Read, read, read!
Everyone needs to play!
It is so important to give children a solid foundation to build their successes upon!
Friday, December 19, 2014
Saturday, December 6, 2014
Assessing Learning
There are many types of assessment programs for Early Childhood Programs. Some of these include: Brigance, DECA (Devereux Early Childhood Assessment), and ASQ (Ages and Stages Child Monitoring Program). When these assessments are administered seems to be based on the individual program. Most early childhood programs will assess a child after they have been in the program for at least 30 days.
I have found that these assessment tests allow me to see which areas a child may need more learning experiences in and which areas a child may be strong in. For example, I may discover through assessment testing that a four year old has exceptional language development, but may require more exposure to early experiences in mathematics.
As a result of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, elementary school-aged children in Connecticut currently partake in standardized testing. They have to take the CMT's (Connecticut Mastery Test) and the CAPT's (Connecticut Academic Performance Test). Standardized testing is a hot topic of debate. Some believe that standardized tests are an accurate tool for testing academic achievement and some believe that the there are too many variables that can produce flawed results. I believe that standardized tests can be used, but should not be the sole determining factor of a child's progress.
Many argue that the United States does too much testing. There is alot of debate surrounding the Common Core Standards that have been implemented throughout the public school system. However, other countries also test their children's academic progress. For example, Finland requires only one test. That's right! One test. This one test is administered at the end of high school and spans of six days. Over forty hours of testing! Most of their universities also require passing entrance exams. That's double testing back to back. Japanese children have to pass a placement exam in order to get into high school!
I believe that we do need to assess children's learning and academic progress in order to better support them for success. How we go about that still needs some work.
References
http://www.npr.org/2014/04/30/308057862/u-s-tests-teens-a-lot-but-worldwide-exam-stakes-are-higher
http://standardizedtests.procon.org/#background
I have found that these assessment tests allow me to see which areas a child may need more learning experiences in and which areas a child may be strong in. For example, I may discover through assessment testing that a four year old has exceptional language development, but may require more exposure to early experiences in mathematics.
As a result of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, elementary school-aged children in Connecticut currently partake in standardized testing. They have to take the CMT's (Connecticut Mastery Test) and the CAPT's (Connecticut Academic Performance Test). Standardized testing is a hot topic of debate. Some believe that standardized tests are an accurate tool for testing academic achievement and some believe that the there are too many variables that can produce flawed results. I believe that standardized tests can be used, but should not be the sole determining factor of a child's progress.
Many argue that the United States does too much testing. There is alot of debate surrounding the Common Core Standards that have been implemented throughout the public school system. However, other countries also test their children's academic progress. For example, Finland requires only one test. That's right! One test. This one test is administered at the end of high school and spans of six days. Over forty hours of testing! Most of their universities also require passing entrance exams. That's double testing back to back. Japanese children have to pass a placement exam in order to get into high school!
I believe that we do need to assess children's learning and academic progress in order to better support them for success. How we go about that still needs some work.
References
http://www.npr.org/2014/04/30/308057862/u-s-tests-teens-a-lot-but-worldwide-exam-stakes-are-higher
http://standardizedtests.procon.org/#background
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)