Assessment

Assessment and young children is definitely a tricky subject.  I do think that there need to be assessments of some kind in order to measure achievement and growth.  Assessments also allow a teacher to track developmental delays.  I think that assessments should give a picture of where a child is so that you can take them to the next level that makes sense for them.  Some areas that I think should be assessed or measured include physical skills, social/behavioral skills, and cognitive skills.  All assessments should reflect age appropriate skills and be very hands-on and informal.  Many assessments on the growth of young children can happen through observation or informal game play.  If the results of an assessment are not used, the assessment is useless.  Gaining information and compiling facts should not be the end game when assessing children.  I feel assessments should be used to find a current level, track growth, and help inform a teacher’s instruction.

I chose to look at the assessment of school-age children in Sweden.  From the information I gathered, Sweden has recently moved to their assessment system looking a lot like that of the United States.  In 2011, they implemented National testing in 3^rd, 6^th, and 9^th grade.  They also added different grading standards as a way to gauge student progress (Swedish Institute, 2012).  Sweden shows a commitment to educating the whole child that few other places do.  Schooling is free and they provide free school lunches on a daily basis to all children.

My school recently went to online assessments 3 times a year for all children grades 2-5.  We were given the option of adding Kindergarten and first grade to this assessment schedule as well.  I fought hard to make sure that my students did not have to participate.  An online assessment seems to be more an assessment of a child’s computer skills, reading skills, and patience than anything actually helpful.  When I work one-on-one to assess my Kindergartners I gain valuable information.  I can tell if they are nervous, they show me how quickly/confidently they can respond to my questions, and I can easily find their “next steps” based on their current level.  When children are given cookie-cutter online assessments their teacher gets a printout.  Does that data actually tell them anything?  Do they actually use it?  I struggle to believe either of those answers is yes. 

Swedish Institute. (2012, June). Education in sweden: Lessons for life. Retrieved from http://www.sweden.se/eng/Home/Education/