PRESCHOOL ASSESSMENT

Siyyum Kabbadaa
 OVERVIEW OF ASSESSMENT
Activity - (Think-pair-share)
Think about the following questions

Why do
P/teachers
assess?

How can What do P/T

teachers use the
information
assess?
gained from
assessment?

How can they

ensure quality in How do presch/T
assessment assess?
process?
 ---conti
Exercise:
 In light of the definitions given above, how would you define “assessment,” in
your own words and in terms of your educational practices as an early childhood
educator?

 “Assessment in preschool” refers to the complex and multifaceted process of

systematically observing, collecting, recording, documenting, interpreting, and
evaluating children’s expressions, manifestations, and work as a basis for making
educational decisions that affect the students
Early Childhood Assessment Principles

 Assessment should bring about benefits for children.

 Assessment should be tailored to a specific purpose and should be reliable,
valid, and fair for that purpose.
 Assessment policies should be designed recognizing that reliability and
validity of assessments increase with the children’s age.
 Assessment should be age appropriate in both content and the methods for
data collection.
 Assessment should be linguistically appropriate, recognizing that to some
extent all assessments are measures of language.
 Parents should be a valued source of assessment information, as well as an
audience for assessment results (Wortham, 2005).
General Objectives of Early Childhood Assessment

 Support individual educational progress of children.

 Facilitate the development of individual or group educational planning and of
the curriculum in general.
 Recognize the level of childhood holistic development.
 Determine the suitable placement for each child.
 Identify children with developmental needs and singularities.
 Provide guidance in referrals to specialists.
 Inform parents about their children’s performance and progress in their
educational and holistic development.
 Evaluate if the program’s components correspond to the nature and
particularities of the population (Koralek, 2004).
 Types of Assessment used in preschool classroom

Exercise
From these general objectives of early childhood assessment what assessment forms/types and
purposes do you drive. Be in group discuss, and match with next slide

1. Diagnostic Assessment – detects pupil’s learning difficulties which somehow are not
revealed by formative tests. Is concerned with finding the causes of learner’s learning
deficiencies or weaknesses. For example, why does Abebe dislike arithmetic­? Why does
Alemu have reading difficulties? Why Almaz’s rate letter identification is slow ?
2. Formative Assessment – It provides feedback regarding the student’s performance in
attaining instructional objectives. It identifies learning errors that needed to be corrected
and it provides information to make instruction more effective.
3. Placement Assessment – It defines student’s entry behaviours. It determines knowledge and
skills he possesses which are necessary at the beginning of instruction.
4. Summative Assessment – Conducted to determine the extent to which objectives of
instruction have been attained and is used for assigning grades/marks and to provide
feedback to students.
Assessment purpose
Balance Among Assessment Purposes

Assessment
Of

As

For
 what to assess

Gocha
Muxannoo keessan irraa BSTD keessatti maal iyyaafattu?
Maaliin Iyyaafattu?
Yoom ykn haala akkamiin iyyaafattu
 What is to be assessed in preschool
A. Physical development (Motor Skills)
1. Gross Motor
 Jumping, skipping, hopping, catching,
walking a straight line
2. Fine Motor
 Building with cubes, cutting, copying
forms,
 Writing name and copying words,
 Drawing shapes
C. Socio emotional Development
 self-concept,
 Relationship formation
 self-reliance, and
 self-regulation
B. Cognitive Development:
 Pointing to body parts
 Rote counting
 Counting objects
 Sorting and classifying pictures
 Identifying and naming colors and shapes
 Answering simple questions about
concepts
D. Language Development
 Identifying correct item in an array of
pictures
 Answering personal questions
 Identifying objects and pictures
 Placing object using positional words
(under, over, in, etc).
Mala/Assessment strategies in preschool

Exercise
1. What is assessment strategy?
2. Would you list assessment strategies you use in your class? Do individually,
compare and share in pair, organize in group
Assessment strategies in preschool

 Observation(Narrative Observations, Consecutive

(Running) Record
 Anecdotal Record
 Time Sample
 Portfolios(Classwork Portfolios, Evaluation Portfolio,
Work Sample Portfolio, File Portfolio)
Steps to follow when organizing portfolios

 Involve the children in the process.

 Share with them the steps to follow: creating their portfolios, deciding where
the portfolios will be located, taking on the responsibility of filing their work
with the date and in the portfolio corresponding to the type of work.
 Decide on the storage container according to the type of portfolio that will be
used.
 Determine the appropriate place for each type of portfolio.
 Discuss the responsibility of putting the date on their work and sharing it with
their teacher before placing it in the portfolio where it belongs
What should be included in a portfolio?
 Every type of classwork done by the children as part of their educational
experiences and activities including: drawings, collages, artistic creations,
creative works, written compositions, and stories.
 Copies of the instruments for observations and descriptive information
recorded and compiled by the teacher every day.
 Reflective notes made by the teacher using various instruments.
 Reflective notes made by the children regarding their work and experiences
(may be drawings with reflective comments).
 Interviews of the child, carried out by the teacher.
 Photographs, video and audio tapes, and other types of evidence.
 Charts of the children’s growth and development: social, physical, cognitive,
creative, linguistic, etc.
 Individual or group projects.
 Contributions made by the child.
 All the authentic evidence that represents each child’s individual or group
performance and classwork.
Meeshaa/Assessment tools in preschool
Assessment tools is an instrument we use to collect information

Exercise
Being in group list and reflect assessment tools you use in your school
Assessment tools in preschool

 Checklists
 Graphic and Numerical Scales
 Rubrics
 Individual formal and informal interviews with children
 tests
Guide to prepare checklist
The elements or criteria in a list may include skills, abilities, knowledge,
concepts, attitudes, dispositions, preferences, interests, behaviors, movement
patterns, use of equipment and materials, and interest areas or centers that the
child enters or joins.
When designing a checklist remember to:
 identify criteria, patterns, and skills;
 divide behaviors into separate lists;
 organize information in a logical and appropriate order;
 use the table and columns outline to facilitate checking items off and making
comments and observations;
 highlight the key with its symbols and provide definitions when necessary.
Practical exercise
In groups do the following activities
1. Design a checklist with defined objectives to assess child physical, cognitive,
language and socio-emotional development
2. Design a numerical and graphic scales with defined objectives to assess child
physical, cognitive, language and socio-emotional development
3. Design a Rubrics with defined objectives to assess child physical, cognitive,
language and socio-emotional development
4. Design a test to assess classroom performances on pre math's, science and
literacy
THANKS IN MILLIONS