Every child learns differently and can show what they learned in different ways. I struggled with passing paper pencil tests in school. I knew the information but had a hard time showing it under stress. A good example is when I had to pass the praxis to get into the teacher education program. I knew I had a lot of good qualities that teachers displayed but since I could not pass the test I had to wait a semester to pass the test before I could get into the teaching program. Passing the test was the only way to get into the program. It took me 4 tries before I passed that test! Children should not be judged from a test, whether they should pass or fail. Children learn in other ways too. Some children learn kinesthetically, musically, visually, or linguistically. Children also learn by a combination of ways too. I learn best kinesthetically and musically. For some reason I can listen to a song two times and then pick up on the words right away. When assessing children we should look at testing them in multiple ways, not just paper pencil tests. Children that learn differently will have a fair chance to succeed just as much as children that take pencil paper tests well.
I think culture plays a very important part in the childhood development and how the child process information.
In New Zealand Children are assess using a type of portfolio the teachers take a sample of their work from different work areas and use it to do running records which would allow them to move up in different levels. Assessment occurs minute by minute as adults listen, watch, and interact with an individual child or with groups of children. These continuous observations provide the basis of information for more in-depth assessment and evaluation that is integral to making decisions on how best to meet children’s needs.
In-depth assessment requires adults to observe changes in children’s behaviour and learning and to link these to curriculum goals. Assessment contributes to evaluation, revision, and development of programs.
In my opinion I think assessment and data entry is very important to compare children's development as they move from one level to another. Teachers can use it as a tool that will allow them to know what the child knows or need to learn.
