As Wortham (2012) states:
When teachers and other professionals conduct assessments with infants and young children, they need to be sensitive to the special requirements of working with very young children. They also need to be constantly aware of professional ethics that are necessary when conducting assessments with all children (p. 47)
For this reason, it is necessary for teachers or caregivers to understand and have a plan for meeting each guideline.
For this discussion, you will complete the Assessment Planning Table with specific examples or ideas you have for meeting each of the numbered guidelines.
Assessment Planning Table
Provide specific examples and/or ideas for how you will meet each of the Guidelines for Working with Young Children in an Assessment Setting (Wortham, pg. 47).
Guidelines for Working with Young Children in an Assessment Setting As a teacher/caregiver, I will meet this guideline by:
1. Contact the home for parental permission to conduct the assessment.
2. Have all materials ready before the assessment session and review procedures for administering the assessment before the child arrives.
3. If possible, be sure that the child is familiar with the environment when conducting an assessment. For very young children, the session might need to be conducted in their homes. For assessments administered to children entering a group setting, results will be more accurate if the child has been given time to adjust to the school setting. The test administrator should also be familiar to the child.
4. Before beginning the assessment session, develop rapport with the child. Engage the child in a conversation or introduce a toy before the session begins. Once the child seems comfortable, the first assessment tasks can begin.
5. Be alert to signs of fatigue or behaviors that indicate that the child is no longer responding to assessment tasks. Take a brief break or remind the child how to respond to tasks before resuming the session.
6. Use assessment time efficiently. The child should not be hurried, but assessment tasks should be administered with little lag in time while the child is alert and attentive.
7. Consider adaptations that might be needed for children with disabilities. Be knowledgeable about how tasks might be adapted within requirements for how standardized tests should be administered. If alternative procedures can be used, permit the child to respond differently to a test item. Caution must be used, however, not to change the intent of the item or the type of response that is appropriate as well as correct.