Assessment of young learners
What this domain covers
Assessment is gathering evidence of what children can do in order to help them learn; testing is only one way of doing it. Candidates must understand the difference between formative assessment (assessment for learning: ongoing, informing the next lesson) and summative assessment (a judgement at the end of a unit, term or course). They should know informal methods suited to children - observation with checklists, portfolios of work, self-assessment with smiley faces or 'can-do' statements, peer feedback, progress checks and games used as assessment opportunities - as well as ways of keeping records and reporting to parents.
Concepts to know
Feedback that is specific and encouraging; diagnosing difficulties so the next lesson responds; the backwash effect of assessment on what and how teachers teach; simple assessment criteria shared with children in child-friendly language; assessing the four skills in age-appropriate ways (listening by pointing or colouring, speaking through pair tasks, reading and writing through matching and short labels).
Traps
Equating assessment with formal testing; concluding that young children should not be assessed at all (they should, but informally and continuously); confusing formative with summative; confusing self-assessment with peer assessment; assuming marks or grades are necessary; and importing adult test formats that demand reading and writing beyond the children's level.
Worked example
Instead of an end-of-unit written test, the teacher plays a colour game, observes with a checklist ('can name six colours', 'can answer What colour is it?'), and notes three children who need more practice. The notes feed directly into the next lesson. That is formative assessment, and it produces better information than a short test would.