Meeting a crucial need, this book provides clear recommendations for authentic developmental assessment of children from infancy to age 6, including those with developmental delays and disabilities. It describes principles and strategies for collecting information about children's everyday activities in the home, preschool, and community that serves as a valid basis for intervention planning and progress monitoring. Throughout, the book emphasizes the importance of enlisting parents as partners with practitioners and teachers in observation and team-based decision making. Special features of this well-organized, accessible volume include recommendations for developmentally appropriate assessment tools and "Best-Practice Guidepoints" in each chapter that distill key professional standards and practices.

The only book with professional ratings and reviews of 80 widely used assessment measures for children birth-8, the new edition of this popular reference helps you select high-quality assessment materials for your early childhood program.

This book is not for the "tired and timid" but for those committed professionals who wish to think through a plan that is coherent, cohesive, learner- and family-focused, and work through the development of a defensible (reliable and valid) authentic assessment system. Discusses emerging research in the area of brain development research and its implication for assessment practices. Provides information on the "standards movement" and how these standards can have either a negative or positive impact on developmental goals. Adds a developmental continuum as an appendix to help teachers focus on emerging development rather than on perceived deficits in children. Provides an added chapter on portfolio systems. Places more emphasis on the discussions of diversity and inclusion. For educators and school administrators.

In an era of standards and norms where assessment tends to minimize or dismiss individual differences and results in punitive outcomes or no action at all, Assessment of Young Children provides teachers with an approach to assessment that is in the best interest of both children and their families. Author Lisa B. Fiore explores a variety of ways to study and assess young children in their natural environments, while stressing the importance of bringing children and families into the process. This lively text helps the reader learn how to cultivate developmentally appropriate practice, create appropriate expectations, examine children’s work, interact in groups, and improve their teacher behavior. Accounts of real experiences from children, families, teachers, and administrators provide on-the-ground models of assessment stategies and demonstrate how children are affected. Assessment of Young Children explores both standardized and authentic assessment, work sampling systems, and observation skills. Readers will walk away with strategies for communicating information about children and portfolio assessment, and how the use of formal and informal methods of observation, documentation, and assessment are connected to teacher and student inquiry. Assessment of Young Children encourages an assessment strategy where the child remains the focus and explores how collaboration with children, families, and colleagues creates an image—not a diagnosis—of the child that is empowering rather than constraining. Special Features Include: Case Study examples that anchor the concepts presented in the chapters and engage readers more deeply in the content. "Now what?" and "Avenues for Inquiry" throughout the book present students with concrete extensions of the material that they may pursue for further investigation

The debate surrounding testing and accountability in early childhood education continues, but one thing is universally agreed upon: effective observation and assessment of young children's learning are critical to supporting their development. Educators balance what they know about child development with observation and assessment approaches that both inform and improve the curriculum. This foundational resource for all educators of children from birth through third grade explores What observation and assessment are, why to use them, and how Ways to integrate documentation, observation, and assessment into the daily routine Practices that are culturally and linguistically responsive Ways to engage families in observation and assessment processes How to effectively share children's learning with families, administrators, and others Find inspiration to intentionally develop and implement meaningful, developmentally appropriate observation and assessment practices to build responsive, joyful classrooms.

The assessment of young children's development and learning has recently taken on new importance. Private and government organizations are developing programs to enhance the school readiness of all young children, especially children from economically disadvantaged homes and communities and children with special needs. Well-planned and effective assessment can inform teaching and program improvement, and contribute to better outcomes for children. This book affirms that assessments can make crucial contributions to the improvement of children's well-being, but only if they are well designed, implemented effectively, developed in the context of systematic planning, and are interpreted and used appropriately. Otherwise, assessment of children and programs can have negative consequences for both. The value of assessments therefore requires fundamental attention to their purpose and the design of the larger systems in which they are used. Early Childhood Assessment addresses these issues by identifying the important outcomes for children from birth to age 5 and the quality and purposes of different techniques and instruments for developmental assessments.

Written for early childhood educators, this guide provides rubrics, samples, reproducibles, and easy-to-understand procedures for developing fun, effective student assessment portfolios and integrating assessment and instruction.