Assessment is very important in planning for the child. I feel that before you can adequate plan for the child there must be some type of assessment completed. I think that a child’s social development, communication/language, gross motor, cognitive development, and emotional development are some of the areas that should be considered when assessing children.
Teachers of young children need to measure the child development because effective assessment informs teachers about children’s developmental progress. Student assessment is an important component of the teaching-learning process. One of the main purposes is to facilitate student learning and to improve instruction planning. Effective assessment includes responding to the collection of evidence of each child’s growth comparing your documentation on each child against age and developmentally appropriate milestones or standards. Standards are developed to provide a framework of consistent expectations for children at specific ages and developmental levels. Because each child is unique, however, teachers must mold instruction to fit each child’s individual strengths and needs. Effective assessment can guide instructional practices, helping teachers invent, blend, and modify strategies to meet the needs of every child. Assessment of children can promote learning, build confidence, and develop students' understanding of themselves and their abilities. I feel that teachers of young children need a starting point when a child enter school for the first time, assessment is one way this can happen.
Africa
In Africa children are assesses according to their culture. Children may be assess form other cultures. Some items in Western tests are not culturally appropriate for rural African populations and therefore cannot assess if children from those communities are developing normally. For example, activities such as preparing breakfast cereal, using a knife and fork, pedalling a tricycle and playing board games would be uncommon for children in rural Africa.Children in rural Africa might be to poor to continue education even children in primary school does not continue to secondary in the next year. One out four countries will not complete school.Not all children who complete primary school enter secondary education. Some families cannot afford to continue sending their children to school. Girls, in particular, often face greater obstacles to pursue their education than boys. And in some countries, there simply are not enough places in secondary school and so authorities screen children through public examinations or by using other methods.
References:
Refining the milestones: assessing child development in Africa
11 Aug, 2010
How many children in Africa reach Secondary Education(January 2006)
2 comments:
Thank you for bringing a new insite for me about assesments. When I thought about testing, I think of it unfair to the child, because of the different backgrounds children come from. I never put a lot of thought into it from showing where the child has been to where they need to be, or going to next. I just thought of it as extra stress added to the teachers, parents, and children on top of everything else that all three groups have to accomplish within the school year.
Thanks
What a wonderfully written and informative post. I am saddened that children in rural Africa may never experience the simple joys of riding a bike or even attending school. Their lack of education does not mean that they are unintelligent even though they would likely not do well if they were acadedmically assessed according to US educational standards.
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