Course Enhancement Modules

Authentic Assessment

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Overview

What Learners Should Know and Be Able to Do

Multimedia Illustrations

This module expands on the curriculum module for EI/ECSE Standard 4, Assessment Processes, and its components 4.2 and 4.4. Additionally, the learning resources provided are designed to be used in both pre-service and in-service to facilitate the integration of the knowledge and skills addressed by this topic. Specifically, the learning resources address developing and/or selecting authentic assessment measures (i.e., informal assessments) that are appropriate for the child and family, as well as administering those measures in natural environments, developing and utilizing observation skills, using play-based methods as appropriate, and using the data collected to monitor progress and make decisions about intervention and instruction.

Purpose

The purpose of this module is to:
Specifically, it aims to (a) identify what learners should know and be able to do related to authentic assessment;
In addition, it provides higher education faculty and PD providers with a variety of learning resources on the topic;
Furthermore, it highlights the relationship of these resources to adult learning practices.
Overall, the module is designed to be used flexibly for both preservice and ongoing professional development.

Objectives

After engaging with these resources, IHE faculty and PD providers will be able to:

Identify learner outcomes specific to authentic assessment.
Identify resources to integrate into the higher education curriculum and/or content for PD.
Identify the relationship of the resources with evidence-based practices for adult learners.

PowerPoint Presentations:

This sample syllabus provides ideas for resources, activities, readings, and assignments, aligned with the EI/ECSE standards. Consider state and university policies and add them as appropriate. This is a sample only and is not a complete syllabus.

Sample Syllabus Authentic Assessment

What Learners Should Know and Be Able to Do

Component 4.2 Learners develop and administer informal assessments and/or select and use valid, reliable formal assessments using evidence-based practices, including technology, in partnership with families and other professionals.

Learners Who Have Mastered this Component/Topic Know and Understand:

informal assessment, and
play-based assessment.

Learners Who Have Mastered this Component/Topic Are Able To:

develop informal assessments,
administer informal assessments using evidence-based practices,
administer informal assessments using technology, as appropriate,
use play-based assessment methods as appropriate,
collaborate with families and other professionals in the administration of informal assessments, and
work with mediators and/or interpreters on the assessment team.

Component 4.4 Learners, in collaboration with families and other team members, use assessment data to determine eligibility, develop child and family-based outcomes/goals, plan for interventions and instruction, and monitor progress to determine the efficacy of programming.

Learners Who Have Mastered this Component/Topic Know and Understand:

individualized planning, and
data-based decision-making.

Learners Who Have Mastered this Component/Topic Are Able To:

collaborate with families and other team members to integrate informal and authentic assessment data to develop child and family outcomes/goals and individualized plans,
use ongoing informal assessment data to monitor progress, and
use ongoing informal assessment data to adapt and enhance intervention and instruction.

Multimedia Illustrations

This section includes short videos, video vignettes, TED Talks, and webinars that relate to the topic. The majority addresses the evidence-based practice for adult learners of illustration. Some are informational and relate to the practice of introduction.

Component and Title	Key Content	Duration	Link
4.2 Abigail and Samantha Working on Computers	Preschoolers Abigail and Samantha demonstrate a variety of cognitive, digital, communication, and social skills while playing computer games next to each other. This video clip can be used for observation, documentation, and assessment skills.	3:16	View
4.2 Alexa and Ulysses Order Pizza	Alexa and Ulysses demonstrate a range of imaginative, social, and communication skills while playing together in the dramatic play area. In Spanish. This video clip can be used for observation, documentation, and assessment skills.	4:15	View
4.2 At the Breakfast Table	Preschoolers Mariyam, Mical, and Asli demonstrate a variety of self-help, manipulative, communication, and social skills at the breakfast table. This video clip can be used for observation, documentation, and assessment skills.	3:07	View
4.2 Aurelius Reading at Naptime	This video clip tells the story of how a preschool teacher used digital video and other technologies to help document and assess a young boy's notable skills and share the information with the child's family.	4:52	View
4.2 Authentic Assessment in Early Intervention	Physical Therapist Megan Kish Fibbe describes and illustrates how authentic assessment practices enhance EI work with children and families. Focuses on the purposes and uses of observation in a home setting as an authentic assessment tool.	7:36	View
4.2 Authentic Child Assessment	This Puckett Institute video describes authentic child assessment practices which include methods and strategies for identifying the contextual and adult behavior that promote a child’s participation and learning in everyday activities. The assessment practices involve observing children’s engagement in everyday activities, the learning opportunities that occur in the activities, child strengths and abilities displayed in the activities, and the adult behavior that can support child participation and learning in the activities.	2:13	View
4.2 Clearing Your View: Staying Objective in Observation	This video explains how to observe babies and record what is seen in an objective way that will help staff understand the meaning of the child's behavior.	6:38	View
4.2 Collaborating with Language Interpreters – Information for Home Visitors	This video highlights tips home visitors and language interpreters can use when collaborating and working with families.	5:19	View
4.2 Collecting and Using Anecdotal Records	Collecting and using anecdotal records to document child progress is discussed.	3:56	View
4.2 Collecting and Using Video	This video discusses how to use video in an early childhood classroom to collect information to document child progress.	5:38	View
4.2 Collecting and Using Work Samples	Collecting and using work samples to document children’s learning in the preschool classroom is discussed.	4:58	View
4.2 Documentation as a Habit	This video illustrates the exemplary documentation practices of Kim Moroze and her staff at Emerald Preschool, Boulder Valley School District. The teaching team and parents discuss and illustrate the uses of observation notes, photography, and video.	8:03	View
4.2 Four Boys Talk About a Garbage Truck	During choice time, four boys watch a video of a recent visit by sanitation workers and talk about their experience. This video clip can be used for observation, documentation, and assessment skills.	2:04	View
4.2 Gabby	Gabby, a toddler, demonstrates a variety of physical skills. This video clip can be used for observation, documentation, and assessment skills.	1:38	View
4.2 Gabby and Nicholas	Toddlers, Gabby, and Nicholas demonstrate a variety of cognitive, social, and physical skills as they engage with objects and one another. This video clip can be used for observation, documentation, and assessment skills.	2:20	View
4.2 Joy and Johna Working on a Puzzle	Preschoolers, Joy, and Johna demonstrate a rich variety of fine motor, communication, social, play, and problem-solving skills while working together on a puzzle. This video clip can be used for observation, documentation, and assessment skills.	6:04	View
4.2 Joy on the Playground	Preschooler Joy demonstrates a variety of gross motor, imaginative, communication, and social skills on the playground with peers. This video clip can be used for observation, documentation, and assessment skills.	3:18	View
4.2 Lilly	Lilly, just learning to crawl, demonstrates physical and communication skills as she interacts with materials, peers, and a caregiver. This video clip can be used for observation, documentation, and assessment skills.	1:38	View
4.2 Look at Me! Using Focused Child Observation with Infants and Toddlers	This video podcast introduces viewers to using focused observation with infants and toddlers and gives them an opportunity to “try out” some of the techniques discussed.	7:40	View
4.2 Planning for Assessment	This video describes how teachers can plan efficiently for conducting ongoing assessments of children's learning in the preschool classroom. This video mentions the previous Head Start Child Development and Early Learning Framework. Viewers should instead reference the newer Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework: Ages Birth to Five (ELOF) for early learning domains and goals.	2:55	View
4.2 Play-Based Assessment	Play-based assessment is discussed, including the role of the parent/caregiver and professionals.	5:59	View
4.2 Profitt	Profitt, a toddler, demonstrates a variety of physical skills as he explores his classroom and materials. This video clip can be used for observation, documentation, and assessment skills.	3:43	View
4.2 Samantha and Sara Building Towers and Castles	Preschoolers, Sara, and Samantha demonstrate a variety of imaginative, manipulative, gross motor, communication, and social skills in the block area. This video clip can be used for observation, documentation, and assessment skills.	6:45	View
4.2 Samantha on the Playground	Preschooler Samantha demonstrates a rich variety of gross motor skills over a short period of time on the playground. This video clip can be used for observation, documentation, and assessment skills.	1:46	View
4.2 Transdisciplinary Play-Based Assessment and Intervention for Young Children	Toni Linder discusses the transdisciplinary play-based assessment and intervention in this webinar.	43:14	View
4.2 Using Checklists	This video shows simple ways to develop and use checklists to collect data on child progress in a classroom or home setting.	4:56	View
4.2 Using iPod Touch and Dragon Dictation to Record Observation Notes	Illustrates how early care and education providers can use the free Dragon Dictation app on the iPod Touch to document observation notes.	3:15	View
4.2 Using the iPod Touch and iPhone to Record Video and Photographic Documentation and Photographic Documentation	Three teachers discuss and illustrate how they use the iPhone and iPod Touch to record, watch, and share video and photographs as part of child observation.	3:51	View
4.2 Watching Video Documentation with Children	This video illustrates how watching video documentation with children can be used as a strategy for assessment and can enhance children’s engagement in activities and choice-making.	3:49	View
4.2 What is Authentic Assessment?	This video illustrates the primary features and purposes of authentic assessment in a classroom setting.	3:02	View
4.4 Data Can Help Every Student Excel	Data is one of the most powerful tools to inform, engage, and create opportunities for students along their education journey—and it is much more than test scores. Data helps us make connections that lead to insights and improvements. Everyone has an important role to play in helping all students succeed in their own individualized ways. Here’s what it will look like when data is working for all students.	2:00	View
4.4 Sharing Video Documentation with Families	Christina Devarona provides a powerful illustration of how video can help understand children’s learning and development and share that information with families.	2:47	View
4.4 Using Child Assessment Data to Achieve Positive Outcomes	Administrators and teachers illustrate how they use authentic child assessment data to (1) inform funders, (2) inform classroom instruction (begins at 5:15), (3) meet the needs of individual children (begins at 7:15 and again at 12:18), (4) share with families (begins at 8:55), and (5) supports teachers (begins at 10:28).	14:20	View
4.4 Using Data to Inform Teaching	This video describes how to use assessment data to inform and adjust intervention and instruction practices.	2:42	View
4.4 Using Documentation at Emerald Preschool	This video illustrates several ways that documentation is organized and used at Emerald Preschool, Boulder Valley School District.	9:00	View
4.4 Using Video to Celebrate Progress	Physical Therapist Megan Klish Fibbe shows how video can support families by highlighting family strengths and child progress.	2:09	View

Note: The Results Matter Video Library has many other video clips for Practicing Observation, Documentation, and Assessment which include children ages birth through five years in a variety of activities and settings.

Learning Activities

The projects or assignments require learners to apply knowledge and skills related to the topic. They align with the evidence-based practices for adult learners of authentic learning, reflection, guidance, performance feedback, and follow-up activities.

Component 4.2

Components 4.2 and 4.4

Collect Authentic Assessment Information Using Observation: For a child (or three different children) with whom you are working in your Part C or Part B619 field placement, collect, record, and interpret authentic assessment information using three of these observation methods (i.e., anecdotal notes, event recording, duration, interval recording, or checklists). For each method selected, identify a target behavior for which you are observing. Prepare a summary a report for each target behavior and collection of data to include: (a) the target behavior, (b) a description of the collection method, (c) the completed data recording form(s), (d) the interpretation of the data to include any graphs, etc., (e) recommendations for next steps in intervention and instruction based on the data collected, and (f) a plan for sharing this information with the family and other professionals on the team.
Create an Authentic Assessment Portfolio: Collaborate with your preschool field placement cooperating teacher to identify a child for whom you will create an authentic assessment portfolio over the time of your field placement. The portfolio should include a variety of exemplars of the child’s performance and progress (e.g., samples of the child’s work, results of the criterion-referenced assessment, documentation of observations, completed checklists). Write a summary of how you have shared, with the assistance of your cooperating teacher, the portfolio artifacts with the child’s family and other professionals on the team.

Components 4.4

Interview a Family Member: Interview a parent/caregiver of a child receiving Part C or Part B619 services. Develop open-ended questions and probe questions for each to identify how the parent/caregiver has been involved with the team to use authentic assessment data to (a) develop short-term goals/outcomes for their child and family and (b) plan for and modify, as needed, intervention and instruction based on authentic assessment data.
IFSP Review Meeting Observation and Reflection: Observe a six-month IFSP review meeting and focus on discussion of child progress data and how it is used to determine any needed changes in the IFSP outcomes and intervention strategies. In addition, observe how each team member, including the family, is involved in the discussion and the role(s) of each team member during this meeting. Write a summary of your observation, including a reflection that identifies the strengths of the meeting and things that you would recommend doing differently for the next review meeting.

Websites

Division for Early Childhood Learning Decks https://www.dec-sped.org/learning-decks

Division for Early Childhood Recommended Practices https://www.dec-sped.org/dec-recommended-practices

Council for Exceptional Children High Leverage Practices https://highleveragepractices.org/about-hlps/

ECTA Practice Improvement Tools: Topic – Assessment https://ectacenter.org/decrp/topic-assessment.asp

ECTA Service Delivery Approaches and Models https://ectacenter.org/topics/eiservices/approaches-models.asp

Head Start Early Learning and Knowledge Center https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/

National Association of Interpreters in Education https://naiedu.org/

Zero to Three https://www.zerotothree.org/

Learning Modules

Modules from other sources that relate to the topic. They can be used in their entirety or by selecting sections or content that support the objectives of an IHE course or PD content. The evidence-based practices for adult learners will vary based on the module selected.

Learning Modules

Authentic Assessment in Early Intervention Module http://universalonlinepartceicurriculum.pbworks.com/w/page/123567288/Authentic%20Assessment%20in%20Early%20Intervention

ECPC Authentic Child Assessment Practices E-Learning Lessons https://ecpcprofessionaldevelopment.dec-sped.org/authentic-child-assessment-practices/

Early Childhood Recommended Practices Module 7: Assessment https://rpm.fpg.unc.edu/module-7-assessment

Module 2: Initial and Ongoing Functional Assessment – Washington State Early Support for Infants and Toddlers (ESIT) program, ECTA https://ectacenter.org/wamodules/functional.asp

Ongoing Child Assessment https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/child-screening-assessment/article/ongoing-child-assessment

References

Acar, S., & Blasco, P.M. (2018). Guidelines for collaborating with interpreters in early intervention/early childhood special education. Young Exceptional Children, (21)3, 170-184

Ackerman, D.J., & Coley, R.J. (2012). State pre-K assessment policies: Issues and status. Policy information report. Educational Testing Service. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id/=ED529449

Bagnato, S., Goins, D., Pretti-Frontczak, K., & Neisworth, J. (2014). Authentic Assessment as “Best Practice” for Early Childhood Intervention: National Consumer Social Validity Research, Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 1-12.

Barnes, N., Fives, H., & Dacey, C.M. (2017). U.S. teachers’ conceptions of the purposes of assessment. Teaching and Teacher Education, 65, 107-116.

Cornelius, K. E. (2014). Formative assessment made easy: Templates for collecting daily data in inclusive classrooms. Teaching Exceptional Children, 47(2), 112-118.

DeLuca, C., Valiquette, A., Coombs, A., LaPointe-McEwan, D., & Luhanga, U. (2018). Teachers’ approaches to classroom assessment: A large scale survey. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy, and Practice, 25(4), 355-375.

Grisham, J., Waddell, M., Crawford, R., & Toland, M. (2021). Psychometric properties of the Assessment, Evaluation, and Programming System for Infants and Children – Third Edition (AEPS-3). Journal of Early Intervention, 43(1), 24-37.

Hosp, M.K., Hosp, J.L., & Howell, K.W. (2016). The ABCs of CBM: A practical guide to curriculum-based measurement (2^nd ed.). Guilford Press.

Jablon, J. (2010, December). Taking it all in: Observation in the classroom. Teaching Young Children, 4(2), 2427. https://www.isbe.net/Documents_KIDSWebsiteResources/Taking%20it%20all%20in.pdf.pdf

Jablon, J. R., A.L. Dombro, & M.L. Dichtelmiller. 2007 (2nd ed.) The Power of Observation. Washington, DC: Teaching Strategies.

Kim, K. (2016). Teaching to the data collection? (Un)intended consequences of the online child assessment system, “Teaching Strategies GOLD.” Global Studies of Childhood, 6(1), 98-112.

Kung, M., Stolz, K., Lin, J., Foster, M. E., Schmitt, S. A., & Purpura, D. J. (2021). The home numeracy environment and measurement of numeracy performance in English and Spanish in dual language learners. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 40(4), 241-252.

Li, Z., Gooden, C., & Toland, M.D. (2019). Reliability and validity evidence for the Hawaii Early Learning Profile, Birth– 3 Years. Journal of Early Intervention, 41(1), 62-83.

Linder, T. W. (2008). Transdisciplinary Play-Based Assessment: A Functional Approach to Working with Young Children. (2nd Edition). Paul H. Brookes.

McConnell, S. R., & Rahn, N. L. (2016). Assessment in Early Childhood Special Education. In Handbook of Early Childhood Special Education (pp. 89-106). Springer International Publishing.

McLean, M., Banerjee, R., Squires, J., & Hebbeler, K. (Eds.). (2020). DEC recommended practices monograph series no. 7 Assessment: Recommended practices for young children and families. Division for Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children.

Pierucci, J., Barber, A., Gilpin, a., Crisler, M., Klinger L. (2015). Play assessments and developmental skills in young children with autism spectrum disorders. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 30(1), 35-43.

Pooch, A., Natale, R., & Hidalgo, T. (2019). Ages and Stages Questionnaire: Social-Emotional as a teacher-report measure. Journal of Early Intervention, 41(1), 3-12.

Pool, J. L., & Hampshire, P. (2020). Planning for the authentic assessment using unstructured and structured observation in the preschool classroom. Young Exceptional Children, 23(3), 143-156.

Pyle, A., & DeLuca, C. (2013). Assessment in the kindergarten classroom: An empirical study of teachers’ assessment approaches. Early Childhood Education Journal, 41(5), 373-380.

Schacter, R.E., Strang, T.M., & Piasta, S.B. (2017). Teachers’ experiences with a state-mandated kindergarten readiness assessment. Early Years: An International Journal of Research and Development, 1-17.

Shire, S. Y., Shih, W., Chang, Y. C., & Kasari, C. (2018). Short play and communication evaluation: Teachers’ assessment of core social communication and play skills with young children with autism. Autism, 22(3), 299-310.

Spence, C. M., Miller, D., Corr, C., Santos, R. M. & Bentley, B. (2021). When in doubt, reach out: Teaming strategies for inclusive early childhood settings. Young Children, 76(1). https://www.naeyc.org/resources/pubs/yc/spring2021/teaming-strategies-early-childhood

Squires, J. (2015). Guiding principles for accurate and efficient decision-making. In Division for Early Childhood (DEC), DEC Recommended Practices: Enhancing Services for Young Children with Disabilities and Their Families (DEC recommended practices monograph series no.1), (pp.37-52). Division for Early Childhood.

Zweig, J., Irwin, C.W., Kook, J., & Cox, J. (2015, April). Data collection and use in early childhood education programs: Evidence from the Northeast region (REL 2015-084). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Regional Educational Laboratory Northeast & Islands.

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