Assessing the
Whole Child
“The discipline of
child development aims to identify, describe and predict patterns in children’s
growth, which includes intellectual (or cognitive), linguistic, physical,
social, behavioral and emotional development. Because all aspects of
development are interrelated, child development is seen as being holistic.” (Smidt,
2013, p 2) “Since development is seen as
holistic (where all aspects of development are conceived of as being interrelated)
it is evident that something that affects one aspect of development may affect
others.” (Smidt, 2013, p. 3)
I agree with Smidt, that the child
must be seen as a whole. Therefore, all
aspects of a child’s development must be assessed to make realistic and helpful
goals for the child’s further development.
In the United States, standardized tests begin to be emphasized once the
child enters Elementary school.
Unfortunately, these tests only measure the cognitive aspect of
children’s development. Unless the child
has an identified learning difference and an IEP, no accommodation is made for
different learning styles.
I read an article in the Special
Edge newsletter about a study that is being done on children in Special
Education classes in California. While
the study is aimed at evaluating whether the large percentage of African
American children in Special Education classes really need to be there, it is
also being looked at as an assessment plan for all children. The assessment plan being proposed uses
one-on-one interviews with the children, input from parents and oversight by
“cultural brokers” that make sure quest ions asked in interviews, and techniques
used, coincide with the children’s culture. “The holistic
assessment can serve “as a road map to assist in making education more
successful for the child.”” (Mandelstam, 2010)
I am happy with the way we assess children at my preschool. Within thirty days of their enrollment the
parents are asked to complete an “Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) to
establish a baseline for their development when they entered the center. The ASQ assesses various developmental areas
and is geared to the specific age of the child. If the parent does not complete
the assessment, we do it for them in the classroom. If the child scores low in an area we have
activities in place to help them develop those weaker skills. Then they are assessed
again in another sixty days and if they haven’t improved we begin a process of
referring them to an outside source.
After the ASQ process, we use a program called “Teaching
Strategies Gold” which is a tool to assess children’s development in the five
areas of Social-Emotional, Physical Well-Being, Language and Literacy,
Cognitive and Approaches to Learning.
These assessments are done four times per year. Assessment is done by
observing, interviewing and playing with the child. Parents are invited to participate by filling
out questionnaires about what is happening at home. The parents also receive a
quarterly written report about their child’s development and next steps. We use these assessments to make individual
goals for each child which we record on our weekly lesson plans.
These assessments do not stress the children out at all because
they are not even aware they are happening.
They really enjoy the one on one attention they receive while the
assessments are being done. I also know
that in our area they are given a standardized test by their Kindergarten
teacher on the first day of school. This
assessment is play-based which counteracts the stereotype that all standardized
tests are pencil and paper.
I researched assessment techniques in the country of my
ancestors, Finland. Over the past 35
years the Finnish people have completely transformed their educational
system. Their use of standardized tests
is minimal, stressing the observations of highly qualified teachers as the best
form of assessment. The article I read
stated, "The Finns have worked
systematically over 35 years to make sure that competent professionals who can
craft the best learning conditions for all students are in all schools, rather
than thinking that standardized instruction and related testing can be brought
in at the last minute to improve student learning and turn around failing
schools." (Darling-Hammond, 2014) Perhaps the United States is at the same place
the Finns were in the 1970’s and could benefit from imitating their reforms.
References
Darling-Hammond, L.
(2014) What we can learn from Finland’s successful school reform. National Education Association. Retrieved from: http://www.nea.org/home/40991.htm
Mandelstam,
J.(2010) The promise of holistic assessment:
evaluating studies with assessments that avoid bias. Retrieved from: http://www.calstat.org/publications/article_detail.php?a_id=130&nl_id=19
Smidt,
S. (2013) The developing child in the 21st century: a global
perspective on child development. New
York: Routledge.
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