Part 1
- Create a checklist (Word document) using the assignment requirements for Week 3 assignments. (ATTACHED)
- Complete a checklist for each of your peer responses using the checklist you created.
Part 2
Rubric – Quality of Assignment
- Create a rubric for the assignment. You may use RubiStar. as a resource to complete this rubric. You must have four indicators and four rating scales.
- Write a 250-word summative statement which should include specific feedback to the work you are reviewing.
- Ask at least one question to help your peer improve their work.
IMPORTANCE OF EARLY CHILDHOOD ASSESSMENT FOR FAMILIES & COMMUNITIES 1
A. Thesis Statement: Early childhood assessment is crucial for identifying children's
developmental progress, supporting individualized learning, and involving families in their
child’s growth, all while ensuring a collaborative approach between parents and educators.
B. First body paragraph topic sentence: Assessment in early childhood involves the
observation and understanding of the development and learning of the child in various areas.
1. Supporting evidence: In early childhood assessments, physical, social, emotional,
cognitive, and language development are observed and documented. The observation will
allow educators to make a profile about the child regarding his or her age and present
abilities, and what he or she will become in the future upon learning (Jahreie, 2023).
2. Analysis: Scanning several domains can enable educators to get a proximal view of each
child's strengths and difficulties without allowing any important area of development to
go unnoticed. This is an essential process in the developmentally appropriate learning
environment.
3. Concluding sentence: The range of areas covered by early childhood assessment
underlines the importance of understanding how important it is to demonstrate
individualized instruction and support for young learners.
C. Second body paragraph topic sentence: Early childhood assessment is important because it
shows a lot about the development of children and how ready they are for an early start of
learning.
1. Supporting evidence: Early assessments help in the detection of delays and special
needs so interventions can be enforced early. These interventions are quite crucial for the
child in his later stages of education (Sadoo et al., 2022).
IMPORTANCE OF EARLY CHILDHOOD ASSESSMENT FOR FAMILIES & COMMUNITIES 2
2. Analysis: This is because the earlier developmental delays or learning challenges are
identified, the greater the possibility of interventions that can significantly improve a
child's long-term outcomes. In their absence, a child may struggle for many years when
there was no need to, which again makes early childhood assessment a major predictor of
eventual success.
3. Concluding sentence: The ability to identify and take care of these developmental
concerns early makes the assessment of early childhood a crucial tool in facilitating
future academic and social success.
D. Third body paragraph topic sentence: When evaluating young children, there are at least
four fields of development that can be examined, including cognitive capabilities, language,
socio-emotional ability, and physical development itself.
1. Supporting evidence: While cognitive assessments test the problem-solving abilities and
understanding of children, language assessment determines the ability of a child to
communicate. Social-emotional assessments enable educators to trace changes in children
as far as their social interactions with peers and emotional management are concerned
(Oppermann et al., 2024).
2. Analysis: From these different areas, one obtains a general view of the child's
development. It helps the educators in modifying learning experiences to accommodate
those that enhance the development of the child in all domains. Holistic approach to meet
every child's needs, be it academic development or social-emotional development.
3. Concluding sentence: Considering the child's development in more than one area assists
educators in constructing detailed learning plans that meet the particular needs of each
child's advancement cognitively, linguistically, socio-emotionally, and physically.
IMPORTANCE OF EARLY CHILDHOOD ASSESSMENT FOR FAMILIES & COMMUNITIES 3
E. Fourth body paragraph topic sentence: A distinction must be drawn between child
screening and child assessment in early childhood programs.
1. Supporting evidence: Screenings are brief and determine whether the child needs further
assessment, while assessments are ongoing processes that track the progress of a child
over time. Screening will help in detecting the early signs of problems in development,
whereas assessment provides detailed information on how a child learners (Meurer et al.,
2022).
2. Analysis: Screenings act as an initial checkpoint to flag potential issues, while
assessments offer deeper insights over time, ensuring that a child's development is
consistently monitored and supported. Differentiating between the two processes allows
educators and parents to focus on both immediate concerns and long-term development.
3. Concluding sentence: Understanding the difference between screenings and assessments
makes for a comprehensive approach toward early childhood development to ensure
children receive both immediate support and ongoing evaluation.
F. Fifth body paragraph topic sentence: Parents play a very important role in early childhood
assessment because they provide the child development information.
1. Supporting evidence: Conferences, both scheduled and unscheduled, are a great means
for sharing growth of a child with their parents; this regular communication with the
teachers’ helps parents to share valuable information that might have been missed by the
educator in the class (The Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2022).
2. Analysis: Parental contributions are important for completing the developmental picture
of a child since the parents are in a better position to know about their child's
development and learning occurring out of school. In this way, through participation in
IMPORTANCE OF EARLY CHILDHOOD ASSESSMENT FOR FAMILIES & COMMUNITIES 4
assessment, parents become an active partner in the education of their child, and thereby
it may facilitate improvement in learning.
3. Concluding sentence: The involvement of parents in assessment strengthens the home-
school partnership and offers a more valid and holistic understanding of child
development.
G. Sixth body paragraph topic sentence: Observational methods, standardized tests, and
developmental checklists are some of the ways used by the teacher or child caregiver to
determine if the child is learning and developing as anticipated.
1. Supporting evidence: Problem-solving skills of a child can be identified through play
observation by teachers. The teachers can also make use of the developmental checklists,
which chart the attainment of developmental stages. Observation techniques are faultier
and more genuine in early childhood since they are natural expressions of learning
(Anggoro et al., 2021).
2. Analysis: Observations offer dense, real-time data on how children approach tasks and
allow teachers to make informed decisions regarding the learning needs. Less intrusive
than formal tests, this form of assessment often yields real insights into the progress a
child is making in development.
3. Concluding sentence: The observational approach, therefore linked with formal
assessments, provides a full insight into the child's development to the educator, who in
return then plans effective learning.
H. Seventh body paragraph topic sentence: Formal and informal tests take different
approaches in measuring the growth and development of a child.
IMPORTANCE OF EARLY CHILDHOOD ASSESSMENT FOR FAMILIES & COMMUNITIES 5
1. Supporting evidence: Standardized examinations are examples of formal assessments,
which provide quantifiable data; on the other hand, informal assessments, like instructor
observations, give insights into students' everyday learning activities. A more thorough
knowledge of a child's development is facilitated by both kinds of evaluations
(Schildkamp et al., 2020).
2. Analysis: Formal assessments provide a comparative measure for the teacher and provide
a benchmark of how a child compares to age-level peers, while informal assessment
provides an ongoing record that can be used to adjust teaching strategies. Used together,
both ensure that no area of the child's development will be neglected or left unattended.
3. Concluding sentence: Formal and informal assessments together bring a balanced way
of assessment concerning children's development and thus monitor it correctly and
continuously.
I. Eighth body paragraph topic sentence: It is important to communicate the children's
learning and development to their parents; this allows transparency and collaboration to take
place both from the settings and the parents.
1. Supporting evidence: Assessment results can be shared with parents in a somewhat
readable form by teachers during parent-teacher conferences, detailed reports, or through
digital platforms. This helps to establish a healthy partnership between parents and the
school through well-maintained communications (Graham-Clay, 2024).
2. Analysis: A clear and consistent line of communication on the child's development will
keep the parents informed and involved in their child's learning process. Parents would
much more reasonably be in a position to contribute towards strategies that promote
further growth if they understand how well their child is doing.
IMPORTANCE OF EARLY CHILDHOOD ASSESSMENT FOR FAMILIES & COMMUNITIES 6
3. Concluding sentence: Such an open line of communication between educator and parent
ensures that there is a proper meeting of efforts where the child's learning and
advancement are concerned from both quarters.
J. Ninth body paragraph topic sentence: The parents are engaged in assessing their child's
learning and development through interviews, questionnaires, and developmental checklists.
1. Supporting evidence: Schools use either a parental checklist or interviews to gain
information from the family about home learning activities. In this process, educators get
all the relevant information that shall not be evident in a classroom setting (Graham-Clay,
2024).
2. Analysis: Parent involvement in assessment adds another layer of data to give a fuller
description of the child's development. Collaboration of educators and parents on the
assessment of a child facilitates an approach that fosters an environment which is
conducive for development.
3. Concluding sentence: The involvement of parents in the assessment process will help
the educator to develop a more holistic approach and thus an effective way of monitoring
and supporting a child's development.
K. Conclusion:
1. Rephrased Thesis: Early childhood assessment is the keystone to understanding the
development of children, guiding individual learning, and establishing a shared
partnership among families and educators.
2. Significance: In as much as both educators and parents are involved in the process,
assessment will afford the child the opportunity to develop both academically and
socially for lifelong learning.
IMPORTANCE OF EARLY CHILDHOOD ASSESSMENT FOR FAMILIES & COMMUNITIES 7
References
Anggoro, F. K., Dubosarsky, M., & Kabourek, S. (2021). Developing an Observation Tool to
Measure Preschool Children’s Problem-Solving Skills. Education Sciences, 11(12), 779.
https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci11120779
Graham-Clay, S. (2024). Communicating With Parents 2.0: Strategies for Teachers. School
Community Journal, 34(1). https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1425334.pdf
Jahreie, J. (2023). Early childhood education and care teachers’ perceptions of school readiness:
A research review. Teaching and Teacher Education, 135, 104353–104353.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2023.104353
Meurer, J., Rohloff, R., Rein, L., Kanter, I., Kotagiri, N., Gundacker, C., & Tarima, S. (2022).
Improving Child Development Screening: Implications for Professional Practice and
Patient Equity. Journal of Primary Care & Community Health, 13, 215013192110626.
https://doi.org/10.1177/21501319211062676
Oppermann, E., Blaurock, S., Zander, L., & Anders, Y. (2024). Children’s Social-Emotional
Development During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Protective Effects of the Quality of
Children’s Home and Preschool Learning Environments. Early Education and
Development, 1–29. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2024.2360877
Sadoo, S., Nalugya, R., Lassman, R., Kohli-Lynch, M., Chariot, G., Davies, H. G., Katuutu, E.,
Clee, M., Seeley, J., Webb, E. L., Mutoni Vedastine, R., Beckerlegge, F., & Tann, C. J.
(2022). Early detection and intervention for young children with early developmental
disabilities in Western Uganda: a mixed-methods evaluation. BMC Pediatrics, 22(1).
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12887-022-03184-7
IMPORTANCE OF EARLY CHILDHOOD ASSESSMENT FOR FAMILIES & COMMUNITIES 8
Schildkamp, K., van der Kleij, F., Heitink, M., Kippers, W., & Veldkamp, B. (2020). Formative
assessment: A systematic review of critical teacher prerequisites for classroom practice.
International Journal of Educational Research, 103(1), 101602.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2020.101602
The Annie E. Casey Foundation. (2022). Parental Involvement in Your Child’s Education. The
Annie E. Casey Foundation. https://www.aecf.org/blog/parental-involvement-is-key-to-
student-success-research-shows