* Early Childhood Assessment: Information for Early Childhood Program Administrators Welcome and thank you for participating in this presentation on early childhood assessment designed specifically for early childhood administrators. The intended audience for this presentation is child care center directors, family child care system staff, Principals, and all other related administrators in early childhood programs. Throughout the presentation you will be taken through a series of narrated, informational slides. This presentation is approximately 30 minutes and can be paused at any time. If you need to take a break and return later, you may do so by returning to the presentation and clicking on the slide that you were on to resume the presentation. * * Overview What and why it is important Early Childhood vs. K-12 assessment Types of child assessment systems Support to staff Use of data Equipment, materials, resources Parent Involvement Role of Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care * We know that high-quality early education can have many lasting benefits. Many people are asking important questions about how young children are progressing and learning. The goal of this presentation is to help you better understand how early childhood assessment contributes to high-quality early childhood education. This presentation will inform you about early childhood assessment by explaining what it is and why it is important. We will explain the difference between early childhood assessment and K-12 assessment. We will discuss the different types of child assessment systems, ways to support your staff in implementing a child assessment system, and how to use assessment data for program improvement. We will highlight the types of equipment, materials and resources that are needed, how to involve parents in the assessment process, and the role of the MA Dept. of Early Education and Care. * What is Early Childhood Assessment? Process of observing, recording, and documenting work of children Allows educators to make the best decisions for the child Methods can include standardized tests observations, child portfolios, teacher and parent checklists and child and parent interviews Child screening vs. assessment * What is early childhood assessment? The National Association for the Education of Young Children defines early childhood assessment as the process of observing, recording and otherwise documenting the work that children do and how they do it. The data produced from child assessments helps you to better understand the development of a child and therefore make more informed decisions about how to work with that child. Early childhood assessment includes a variety of methods for assessing a child’s growth and development. Including standardized tests where all children are assessed exactly the same, under controlled conditions.Or child observations, individual child portfolios, teacher or parent checklists, and child ...

1. *
Early Childhood Assessment:
Information for Early Childhood Program Administrators
Welcome and thank you for participating in this presentation on
early childhood assessment designed specifically for early
childhood administrators. The intended audience for this
presentation is child care center directors, family child care
system staff, Principals, and all other related administrators in
early childhood programs. Throughout the presentation you will
be taken through a series of narrated, informational slides. This
presentation is approximately 30 minutes and can be paused at
any time. If you need to take a break and return later, you may
do so by returning to the presentation and clicking on the slide
that you were on to resume the presentation.
*
*
Overview
What and why it is important
Early Childhood vs. K-12 assessment
Types of child assessment systems
Support to staff
Use of data

2. Equipment, materials, resources
Parent Involvement
Role of Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care
*
We know that high-quality early education can have many
lasting benefits. Many people are asking important questions
about how young children are progressing and learning. The
goal of this presentation is to help you better understand how
early childhood assessment contributes to high-quality early
childhood education.
This presentation will inform you about early childhood
assessment by explaining what it is and why it is important. We
will explain the difference between early childhood assessment
and K-12 assessment. We will discuss the different types of
child assessment systems, ways to support your staff in
implementing a child assessment system, and how to use
assessment data for program improvement. We will highlight
the types of equipment, materials and resources that are needed,
how to involve parents in the assessment process, and the role
of the MA Dept. of Early Education and Care.
*
What is Early Childhood Assessment?
Process of observing, recording, and documenting work of
children
Allows educators to make the best decisions for the child
Methods can include standardized tests observations, child
portfolios, teacher and parent checklists and child and parent
interviews

3. Child screening vs. assessment
*
What is early childhood assessment? The National Association
for the Education of Young Children defines early childhood
assessment as the process of observing, recording and otherwise
documenting the work that children do and how they do it. The
data produced from child assessments helps you to better
understand the development of a child and therefore make more
informed decisions about how to work with that child.
Early childhood assessment includes a variety of methods for
assessing a child’s growth and development. Including
standardized tests where all children are assessed exactly the
same, under controlled conditions.Or child observations,
individual child portfolios, teacher or parent checklists, and
child- parent interviews, all of which engage children in tasks
that are personally meaningful in real life situations.
Note that “child assessment” is different than “child screening”.
The purpose of screening is to check that children are generally
on developmental track. The information resulting from the
screening process is used to determine if a child needs to be
referred for further assessment and support. In contrast, early
childhood assessment looks at children’s development in a more
nuanced way, and the information is used to shape the
curriculum to enhance a child’s learning and to move a child
forward in their development

4. Why is Early Childhood Assessment Important?
*
Growing emphasis on early childhood assessment
Better decisions regarding teaching and learning
Identifying children
with special needs
Program Improvement
Why is early childhood assessment important?
It is important because there is increasing attention to how
children are progressing and measuring young children's
progress is different from assessment at other ages. High-
quality assessment can also improve the way interactions and
teaching happens in early childhood programs. For example, a
program might learn through assessment that children can't hold
a pencil correctly and then start to focus more on activities
where children can practice writing and drawing.
In addition, assessment can also help identify children with
special needs and provide starting information from which to
refer them to specialists to get additional services.
*
What about a child is assessed?
Emotional/Social: expressing feelings, forming friendships,
resolving conflicts with others
Language: listening and talking

5. Physical: using pencils (fine motor skills), climbing and running
(gross motor skills)
Cognitive: numbers, colors, and patterns
Approaches to Learning: curiosity and excitement about
learning and ways of learning new information
*
What about a child is assessed?
Early childhood assessment should look at every aspect of a
child’s development including emotional / social, physical,
language, cognitive, and their approach to learning.
Emotional and social development includes a child’s ability to
recognize and express their feelings, form friendships, and
resolve conflicts with others.
Language development includes how a child listens and the way
in which a child is talking.
Physical development includes fine motor skills like holding
and using scissors and gross motor skills like climbing and
riding a tricycle.
Cognitive development includes knowledge about numbers,
colors and patterns.
Approaches to learning is just that – how a child approaches
learning and how they learn new information.
*

6. How does early childhood assessment
differ from K-12th grade assessment?
Kindergarten – 12th grade assessment places emphasis on
academic knowledge
Early childhood assessment places emphasis on all aspects of a
child’s development
*
How does early childhood assessment differ from K-12th grade
assessment?
Early childhood assessment differs from Kindergarten to 12th
grade education assessment in a variety of ways.
K-12 education assessment emphasizes academic knowledge
such as reading and math skills. Early childhood assessment has
some focus on age appropriate academic knowledge like
numbers and letters, but also looks at the entire child’s
development, such as social/emotional and physical
development.
*
*
How does early childhood assessment differ from K-12th grade
assessment continued…
K-12th grade assessment uses mainly tests, quizzes and essays.
Early childhood assessment uses child observations,
developmental checklists and child portfolios

7. Both are used to guide decisions about…
Child interventions
Resources
K-12 education uses information such as tests, quizzes and
essays to look at children's progress. Usually this assessment is
done at one point in time, like the end of a unit of study. Early
childhood uses different types of tools to look at children's
growth, like child observations, developmental checklists, child
portfolios with examples of children’s work and is done on an
ongoing basis (daily/weekly or periodically throughout year).
Both early childhood and K-12 assessments guide decisions
about child interventions and resources. However K-12
assessment tends to guide decisions about staff training and new
programming whereas early childhood assessment focuses more
on children's need for additional services and how curriculum
might be changed/improved.
*
Types of Child Assessment Systems
Program-developed child assessment tools
Pros
Cons
*
Often early childhood programs wonder what the difference is

8. between a program-developed child assessment system and a
published (or packaged) child assessment system. And is one
better than another? The next two slides talk about what each
one is and their pros and cons.
Program-developed assessment systems may use a number of
different methods to develop an assessment system including
checklists, child portfolios or observation records. The system
is explicitly designed to follow the program’s philosophy and
curriculum.
The pros of using a program-developed assessment system is
that it is aligned with the program’s overall philosophy and
curriculum. A program-developed system usually involves all
staff in the development and implementation, therefore creating
a strong sense of buy-in to use the system. Training on how to
use the system is done in-house and requires little money.
Programs also don’t have to pay user fees or subscriptions.
The cons of using a program-developed assessment tool is that
these types of systems are not scientifically-based, meaning that
they have not been through a rigorous testing process to
validate that what is thought of as being measured on the tool is
actually being measured. Because of this, program-developed
assessment systems tend to be less credible within the field of
education. Program-developed child assessment systems also
take many iterations before they are perfected program-wide
and are time-consuming to develop.
*
Types of Child Assessment Systems cont…
Published (or packaged) child assessment tools
Pros

9. Cons
*
Published child assessment systems are packaged with pre-
designed tools covering the development and growth of young
children.
The pros of using a published child assessment system is that
some have gone through the process of being accepted as
research or scientifically-based with all domains of early
childhood development considered. The tools are pre-designed
and ready to use. Electronic or on-line services often
accompany published tools to help the user organize and
analyze their child assessment data. Some of the online
services also are designed to help teachers plan their day, by
offering activities based on where the children in the classroom
are developmentally.
The cons of using a published child assessment system is the
expense of purchasing the system and maintaining the system
(e.g. for some on-line systems a per child fee exists). Some
published systems are online and require Internet access and
knowledge of technology to use. Extensive training is typically
necessary in order to use the published system effectively. A
published system may or may not align precisely with a
program’s philosophy or curriculum.
*
Choosing an Appropriate Assessment System
A well-designed assessment system:
Considers all domains of child development
Is developmentally appropriate

10. Aligned with your curriculum and the state’s early learning
standards
Reliable, valid, and fair
Captures growth over a period of time
*
When considering selecting an early childhood assessment
system, here are some factors to keep in mind:
1.) Does the assessment system consider all the domains of
child development (physical, cognitive, language and literacy,
social-emotional, approaches to learning)?
2.) Is the approach to child assessment developmentally
appropriate?
3.) Is the child assessment system aligned with your curriculum
and the state’s early learning standards?
4.) Does the child assessment system have information on
reliability and validity?
5.) Does the child assessment system seem fair to all children,
including those with disabilities?
6.) Is the child assessment system able to provide information
about a child’s growth and development over a period of time in
the child’s natural setting?
*
Training Opportunities on Early Childhood Assessment
Opportunities for staff to better understand early childhood
assessment
College courses
Training by publishers
Offerings through local Child Care Resource and Referral
Agency
EEC Professional Development calendar:
www.eec.state.ma.us/ProfessionalDevelopment/WebFindTrainin

11. g.aspx
*
Whether you are new to child assessment or have been doing it
for many years, everyone can benefit from further training in
child development principles and assessment practices. Here are
a few suggestions of places to look for relevant training
opportunities.
College courses - College courses can provide a foundation in
the importance and theory behind early childhood assessment
and how it ties in with curriculum. Certain college courses may
also spend time on how to align curriculum and assessment.
Trainings offered by the tools’ publishers - Training is also
offered by the publishers of the various child assessment
systems and can include on-site or multi-site training. This type
of training is often done over a 2-3 day period and typically
includes technical assistance following the training and
sometimes a follow-up training once the program has used the
assessment system for a period of time.
Your local child care resource and referral agency may also
offer courses and workshops about child development
principles, basics of assessment, and opportunities for
practitioners to share best practices.
You can also now check the EEC Professional Development
calendar at the website listed on the screen for professional
development opportunities across the state.
*

12. Ways to Support Your Staff in the Assessment Process
Confidential observations
Assistance in writing summary statements
ELL staff and observations
Computer access
Staff meeting agenda item
Time for training and implementation
Staff planning time
*
Here are some suggestions from your colleagues about ways to
support your staff in the process of implementing an assessment
system:
1.) Allow staff to write their observations confidentially. Let
them know that no one, including parents and their supervisor
will see their written observations.
2.) Help staff in writing up any summary statements for parents.
3.) For teachers who are not comfortable writing in English, let
them write their observation in their native language and offer
assistance with translation through another staff member
4.) Ensure that teachers have computer access readily available
to avoid having to record child observations twice. (As in
having to write them on paper, and then type them into the
computer.)
5.) Have child assessment be a standing agenda item at staff
meetings.
6.) Provide time for training and implementation to be effective.
(For example, give teachers 6-12 months to try out the
assessment system before sharing information with parents and
allow 3-6 months for training to be scheduled and conducted.)
7.) Provide regularly scheduled staff planning time for teams to
meet and discuss child assessments.
*

13. Using Child Assessment Data
Evaluate effectiveness
Staff support
Better inform parents
Assist in child transitions
Identify children who need
special services
Program improvement
*
The product of using a child assessment tool is, well, a lot of
data. So the question is what can you use all that child
assessment data for? Lot of things!
A program can read its child assessment data to understand how
effective it is being in delivering its curriculum.
The data can point to what staff need in terms of support and
professional development.
Child assessment data can better inform parents of their child’s
growth and development, by generating concrete examples.
The assessment data can assist in children’s transitions, as well
as flag when a child has a special need.
Data can be used for a larger purpose in the development of
educational policies that all programs can benefit from.
Overall, child assessment data can drive a continuous quality
improvement cycle at the classroom and program levels.
*
Suggested Equipment, Materials, and Resources
Equipment: computer, printer, digital camera, high-speed
internet

14. Materials: notebooks for portfolios, photo paper, paper, clip
boards, post-it notes
Resources: assessment tool-kits, books/articles on early
childhood assessment
*
Here are some suggestions of equipment, materials, and
resources, that other programs have found useful when
implementing a child assessment system.
Having appropriate technology is important, especially if the
electronic version of the assessment tool is going to be used.
Having access to computers with Internet access, printers, and
digital cameras, can help staff and providers document the day-
to-day progress of children.
Certain consumable materials should be available and purchased
regularly. Examples include, computer paper, ink, photo paper,
notebooks or other containers that hold children’s work and clip
boards and post-its to take observations.
It is also helpful to have resources like the assessment’s tool-kit
and accompanying materials. Books or articles about child
assessment that parents and staff can refer to are helpful in
gaining insight and understanding into early childhood
assessment.
*
How can Parents be Involved in the Early Childhood
Assessment Process?
Enrollment

15. On-site developmental screenings
Parent Checklists
Parent/Teacher conferences
*
Engaging parents in the early childhood assessment process is
vital to the success of assessing the growth and development of
the whole child. Here are some suggestions to further involve
parents in the assessment process. Remember, that screening is
different than assessment, but the results of any screenings
should be taken into account when you do assessment.
First, at the time of enrollment, parents should be asked about
their child’s development and any screenings done to date by
the child’s physician or an outside agency.
Second, your program might offer to have free on-site
developmental screenings for children and educate the parents
on the importance of early screening and detection of special
needs.
Third, you can periodically send home parent checklists that
enable parents to provide feedback on their child’s
development.
And Fourth, you can arrange for an annual parent/teacher
conference where assessment data is shared with parents.
Related to this, your program can offer transitional conferences
when a child is making a transition to another classroom,
program, or public school. During these conferences you could
share the knowledge that you have gained through daily
experience and assessment about that child’s development.
*

16. What is Massachusetts currently doing around early childhood
assessment?
Universal Pre-Kindergarten Pilot Project
Assessment Planning Grants
More information: www.eec.state.ma.us
*
*
What is Massachusetts currently doing around early childhood
assessment?
EEC encourages early childhood programs to consider using a
child assessment tool to understand and respond to children's
learning and progress.
Currently one of the requirements for EEC's Universal Pre-
Kindergarten program is use of an EEC-selected child
assessment tool. EEC also awards assessment planning grants
to help programs start using an assessment system.
If you are interested in finding out more about the UPK grant
program please visit EEC’s website at www.eec.state.ma.us.
.
UPK Eligible Child Assessment Tools
Creative Curriculum’s Developmental Continuum or
CreativeCurriculum.net
Work Sampling System
High Scope Child Observation Record

17. Ages and Stages Questionnaire
*
More specifically, the four assessment tools approved for the
UPK grant are: Creative Curriculum’s Developmental
Continuum or CreativeCurriculum.netWork SamplingHigh
Scope Child Observation Record, andthe Ages and Stages
Questionnaire.
For more information on these individual tools, please click on
the attachment tab to the left of this presentation.
*
In closing…
Suggested articles specific to early childhood assessment
Contact at the Dept. of Early Education and Care:
Jennifer Louis
Dept. of Early Education and Care
51 Sleeper St., 4th Floor
Boston, MA 02210
(617)988-6640
[email protected]
*
In closing, if you click on the attachment tab of this
presentation you will also find suggested articles that are
specific to early childhood assessment. For more information
about what is going on in Massachusetts related to early
childhood assessment, please contact Jennifer Louis at the
Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care. We
hope that this information about early childhood assessment was

18. useful.
*