Early Childhood Assessment


Book Description

The assessment of young children's development and learning has recently taken on new importance. Private and government organizations are developing programs to enhance the school readiness of all young children, especially children from economically disadvantaged homes and communities and children with special needs. Well-planned and effective assessment can inform teaching and program improvement, and contribute to better outcomes for children. This book affirms that assessments can make crucial contributions to the improvement of children's well-being, but only if they are well designed, implemented effectively, developed in the context of systematic planning, and are interpreted and used appropriately. Otherwise, assessment of children and programs can have negative consequences for both. The value of assessments therefore requires fundamental attention to their purpose and the design of the larger systems in which they are used. Early Childhood Assessment addresses these issues by identifying the important outcomes for children from birth to age 5 and the quality and purposes of different techniques and instruments for developmental assessments.




Developing Narrative Comprehension


Book Description

Comprehension of texts and understanding of questions is a cornerstone of successful human communication. Whilst reading comprehension has been thoroughly investigated in the last decade, there is surprisingly little research on children’s comprehension of picture stories, particularly for bilinguals. This can be partially explained by the lack of cross-culturally robust, cross-linguistic instruments targeting early narration. This book presents an inference-based model of narrative comprehension and a tool that grew out of a large-scale European project on multilingualism. Covering a range of language settings, the book uses the Multilingual Assessment Instrument for Narratives to answer the question which narrative comprehension skills (bilingual) children can be expected to master at a certain age, and explores how such comprehension is affected (or not affected) by linguistic and extra-linguistic factors. Linking theory to method, the book will appeal to researchers in linguistics and psychology and graduate students interested in narrative, multilingualism, and language acquisition.




The Rossetti Infant-toddler Language Scale


Book Description

The Rossetti Infant-Toddler Language Scale is designed to provide the clinician with a comprehensive, easy-to-administer, and relevant tool to assess the preverbal and verbal aspects of communication and interaction in the young child. The Rossetti Infant-Toddler Language Scale is a criterion referenced instrument that assesses Interaction-Attachment, Pragmatics, Gesture, Play, Language Comprehension, and Language Expression. Behaviors can be directly elicited from the child, directly observed, or reported by parent or caregiver to credit the child's performance. All carry equal weight when scoring the scale. Results reflect the child's mastery of skills in each of the areas assessed at three-month intervals across developmental domains tested. The test items guide you in directing and structuring observations in order to monitor the child's progress in language developmental areas. The items are based on a compilation of author observation and descriptions from developmental hierarchies and behaviors recognized and used by leading authorities in the field of infant-toddler assessment. Only items considered discriminating and representative of a skill at an age were included. Severity rating guidelines help you interpret the results and confidently communicate the severity of the child's delay. Parent Questionnaire and report questions are in English and Spanish, found on the CD-ROM for quick printing.







Creative Curriculum


Book Description

The Creative Curriculum comes alive! This videotape-winner of the 1989 Silver Apple Award at the National Educational Film and Video Festival-demonstrates how teachers set the stage for learning by creating a dynamic well-organized environment. It shows children involved in seven of the interest areas in the The Creative Curriculum and explains how they learn in each area. Everyone conducts in-service training workshops for staff and parents or who teaches early childhood education courses will find the video an indispensable tool for explainin appropriate practice.




Transdisciplinary Play-based Assessment


Book Description

Curriculum-based assessment that professionals can use in their center or home to assess children birth-six through observation of their play complete with tables that compare their children to typically developing children.







Assessment in Early Childhood Education


Book Description

For Assessment courses in Early Childhood Education. One of the most accessible and practical textbooks available on assessing young children from infancy through age 8. It provides the full range of types of assessment and how, when, and why to use them. An excellent introduction to assessing young children, Assessment in Early Childhood Education continues with the inclusion of all types of assessments that can be used with infants and young children. Key changes and updates to this edition include: updated and streamlined figures, examples, and models of assessment that aid pre-service teachers to learn how to apply the principles of quality assessments; new activities at the end of the chapters provide opportunities for students to apply their own performance activities to demonstrate understanding of chapter contents; the effects of No Child Left Behind have been updated; newly revised information on children from diverse cultures and languages and children with disabilities has been added; and information on new and current trends toward accountability are discussed, as well as the impact of high-stakes testing.




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