When you assess children you have to make sure that you use the proper tool. I have found that a lot of the assessment tools used in schools are not fair to all children. I find this to be more noticeable in assessing children that have English as their second language. When choosing an assessment tool it is important to remember that children develop at different rates. Children have different styles of learning. It is not fair to say that two children who are the same age should be able to do the same things. When I assess a child I already know what to expect before I begin. I have observed the child enough to know what they are capable of doing. I have anecdotal notes that help me understand why they obtained a certain score. When I have a child that has English as their second language, I have a form called an ASQ that I give to the parent to fill out. Now I know as a parent myself, I would not want my child to receive a low score so I know that some of the scores that I see on the ASQ have been fudged a little. When that happens and I know that I expect a lower score, I usually do my own ASQ and compare the two. The Dial 3 does not support children with physical disabilities. How can you expect a child to get a fair score on an assessment that has gross motor activities on it?
The CELF Preschool-2 Spanish and PLS-4 Spanish is used to determine Hispanic children language ability. They both are language test which are used to compare the language skills of children that are the same age. The children that are assessed are children who only speak Spanish, but are learning English, children who speak both languages well, and Hispanic children who speak no Spanish at all. Each child is equipped with different skills which are emerging at different stages and rates. The characteristics of the child determines which test the child will be given. The advantage to this is that the language and speech assessment has to be administered in the child’s primary language.
Assessing Spanish_Speaking Preschoolers: CELF Preschool-2 Spanish and PLS-4 Spanish. Retrieved from http://www.txsha.org/_pdf/Convention/New%20Folder/Pearson_Assessing%20Spanish-Speaking%20Preschoolers
Angela
arltaylor 
Hi Angela,
I agree with you there is not one tool designed that fit all children needs. The best tool we have is observations and anecdotal notes. I wish we could assess children without having to score them since some time the scores are not accurate. I like your example about the ASQ’s in the Head Start and Early Head Start programs parents complete the ASQ’s, and very often the results of the ASQ’s completed by the parents differ from your observations. I am an Education Specialist for an Early Head Start program, and when I get those concerns from my teachers also; I suggest them to do one themselves. We compare the results of both assessments and try to come up with a most accurate score. We all know that is hard for parents to score their children low and some are in the denial stage. They do not think that is something that needs to be evaluated by a professional to determine if their child needs extra help. We had parents withdraw children from the program just because we have made referrals requesting a professional opinion. We need to more work in educating the parents that there is nothing wrong with obtaining professional help for their children. All children are unique and have individual needs.
I am so glad you brought up children that are ELLs. There are so many assessment tools and I have yet to find a strong one that focusing on children that are ELLs. Educators need to keep this challenge in mind when conducting their own assessments. I would love to see how school aged children are assessed and the tools they use, if they keep ELL in mind or not. Are the tools you mentioned used in way that teachers that do not speak the child’s language can accurately use them? I need to explore more tools as I have 2 children in my program that are ELLs and I need to be sure the teachers have the best tools available.
Hi Angela,
You are so right; Children should be assessed based on their developmental stage not their age. Children are different in every way of their thinking, the way they process information and the way they learn. So why would we expect him to test the same way. It is good to know your children to aide them in applying what they know in this standardized tests. Maybe we can provide suggestion about implementing culture, environments and techniques that will help our children to be able to take the test. If they gather enough information maybe our children will truly be able to show people what that know.
Hello Angela,
I want to thank you for sharing your thoughts with me and for always posting such a wonderful information in your posts. Throughout this course we have learned so much from each other through our experiences. I hope we can continue to have more courses together, but if not I wish you the best in your future courses and career. Thanks again and Good Luck!!