8083 Dis 2 Mod1 Info

Read a selection of your colleagues’ postings.

Respond to two of your colleagues whose posts are different from your own in the following ways of 125 words:

· Selection of a different formal assessment: Review the Mental Measurements Yearbook (available through the Walden Library) and verify the information posted on use, validity, and reliability or find a research article discussing this assessment. Analyze your colleagues’ responses. Explain why you agree or disagree with the information in the post, adding information from your selected source. Add information your colleagues need to know about this assessment.

· Selection of a different summative or formative assessment: Respond by discussing why or why not the assessment is developmentally appropriate using NAEYC standards.

Simon Kim 

After reviewing the relationship between healthy development of young children across all domains and annual assessments, the assessments have a tremendous impact on early childhood development programs offered in preschools and the early grades of primary schools. Some of these annual assessments require continuous observation, monitoring, and evaluating developmental and learning progress to allow an accurate annual assessment to be achieved. One specific tool that focuses on teacher-student interactions as the key to the learning progress is the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) which is a proven assessment tool developed at the School Center for Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning that allows an effective way to measure teacher-student interactions in the classroom and offer suggestions for improving these interactions across any age group or subject matter (University of Virginia/School of Education and Human Development, 2021). The CLASS tool involves four cycles of 15 minutes observations of teachers and students by a certified CLASS observer, and  the interactions are rated using a manual of behaviors and responses (University of Virginia/School of Education and Human Development, 2021). This is an observational teacher-assessment tool that clarifies teachers’ behaviors to student gains and has proven to work in many classrooms from preschool to high school (University of Virginia/School of Education and Human Development, 2021).

          Another important assessment tool is Teaching Strategies GOLD which is an ongoing observational system of children’s development in the context of everyday experience from birth through kindergarten based on 38 objectives for developmental learning that involve predictors of school success and grounded on school readiness standards (Teaching Strategies, 2021). The assessment areas involving these objectives include: physical, socio-emotional, language, literacy, cognitive, mathematics, social studies, science and technology, and arts development (Teaching Strategies, 2021). The assessment approach provides a more broad, meaningful interpretation of a young child’s whole development. The two examples of assessment tools demonstrate the rationale for their usage and applications to monitor children’s development and progress across all domains and also clarify the teacher’s behaviors and instructional styles to see what is working effectively in interacting with young learners. Research on the relationship between assessment tools and the healthy developmental and learning progress of young children show a clearer picture that can be drawn regarding the importance and value of the tools.

            One area is young children developing and learning technical skills by interacting with electronic devices such as tablets and computers which is emphasized by the Teaching Strategies GOLD as the science and technologies learning domain. Herodotou (2018) conducted a systematic review of studies involving 2-5-year-olds interacting with electronic tablets across subject areas and found positive effects in literacy development, science, mathematics, problem solving, and self-efficacy which implies that developmental progress for children interacting with the tablets or any electronic device will be relevant and important to incorporate into ongoing, daily, and annual assessments for educators. Also, research indicates that young learners are experiencing positive effects from their interactions with the tablets. Teachers and educators need to assess and evaluate the interactions through measurable standards to allow progress and development to be tracked. One of the objectives of the Teaching Strategies GOLD is development in children using technological tools in their learning tasks (Teaching Strategies, 2021). Another study conducted by Margaret Burchinal, writing for Child Development and Perspectives, found that her most significant critique of high-quality early care and educational (EDC) programs is that more focus needs to be placed on teacher-student interactions and assessing these appropriately so that progress can be charted for both teacher and student in improving the quality of the interactions (Burchinal, 2018). The study demonstrates that assessment tools such as Teaching Strategies GOLD and CLASS which effectively measure the quality of teacher-student interactions are especially valuable. This is also supported by experience being an educator of young children and how the interactions between the educator and student learners is an area that requires professional assessment consistently to improve the quality of education for young learners. By having these assessment tools available and using them for purposes of improving teacher-student interactions can bring benefits for both teachers and students.  

References

Burchinal, M. (2018). Measuring early care and education quality. Child Development Perspectives, 12(1), 3-9.

Herodotou, C. (2018). Young children and tablets: A systematic review of effects on learning and development. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 34(1), 1-9.

Teaching Strategies. 2021. Teaching Strategies GOLD Birth Through Kindergarten Touring Guide.  Teaching Strategies – GOLD-Touring-Guide_5-2013.pdf (buffalo.edu)

University of Virginia/School of Education and Human Development. 2021. Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS).  Classroom Assessment Scoring System™ | School of Education and Human Development | University of Virginia

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Katheryn Gonzales 

RE: Discussion – Module 2

COLLAPSE

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Age Group: Pre-K

What are Assessments Used For:

There are many types of assessments that provide teachers, parents, and families with important information about a child’s development. These assessments give a record of growth and development in the areas of cognitive, physical, social-emotional, and language development. Educators and parents can use both formal and informal assessments to inform parents and stakeholders about a child’s progress. Formal assessments include tools like questionnaires and standardized tests, while informal assessments can include observations, portfolios, teacher ratings, and data collected by educators (Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care, n.d.)

Observations are an informal assessment that is useful when assessing a child’s physical, social-emotional, cognitive, and linguistic development. The strengths of using observations as an assessment is that it uses the child’s natural environment without intrusions by adults. However, the weakness in this is that the results are a one-time event, and it is difficult to know if the results are valid and reliable. Observations are an informal assessment that are on-going (Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care, n.d.).

Another assessment that is given to pre-k students in the state of Georgia is a formative assessment called the Work Sampling System. This assessment is an authentic assessment that is an instructional assessment that is designed to help teachers make instructional decisions in regard to physical, social, cognitive, and linguistic domains. This assessment also gives teachers information on who needs interventions. This assessment is important because it is authentic and allows teachers a method of sharing information with families and upcoming schoolteachers. One weakness with this assessment is that it offers indicators that not all pre-k teachers can assess based on their instructional model (Georgia’s Pre-K Work Sampling System Assessment Program, 2020). There is no current reliable data concerning this assessment due to the lack of performance assessment taken as well as the issue of the raters being subjective on their evaluations. The test has been determined to have evidence towards validity as the test measures line up with state standards (Bliss et al, 2017).

Letter identification assessments are a summative assessment that assess students letter knowledge at least three times a year. This form of assessment is a universal screening that is norm referenced, valid, and reliable. This form of assessment is given as a diagnostic at the beginning of the year, formative during the year, and summative at the end of the year. Teachers use the information from this assessment to determine whether a child needs interventions or if they are at risk for reading difficulties. This assessment is a useful tool for sharing information with families and educators to meet the needs of the student (Assessment in Practice, 2014).

Assessment: In Practice. (2014, May 1). Reading Rockets.

https://www.readingrockets.org/teaching/reading101- course/modules/assessment/assessment-practice

‌Bliss, S. L., & Johnson, R. L. (2017). Work Sampling System, 5th Edition (The). The Twentieth

Mental Measurements Yearbook.

Georgia’s Pre-K Work Sampling System Assessment Program. (2020). Ga.gov.  https://www.decal.ga.gov/Prek/PreKChildAssessmentProgram.aspx

Libretexts. (2021, January 4). 6.3: Assessing Children’s Development. Social Sci LibreTexts. https://socialsci.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Early_Childhood_Education/Book%3A_Observation_and_Assessment_in_Early_Childhood_Education_(Peterson_and_Elam)/06%3A_Using_Documentation_and_Assessment_to_Communicate_with_Families/6.03%3A_Assessing_Childrens_Development

Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care (EEC). (n.d.). Early childhood

assessment.  http://resourcesforearlylearning.org/fm/early-childhood-assessment/

Michelle Hampton 

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I will focus on school-aged children. Teachers can use assessments to check the cognitive, social-emotional, and physical development of their students throughout the school year as well as to determine interventions that may be needed. Based on the assessment results, they can fill in learning gaps as students prepare for their future learning.

Summary of the Assessment Tools

The following assessments are used for school aged children: student observation for formative assessment; development reading assessment (DRA) for summative assessment; checklist for informal assessment; and reading and running records for formal assessment.

(a) Student observation

Observation is important as it helps teachers determine whether students grasp concepts. It can occur in whole-group activities or during playtime. If several students are struggling with a particular skill, the teacher can use their observations to form a small group or provide one-on-one guidance. Observation gives teachers the chance to step back and "see" the child in a new way. Through it, teachers can focus on the child rather than being distracted by everyday learning and caregiving routines. Furthermore, it enables the teacher to see how the child demonstrates skills and abilities during ordinary moments of the day. In other words, observation helps the teacher see the "whole child" in his natural setting. This tool is both valid and reliable as teachers are able to determine how the child interacts with others, if the child is developing cognitively and physically, and determine what academic skills the child may need more support with. One strength is that observations have been proven to be effective when documenting a child’s behavior, development, and when determining their strengths and weaknesses in order to provide accommodations. However, even though observations can be reliable, as Shepard et al. (1988) explains, it must only be used to for one purpose at a time.

(b) Developmental reading assessment

DRA is a standardized reading test used to determine a student’s instructional level in reading. The DRA is administered individually to students by teachers and/or reading specialists. Students read a selection (or selections) and then retell what they have read to the examiner. As the levels increase, so does the difficulty level for each selection. It is administered to students individually and help assess fluency, accuracy, decoding skills, comprehension, and vocabulary. One strength is that it can provide a teacher with a great deal of data regarding students reading abilities. However, this type of assessment consumes much time. Wadhams (2017) indicates that DRA is both valid and reliable.

(c) Reading Running Records

Running records allows teachers to record information regarding student performance in reading over an extended period of time. Running records are a formative assessment and are one way to document teacher observations of reading behaviors. The process of conducting a running record includes the teacher taking notes on the student’s errors and corrections when he or she is orally reading a leveled text (Stegman, 2015). A running record can provide data regarding students reading abilities, assess their strengths and weakness, and help the teacher determine if interventions may be needed. Teachers normally use running records to determine the child’s reading level and reading behaviors to help guide in the selection of appropriate interventions (Fawson et al., 2006). Running records can be time-consuming due to having to be completed on every student over an extended period of time. According to Fawson et al. (2006), running record reliability is related to conditions and factors within the text and also to factors within the student. Teachers completing the running records have varied levels of experience and are making decisions on a wide array of reading behaviors that the child demonstrates.

(d) Checklist

Checklists are assessment tools that set out specific criteria that can be used to measure skills and progress development. Checklists can set out skills, attitudes, strategies, and behaviors for evaluation about a student or group of students. A checklist is easy and quick to use and helps the teacher stay focused on specific areas. It can also be used to inform instruction and determine interventions that may be needed. Although a checklist provides a quick and easy way to assess a child, they can leave out important information that is not listed. If using a checklist to assess a child’s behavior, while the specific behaviors listed on the checklist give the evaluation focus, they can also limit the assessment, giving an incomplete picture of the child's behavior. A checklist leaves no gray area for kids who might exhibit a particular behavior only in certain situations or only partially demonstrate. The checklist doesn't take into consideration things like the amount of time it takes to exhibit the behavior, events leading up to a particular behavior or environmental factors that could affect how the child acts. Because of the preciseness of a checklist on what is being observed, they would not be deemed valid or reliable.

Conclusion

Teachers must understand the significance of using developmentally appropriate assessments that are reliable and valid. It is also important that teachers implement various types of assessments and assessment tools in order to get a picture of the entire child, both developmentally and academically. Teachers also need to share with the data that they gain from these assessements with the families so that they are kept up-to-date on their child’s progress, or lack thereof, and what accommodations can be made to help their child be successful. Family involvement in the assessment process is key to providing what is best practices. Family involvement can be achieved through the following ways: (1) allow families to be advocates for their child and describe what they hope for their child to learn; (2) teaming up with parents to have assistance in the assessment tools used; and (3) providing families with the opportunities to receive and discuss assessment data in regards to their child’s strengths and weaknesses. Furthermore, providing opportunities for parents to understand and appreciate their children's efforts, signs of progress and achievement over time can provide teachers with useful information to assist with each child's learning.

References

Fawson, P. C., Ludlow, B. C., Reutzel, D. R., Sudweeks, R., & Smith, J. A. (2006). Examining the reliability of running records: Attaining generalizable results. The Journal of Educational Research, 100(2), 113-126.

Shepard, L., Kagan, S. L., & Wurtz, E. (Eds.). (1998). Principles and recommendations for early childhood assessments. National Education Goals Panel. Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED416033.pdf

Stegman, B. (2015). Formative Assessment: 7 Tips to Make Running Records Manageable and Useful. George Lucas Educational Foundation. https://www.edutopia.org/blog/make-running-records-manageable-useful-bridget-stegman

Wadhams, K. (2017). Multiple Measures of Reading Assessment and the Effects on Data-Driven Instruction (Doctoral dissertation).

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