Assignment
This assignment is designed to provide you with insight about parents' perspectives/experiences regarding assessment of their young child. In order to do so, you must choose a family to interview with a young child (birth to age 8) who has been formally assessed by an outsider, either as a result of a disability or because of attendance in a Head Start, State Preschool, or Public Elementary School. (CLOs 9, 10)
Ask the parent/s the following questions:
A. When you hear the term "assessment" what comes to mind?
B. What do you think the purpose of assessment is?
C. Describe some of your personal experiences with assessment during your school years (K-12). Do you believe assessment/testing has changed in our schools today?
D. Have you heard of the No Child Left Behind Act or the Common Core, or other legislation or school policies regarding testing in schools? If so, what have you heard? Do you know anything about how recent laws have impacted schooling and assessment for young children?
E. When it comes to discussing your child's progress with his/her teacher/service providers, how do you feel about the process?
F. How are assessment results for your child summarized and presented to you? Is the information useful?
G. How much do you know about the assessments your child's teacher/service providers use, and what they measure?
H. What would you change about this process, if anything?