For the past three weeks, we have beening talking about assessment tools for early childhood classroom. Before one decides on what type of assessment tools, they must remember the purpose of assessment.
- To plan instruction for individuals and/or groups of children
- To communicate with and assist learners in reflection on their own learning
- To communicate with families about individual children's progress
- To identify children and families who need specialized programs and support services
- To evaluate program quality, teaching methods
In my early childhhod classroom, I will use preformance and portfolio assessment. Preformance assessment is designed so the students create a response form their existing knowledge base. The teacher may use a variety of formats in performance assessment, including products that the students construct. This type of assessment may involve several levels of cognitive processing and reasoning and may allow educators to tap into areas not assessed by more traditional types of assessment. Portfolio assessment is a collection of student work that provides a holistic view of the student's strengths and weaknesses. The portfolio collection contains various work samples, permanent products, and test results from a variety of instruments and methods.
