what are the most effective ways to use these technologies for curriculum and/or assessment?
In this chapter, we examine the concepts of student assessment and ongoing evaluation for continuous improvement of the curriculum. We also address the emerging and changing role of technology as a tool for curriculum implementation and assessment.
From the Field
Critical Thinking Question
- Programs and schools have many different types of assessment systems. What do you think the common elements of those various approaches might be?
12.1 Developmentally Appropriate Assessment
The primary goal of a developmentally appropriate approach to assessment is to inform your practices so that the curriculum you implement matches the developmental needs and interests of the children in your care or classroom (Gullo, 2006; NAEYC/NAECS/SDE, 2003). As you continue to think about theory as part of the “why” behind curriculum decisions, assessment of your students and your program also provides practical, ongoing information and evidence to guide what you choose to do. For example, setting up your classroom using sound principles of design should theoretically provide children with opportunities to engage with materials, explore their ideas and imagination, and promote socialization. Your assessment of how children actually use the environment, however, may reveal that some areas need more or fewer materials to balance movement and activity levels or perhaps additional strategies to encourage children to spend more time in the writing or math center.
Similarly, while you observe daily that Anna Bess is a highly verbal child, with a large vocabulary and sophisticated sense of story structure as she relates anecdotes with details and expression, you may learn through assessment that she needs a great deal of support to identify the sounds in words to help her progress in reading and writing.