ASSESSEMENT IN EARLY CHILDHOOD SETTINGS

Education based on academic competition has done much to create the social injustice rampant in society today.
The use of grading to force achievement does little to encourage children to become responsible and
independent. An individual description of the pupil as a whole person by a group of teachers characterises the
child's development from a range of different view-points. What a pupil achieves is a measure of his or her own
development and this changes its nature over the years. A Waldorf school report characterises a pupil's
individual experience of the key developmental stages. It describes the child's level of engagement in his or her
own learning, in the peer group and generally in relation to the world. It is a statement of what the child has
achieved in clear, comprehensible, comparative terms, and it sets tasks for the individual for the future. It
summarises the present position, but is orientated towards the future.

At the end of a school year pupils receive a written report. This is the teacher's personal, individual
description of what the child has done and achieved throughout the school year. The greatest achievement of
school children is to develop. The report therefore describes the child's achievement in terms of his or her
development

.Report card comments should aim to deliver feedback to students and parents that is personalized,
detailed, and meaningful.

 Effective report card comments emphasize and discuss:

o The specific elements of knowledge, skills, and other outcomes recognized in the curriculum that
are the most pertinent to a student’s achievement or development in the period of assessment
o The specific, notable strengths that a student has shown and should attempt to continue to show
o The major next steps for improvement that will:
 Identify the student’s most important learning needs
 Offer next steps for students
 Offer specific recommendations for how parents and guardians can help the student’s
learning habits and skills (or the development of those habits and skills)

 Effective report card comments are personalized – customized to each, individual student – and discuss:
o Detailed evidence of learning or skill-development gathered from in-class observations.
o The student’s learning preferences, willingness to learn, and interests.

 Effective report card comments are expressed with clear and simple phrasing, using:
o Language that is easy to understand for both students and parents, as opposed to educational
jargon used from the curriculum.
o An encouraging and/or positive tone.