The Assessment Process

“As we work with young children in a new century, we need to consider how the available assessment methods are best used” (Wortham & Hardin, 2015, p. 50). This means that along with understanding the purpose of assessment, we must understand the assessment process. Depending on the age of children you are working with, this process will look different. In this discussion forum, we will examine the assessment process as a whole and look at the unique differences of this process based on the age of the children you are assessing. To prepare for this discussion, begin by reading Chapter 2 of your course text, Assessment in Early Childhood Education, and view the Early Childhood Assessment PowerPoint. Then, complete the following two steps:

Step 1: Using a graphic organizer of your choice (such as a Venn diagram or a table), compare and contrast the principles of assessing all children with the principles of assessing just youngchildren.

Step 2: Using the principles of assessment you shared in your graphic organizer, address the following for the age (infants/toddlers, preschoolers, school-aged) of children you plan to work with:

• Discuss how you would implement the assessment process during the year for your chosen age group.
• Synthesize how you would use assessment results for instruction and subsequent evaluation of your instructional program.
• Summarize the challenges in addressing and assessing for standards for your chosen age group as they relate to the principles for assessing young children.