Testing for Intelligence?

Young children are notoriously poor test-takers: perhaps because they are sometimes confused by being asked questions that they think the tester must already know the answers to! There is reason to suggest that the younger the child being evaluated, assessed, or tested, the more errors are made (Shepard, 1994; Ratcliff, 1995). If this principle is sound, then the younger the children, the greater the risk of assigning false labels to them. Another principle may also be appropriate: the longer children live with a label (a true or false one), the more difficult it may become to discard it.

All methods of assessment make errors: the errors made by formal tests are different from those made by informal or anecdotal records and documentation notes; the errors made by specific checklists of behavioral items are different from those made by holistic impressionistic assessments. Awareness of the potential errors of each evaluation or assessment strategy can help minimize errors in interpretation. It is a good idea to strive for a balance between global or holistic evaluation and detailed specific assessments of young children.

Numerous on-going assessment systems for young children are now available. These assessments guide the teacher's observations and offer a means to assess the curriculum to determine if children are being given opportunities to grow in all domains. The following Web sites offer further information on some of the most widely used assessment systems:

• High/Scope: The Child Observation Record
  http://www.highscope.org/
• Teaching Strategies: Comprehensive Curriculum, Assessment, Training and Evaluation for Early Childhood Education
  http://www.teachingstrategies.com/

National early childhood associations have convened researchers and practitioners to develop position statements around the issue of appropriate assessment for young children. These position statements can be used in discussions with parents and school administrators in explaining the reasons why on-going assessment is a responsible form of gathering real information on young children's progress.

The assessment of young children is truly a celebration of their lives and advancements if teachers view it as such. Information gained in the assessment process can also be used in the planning of work that addresses the needs of the child as evidenced in the collection of work samples and teacher observations. And most importantly, it can be used as a tool in the sharing of progress with the child's family and with the child herself.

Grace, Cathy (2001). Assessing Young Children.

Ratcliff, Nancy. (1995). The need for alternative techniques for assessing young children's emerging literacy skills. Contemporary Education, 66(3),169-171.

Shepard, Lorrie A. (1994). The challenges of assessing young children appropriately. Phi Delta Kappan, 76(3), 206- 212.