Assessment in Early Childhood

This clearly written text is an excellent introduction to assessing young children. This edition:

Emphasizes the multidimensional approach to assessment. In addition to covering core concepts in informal and formal assessment,this edition includesupdated and expanded discussionson the following topics to provide students with a strong foundation in current assessment issues and practices: NCLB, infant and preschool standardized tests, and assessing children who are bilingual, are limited English speakers, and have special needs.

Integrates real-life assessment vignettes. Highlighted in boxes throughout the text, brief case studies of children with diverse backgrounds are highlighted in boxes throughout the text bring real assessment situations in various settings to life, helping pre-service teachers understand today’s issues, concepts, and methods of appropriate assessment.

Discusses purposes, advantages, disadvantages, and limitations of various assessment methods.Because teachers routinely select assessment methods, this book presents pros and cons of standardized tests, checklists, rating scales, rubrics, observations of developmental domains, anecdotal records, running records, time sampling, portfolios, performance-based assessments, and others.

Instructs students how to develop quality teacher-designed assessments. Includes detailed steps for writing instructional and behavioral objectives and designing formative and summative evaluations, learning experiences, and corrective and enrichment activities.

This revision is one of the most accessible, practical texts available on assessing young children from infancy through age 8. The book focuses on formal and informal assessment content, strategies, and examples; observation guidelines and strategies; how to use assessments for curriculum planning and for communicating with families; and the spectrum of current assessment issues.

Key changes to this edition include more on infant and toddler observation, screening, and standardized testing; the impact of NCLB and Head Start National Reporting System on assessing children; more mini-case studies illustrating real assessment situations in programs and schools today; expanded information on working with children who are bilingual or limited English speakers, and expanded information on parent partnerships in Chapter 10.

For primary school teachers involved in preparing for, administering, interpreting, and moving forward with the results of standardized testing.

Sue Clark Wortham is a Professor Emerita of Early Childhood and Elementary Education at the University of Texas at San Antonio. Prior to beginning a teaching career in higher education in 1979, she taught prekindergarten through second grade in public schools, worked as an administrator, and was a consultant at an education service center.

She has authored numerous texts, including Early Childhood and Curriculum: Developmental Bases for Learning and Teaching (4th ed., 2006), Merrill/Prentice Hall. She co-authored Play and Child Development (3rd ed., 2008) with Joe Frost and Stuart Reifel, also published by Merrill/Prentice Hall. Organizational publications include Childhood 1892-2002, published by the Association for Childhood Education International, and Playgrounds for Young Children: National Survey and Perspectives, co-authored with Joe Frost and published by the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (AAHPERD).

In 1992, she as a Fullbright Scholar in Chile. She was President of the Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI) from 1995 to 1997. Since retirement, she has become very active in the development of the Global Guidelines for Early Childhood Education and Care that resulted from an international symposium held in Ruschlikon, Switzerland, in 1999. Subsequently she has a leadership role in the development, validation, and implementation of the ACEI Global Guidelines Self-Assessment Tool adapted from the original guidelines. To date it has been used in 20 countries and has been translated into Spanish, French, Chinese, and Portuguese.

Dr. Wortham has served as Director of Educational Programs for World Children's Relief and Volunteer Organization, a small nongovernmental organization (NGO) for the past four years. She is engaged in training teachers and principals in Haiti, Senegal, Burkina Faso, and Sierra Leone.