When measuring a young whole-self/holistically, I believe that it is important to measure the child’s ability to socialize with others, their cognitive ability, and their physical ability. Throughout life, a child needs the ability to socialize on a regular basis. If the child seems to need help with socializing with others, there are ways to help the child at a young age. Through assessing a child’s cognitive skills, we are able to see a child’s reading development. We are able to determine the pace at which the child’s information processing, conceptual resources, perceptual skill, and language learning skills are developing. Assessing a child’s physical ability determines many things, such as walking, running, jumping, catching a ball and many other physical activities in everyday life.
I found an article while searching the web which focuses on the similarities and differences in schools in Mexico and the U.S. Each country has their own specific differences in education based on the country’s government. Mexico and the U.S. have similarities in that there are so many children that come from Mexico to go to school in the U.S.
I believe that when assessing young children it is important to add humor to the assessment. I assess children to determine where they will be placed within the Phonics Enrichment course that I teach. The children are able to stay focused for a specific amount of time. By breaking up the assessment and making the assessment interesting and engaging for the child, I am able to get a real assessment of the child’s cognitive ability.
I really enjoyed your post. In my head start we use the Brigance testing and it measures cognitive, motor skills, social, and language. I like this test because it helps me see what areas each child knows or need help with. We do this testing within the first 45 days of entering my classroom and then again at the end of the year to see what we have accomplished.
ReplyDeleteI am on the middle of the road when it comes to standardized testing. There are so many variables that can result in positive or negative results it is truly hard to get an accurate reading. However, with that being said - I think it is a valuable tool to see what areas need help and taught differently.
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