“There are legitimate reasons why assessing preschool children has been an unpopular idea. When assessment systems result in high-stress experiences for our children or purposeless additions to professionals’ plates, we can all be concerned. However, by neglecting to regularly evaluate our young children’s language and early reading skills, we have done more harm than good. We need to put our efforts into selecting multiple measures and interpreting their results in appropriate ways to promote student success. It is how assessments are used—and with whom and how the results are interpreted and used—that can be positive or negative, accurate or inaccurate. When used in accurate and ethical ways, assessments can be the critical difference between a child receiving the help he needs or struggling in reading.”
Nonie Lesaux, Harvard Graduate School of Education,”Turning the Page: Refocusing Massachusetts for Reading Success,” 2010
Eye on Early Education focuses on the twin goals of ensuring that Massachusetts children have access to high-quality early education and become proficient readers by the end of third grade.
Certainly assessments are important. What would we think if a doctor did not check a child’s height and weight each time a well-child visit occurred? Similarly, appropriate assessments, based on observations of children over time, done in partnership with parents, give children an opportunity to be successful. Of course, in my opinion, we must also define success, and not limit ourselves to a narrowly defined view of success based solely on Student Achievement. I think it will be in this arena, that Early Educators can make a difference. As we align PreK through Grade 3, we have an opportunity to make a difference in how assessment is viewed and how assessment can and should be used. Perhaps, schools should assess all domains; that would be something!