Basics of Assessment: A Primer for Early Childhood Professionals

Assessment of children's abilities and knowledge, their approaches to learning, and their strengths, needs, and interests is expected in most early childhood programs. However, many early childhood educators are unsure of how to assess young children's development and learning.

This straightforward book will help increase understanding of child assessment, including its specialized and often confusing vocabulary. Focusing on children's development and learning, the authors provide an overview of basic assessment concepts. Speaking a shared language of assessment will help early childhood professionals communicate better with other teachers, specialists, administrators, and parents.

Oralie McAfee, professor emerita of early childhood education at Metropolitan State College of Denver, is author of numerous publications related to working with young children and their families, and has done research on assessment practices and needs in Head Start and in selected state-funded prekindergarten programs.

Deborah J. Leong is a professor of psychology at Metropolitan State College of Denver and a research fellow at the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) where she is working on a computerized pre-K state standards database and a database of preschool assessment instruments with Elena Bodrova. She has written on assessment, play, early literacy, and the development of self-regulation in young children.

Elena Bodrova is a senior researcher at Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL) in Aurora, Colorado, and a research fellow at NIEER. Previously, she had been visiting professor of educational psychology at Metropolitan State College of Denver, senior researcher at the Russian Center for Educational Innovations and the Russian Institute for Preschool Education, and adjunct professor of educational psychology at Moscow Teacher Training College. She writes extensively on early literacy, play, and assessment.