assessments have different purposes. It is important to first determine
what should be measured; then find the assessment program that best assesses those
goals.

• Assessor knows the child

The adult conducting the assessment should have a pre-existing relationship with the
child. Ideally the assessor is the educator.

• Assessment is “authentic.”
Assessment should take place in a child’s normal setting. The assessment should reflect
everyday relationships and experiences. It should be conducted in familiar contexts and
settings (such as the classroom).

• Observations are ongoing and diverse

For a comprehensive assessment, observations should be made at a variety of children’s
activities and be ongoing in order to fully see the progress of a child.
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• Serious misuses of testing with young children occur when assessments intended
for one purpose are used inappropriately for other purposes
For example, some schools use IQ tests which is intended to identify children for special
education for planning teaching and learning. At the same time, assessments designed
for instructional planning may not have sufficient validity and technical accuracy to be
used for placing children in a special kindergarten designated for at-risk children.

• Respect children
Do no harm to any child; avoid questions, attitudes or comments that are judgemental
or insensitive to cultural values, that place a child in danger or expose a child to
humiliation, or that reactivate a child's pain and grief from traumatic events.

• Confidentiality
All reports of assessment should be kept confidential. Only the child and parents of the
child will have to access to assessment results of the child. There should be no attempt
to compare assessment results between children. Of course, NO LABELLING.

a) Discuss some of the guidelines teachers should follow closely when

assessing children in early childhood centres.
b) To what extent have you followed these guidelines when assessing
children in your school?
c) List some of the guidelines you are not aware of when assessing children
in your school.

• Assessment • Tracking progress • Ongoing assessment

• Gathering data • Anecdotal records • Authentic assessment
• Making decision • Portfolio • Confidentiality
• Labelling • Assessment cycle • Be respectful
• Getting to know • Formative assessment • Do not label
children • Summative assessment • Language appropriate
• Alignment • Adjustment of teaching
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• The word assessment comes from the word ‘assess’ which means to assign a value to
something.

• Assessment is ‘getting to know children’.

• Assessment is a ongoing process where multiple methods are used to gather information
in an attempt to better understand children.

• The Early Years Learning Framework (2015) defines assessment as the process of
gathering and analysing information as evidence of what children know, can do and
understand’
• Once you start assessment in an early childhood education setting, you will be able to
monitor the progress of each child’s development over time.

• Assessment is used to determine if there are children struggling or falling behind in one
or more areas of development.

• All assessments involve gathering information to determine the extent to which the
learning standards or learning outcomes stipulated in the curriculum.

• The assessment cycle consists of FOUR steps: Observe & Collect, Analyse & Respond,
Evaluate and Summarise, Plan & Communicate.

• FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT is also referred to ‘assessment FOR learning’. It is

conducted by teachers during instruction to provide feedback.

• SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT is also referred to as ASSESSMENT OF LEARNING

seeks to make an overall finding (or result) of progress made at the end of a defined
period of instruction.

• Assessment should bring about benefits for children.

• Assessment should be tailored to a specific purpose and should be reliable, valid, and
fair for that purpose.

• Assessment should be age appropriate in both content and the method of data collection.

• Parents should be a valued source of assessment information, as well as an audience for

assessment.
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REFERENCES

• Morrison, G.S. (2010). Why is Assessment Important? Pearson Allyn Bacon Prentice
Hall.

• Guddemi, M. P. (2003). The important role of quality assessment in young children

ages 3–8. In Wall, J. & Walz, G. (Eds.) (2003). Measuring up: Assessment issues for
teachers, counselors, and administrators. Greensboro, NC: ERIC Counseling and
Student Services Clearinghouse.

• Pennsylvania Departments of Education and Human Services (2016). Guiding

Principles on Early Childhood Assessment for Educators and Professionals – Birth to
Age 8.

• Shepard, L., Kagan, S. and Wurtz, E. (1998). Principles and Recommendations for
Early Childhood Assessments (Washington, DC: National Education Goals Panel, 5-6.

• Teaching Strategies (2012). The Importance of the Assessment Cycle in The Creative
Curriculum® for Preschool.

• Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (2008). A Guide to

Assessment in Early Childhood; Infancy to Age Eight. Washington DC.