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guidance on discussing tough issues |
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February 2007 -- Parent Jennifer Holladay turns to the National Association for the Education of Young Children for guidance on how tests can help, and hurt.
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| by Jennifer Holladay |
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"Get your daughter tested," a friend recently advised. "You'll need the test results to make the school put her in the high-level classes!"
My daughter is 2-years-old and African American, and two years shy of eligibility for public pre-k. I had expected tests to enter our lives at some point, just not this soon.
The conversation left me boiling over with questions. Is testing appropriate for a young child like mine? How should schools -- and parents -- think about and use test results? As the parent of a black child, should I be concerned about cultural bias in such tests? Can test scores really help my child get the kind of education she needs and deserves?
I turned to Jerlean Daniel, Ph.D., Deputy Executive of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), for answers.
Jennifer: At what age, and in what contexts, can testing be an appropriate measure to enrich educational opportunities for young children?
Dr. Daniel: High quality early childhood programs assess children’s learning to ensure that the curriculum is meeting young children’s needs. Curriculum and assessment occur in a never-ending cycle that allows teachers and parents to gather evidence of a child's progress in skill development as well as the understanding of concepts.
If parents or teachers suspect developmental delays, a developmental screening can let them know if a further diagnostic evaluation is necessary. The input of a specialist combined with the observations of parents and teachers can be used to further individualize the child’s learning environment to maximize their growth and all around development.
No one test or assessment should be used to determine a young child's future involvement in educational activities. NAEYC feels that high-stakes testing should not be employed among young children prior to the third grade. Young children are not reliable test-takers. They have short attention spans, and can be inconsistent in their performance on tests. When young children are uncomfortable their performance can be affected. A stranger administering a test, cultural differences, or a mishap at home all can impact the results.
Jennifer: What kinds of tests -- or uses of test data -- should parents be cautious or wary about?
Dr. Daniel: Testing should not be used as a primary measure of school-entry decisions, or used as the sole basis for placing children in a specific education program. Parents should be seriously concerned about the degree to which such a place will see their child as an individual and the degree to which the program will assist them in the development of all aspects of their child’s development.
Yet, assessment can and should play an ongoing role in evaluating the effectiveness of curricula — not children. Ongoing classroom assessments should not be so much about pass and fail as about gathering evidence of the child’s progress toward skill development and understanding of content and concepts. Assessments come in a variety of forms, including classroom observations, checklists of various skills and developments, and rating scales.
Parents should ask questions like:
- What is the test meant to measure?
- What proof is there that it indeed measures what is intended?
- On what group(s) of children was it used in the determination of its reliability across the diversity of the US population?
- Who will have access to the results?
- How will the results be reported or used?
- Who will administer the test, under what conditions and are parents allowed to observe?
Parents should always ask "why" and do so until all their questions are answered.
Jennifer: Some parents, even if schools or childcare centers don't require it, want to get their children tested to ensure that they are afforded the "right" educational opportunities or get into "good" schools. Does testing create a false sense of assurance? Why?
Dr. Daniel: Parents would do well to spend the time and resources they would take by having their young child tested or tutored by engaging their child in meaningful conversations about the world around them. The significance of the parental role in listening, asking and answering questions, and exploring in depth everyday opportunities is invaluable.
Every child enters school ready to learn school content; young children do not need tests to prove they are ready to learn. They are always learning. It doesn’t take a test to prove that.
Jennifer: What advice might you give to parents and guardians of children of color who may think tests can prevent their children from being tracked into remedial, "lower level" classrooms, but who also know that children of color sometimes do not test as well as white children?
Dr. Daniel: A test score will not cure institutionalized racism. In fact, it has been documented that some standardized tests are culturally biased. There is also a persistent achievement gap that schools are struggling to dissect and close.
One thing is clear: all children need parental advocates throughout their schooling. Children do exceptionally well in school in large part because their parents were persistently involved, setting clear expectations for behavior and high achievement in school.
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WEBSITES FOR THE TEACHING PARENT
Zero to Three
Sponsored by the National Center for Infants, Toddlers and Families, this website provides information about skill development, along with activity ideas, by age group – birth to 12 months, 12 to 24 months and 24 to 36 months. Resources are available in Spanish, too.
Born Learning
This site, sponsored by the Ad Council and the Families and Work Institute among others, reminds us that showing love and affection can help our children learn and provides simple ideas to turn play and everyday tasks into learning opportunities.
FamilyEducation.com
This for-profit site serves parents of children of all ages and offers a useful guide on fostering toddlers' imagination and language abilities.
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