The Importance Of Early Childhood Assessments

Christina J. Groark, Stephanie K. McCarthy, Afton R. Kirk. (2014). Early Child Development: From Theory to Practice. Bridgepoint Education, Inc.

The Brigance Diagnostic Inventory of Early Development-II was written by Albert H. Brigance & Frances Page Gloscoe. The IED-II was published by Curriculum Associates, Inc. in 1978-2004. The test is administered individually with the age range of birth-7 years old. This test was created to monitor a child’s development. Because it was not a high stakes test, there was more room for error. The IED-II was translated into Spanish. Spanish tests were given to 8.6% of participants but since scores were never compared to the English version of the test, there is no confirmation of reliability or validity (Davis pg 9). Also, the Spanish version of the test is not publicly available. “The purpose of the Brigance Diagnostic IED-II is to determine readiness for school, track developmental progress, provide a range of scores needed for documenting eligibility for special education services, and enable a comparison of children 's skills within and across developmental domains in order to view strengths and weaknesses and to determine entry points for instruction” (Davis 1). It also helps in assisting with program evaluation.

Health promotion is very important to early childhood education to improve the well-being of children and parents’ health and behaviours. “It is important for early childhood educators to recognized their essential role as health promotors” (Pimento & Kernested 2015, P. 4). There are 12 social determinants in daily life for childhood programs, however I have identified that social support networks are most important determinants of health. Likewise, educators and families are both mutually directly and indirectly supporting children to improve their healthy development and education (Pimento & Kernested, 2015, P.34). In early childhood, educators have very important role in daycare which is communication. That means, that we need to communicate with family (parent, grandparent), children and coworkers to share the daily basic tasks and any other ideas or information for improving environments and supports. It is especially important that we support mothers who have very limited knowledge about their first-born baby, such as lack of information about breastfeeding, sleeping routine, formula ratios, nutrition, healthy eating habits, or any parental skills. Not only that, we can also help parents to get benefits and support from the government such as financial support, subsidized daycare, and community information resources on healthy nutrition food.

The Developmental Assessment of Young Children-Second Edition (DAYC-2) is a test given to children from birth through age 5 to measure if there are any delays in the early childhood development through the five different domains: cognition, communication, social-emotional development, physical development, and adaptive behavior. This test is individually administered and is norm referenced measure of early childhood development.

The film Precious is an emotional movie that deals with the unfortunate realities of everyday life for some individuals. The film that stares Gabourey Sidibe who plays the main character Clarice “Precious” Jones is based out of Harlem in the year of 1987. Precious is a sixteen year-old obese and uneducated teenager whom has had to grow up in a severely dysfunctional family environment. Her mother verbally and physically abuses her, often times using her as a personal servant. Her father has been sexually abusing her since childhood, and has impregnated her twice. Precious has lived with the ugly truth that because of her weight, skin color, and sexual abuse, she does not fit in

“Early roots of play as a best practice for early learning was documented by Plato, a Greek philosopher, who insisted that play is considered a natural activity of childhood.”(Ingrid Crowther, 2011, Pg. 2) Early Childhood Education is a term that refers to educational programs that are devoted to children from birth to the age of eight. “Children of this age learn by exploring and investigating; therefore, their environment should support and encourage this process.”(Rebecca Isbell and Betty Exelby, 2001, Pg. 11) Early childhood environments should be attractive and exciting. These environments should allow children to work and play using proper resources, materials, and tools.

Sensory integration is a condition that can be found in young children. This condition is defined as the difficulty of developing motor and cognitive skills at a typical rate(book). If the parent of a child with this condition is fully aware, most likely they will take the steps they need to better their child’s life. With that being said, the child will need an occupational therapist. The researcher has gathered information on the steps and guidelines of what an occupational therapist needs to follow for early intervention, the benefits it has for the child in need, and also the roles of an occupational therapist that will be further discussed. One of the most important role that an occupational therapist can do for a child with sensory integration is early intervention. The earlier you acknowledge the condition, the better outcome the child has at improving his/her physical and mental capabilities. Early intervention helps these children strive towards a path that improves their abilities and skills that are developed during these crucial years.

In order to respond this question, we must first review the history of Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP) and Early Childhood Education (ECE). Although ECE has been around since the creation of kindergarten in the 1800’s, the decade of the 1980’s was an important period for ECE. “By the 1980’s, meta-analysis of the well-designed US projects offered compelling evidence on the positive outcomes of [early childhood education and intervention]” (Woodhead, 2007). Therefore, there was much pressure to improve the state of education, including ECE. “The decade of the 1980’s saw numerous calls for widespread school reform, with changes recommended in teacher education, graduation requirements, school structure, and accountability measures” (S. Bredekamp, R.A. Knuth, L.G. Kunesh, and D.D. Shulman, 1992). At this time, there was an increasing concern about the quality of early childhood education for the influx number of families that needed it. This led the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) to “begin planning a national voluntary accreditation system for early childhood programs”(NAEYC, 2014). With this planning came a need for a more specific description with regards to accreditation guidelines. Therefore, NAEYC issued a formal statement defining DAP.

The North Carolina Pre-Kindergarten Program, formerly known as More at Four, is geared towards bettering the lives for At-Risk 4-year-old children. Exposing children to an early learning experience that will promote a positive learning environment to ensure Kindergarten readiness is what drives the program. Upon arrival, each child is screened using the Brigance 4-year-old tool to assess and determine the child’s developmental skills and abilities. According to the text, “Classroom tests and assessments play a central role in the evaluation of student learning. They provide relevant measures of many important learning outcomes and indirect evidence concerning others” (Miller, Linn, Gronlund, pg. 139). While many educators and families

As an Early childhood, Educator. I am required to administer a developmental screening to all students within 45 calendar of enrollment. When I was doing my observation for the course ECE 221. I could see in the pre-school class, how the teacher was assessing, a three-year-old child using” The Early Screening Inventory-Revised”. To start with this assessment,

Thesis Statement: Early childhood education has many benefits and there is the potential for many significant outcomes if universal preschools were put into place.

The Division for Early Childhood (DEC) is an organization that aids children, birth to 8 years old, that have developmental delays and disabilities. DEC provides parents and professionals with the best avenues in learning and development with children who are at risk for developmental delays or disabilities. By providing the research and recommended practices that produce the best results is DEC’s purpose. There are eight domains in the set of practices that engage in preservice and in-service professional development.

and young people .When assessing a child or young person a factor that should be considered is

The assessment gives parents and teachers a idea what the child can do. This assessment is a way to enforce account ability in the school. When the assessment is given it helps out

Child development is the foundation upon which early childhood practice is based. Because the psychomotor, socioemotional, cognitive, and linguistic developmental domains are inter-related, early childhood professionals in all types of programs (e.g., family child care homes, early childhood education centers) must comprehend both the processes of development and the adult’s role in supporting each child’s growth, development, and learning. (p. 1)