Early Childhood Assessment (Research Paper Sample)

Early Childhood Assessment
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Assessment is used to determine the weakness and strengths of an individual depending on the concept being assessed. Students are evaluated in order for tutors to develop a curriculum that fits all students. Employees are evaluated in their respective work places to determine their productivity .There is also self-evaluation where one usually gets a better understanding of his/her life. Evaluation is, therefore, a process that changes in different stages in life. In each stage the evaluation tools different from the previous ones. The tools used to evaluate a child are different from those used by employees. The effectiveness of the evaluation depends on the tools used, if the tools are not appropriate, the evaluation results lack the accuracy required. The tools have to be related to the concept being evaluated, it is, therefore, important to evaluate the tools first before carrying out the evaluation.
Evaluating young children can be a challenge since evaluation tools have to be productive. Schools offer evaluation programs for the young kids which helps teachers in curriculum and even the teaching methods used. A mistake made during the evaluation can pose a problem on the child growth. Those with the knowledge in early childhood development are involved in evaluating tools and approaches that can be in evaluating the children.
There are a number of factors that have to be considered before carrying out an evaluation on young children. Cultural and linguistic differences have to be given key consideration before making an evaluation. Qualitative and quantitative methods are important when considering the evaluation methods. Various methods can be used in carrying out the evaluation; these methods include observation, interviews and also through evaluating different checklists. Different tools are then integrated in these major methods of evaluation. During the assessment different skill and abilities have to be assessed, some of the abilities include communication skill, social or behavioral skills, learning/monitory skills and also physical skills. The goals of the assessment among young children also need to be identified; some of the goals include identifying the capabilities and needs of the children, to identify whether a child has got special needs and also identifying the appropriate teaching programs.
The Bracken School readiness assessment provides a method that can be used to assess young children in different age groups in school. The evaluation is used to determine whether a child is ready to join school. The assessment involves nurses, rents and teachers giving an assessment test to the children. The first test is the BSRA-3 which requires children to point pictures that contain different names. The tests is divided into five sub sections which are graded using the Bracken Basic Concept Scale .When assessing the BSRA-3 tests, it is divided between children aged 3 years up to 6 years of age. The tests takes between 10-15 minutes but this varies depending on the age group. The test basically covers basic concepts that children need to know, they are supposed tom identify colours, non-verbal response when identifying items, identifying art work and also language tests. There is also a test where the children are supposed to identify letters in upper and lower case as well as identify different colurs.After the test is carried out, children are required to be graded as indicated in the BSRA-3 guide manual. There is also a stimulus book used to identify colours, a record book for recording the scores and a conference form that is recorded by the teachers and parents. The scores are then recorded a raw scores which are the total scores answered correct and percentage mastery scores which are the total correct scores to the total number of scores. This testing tool is appropriate since it is not based only on one concept. When preparing the assessment tools, there are different stakeholders involved who part of child development. Those carrying out the tests have to understand the how is done as well as the environment required to conduct the test.One of the key goals in any asses...