Using Document Panels to Record, Reflect, and Relate Learning Experiences

Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/using-document-panels-to-record-reflect-and-relate-learning-experiences/5019392/

Assessment is a hotly contested issue in education today. The education policy No Child Left Behind (NCLB) emphasizes standardized testing throughout a child’s schooling as a
major means of assessment. Even at Head Start an attempt was made at standardized testing, the National Reporting System (NRS). Although research indicates that these children do not yet have the literacy skills for paper and pencil testing, the government is nevertheless interested in assessing very young children.

National focus is also turning toward the impact of early learning on later school success:

• The National Early Literacy Panel (NELP) has found direct links between certain early skills like phonemic awareness and alphabet knowledge and later proficiency in literacy. 
• Learning standards and benchmarks are widely used in early childhood programs to guide curriculum and classroom practices (Bodrova, Leong, & Shore, 2004), with an ultimate goal of ensuring high academic performance.
• Parents, school districts, and government officials want to know how programs meet the learning needs of our youngest citizens, particularly in districts where funding is dependent on performance.  

How then should early childhood teachers account for children’s performance especially in classrooms where it seems that “all the children do is play”? How do we as educators share ...