Principles for assessment in

Early Childhood Education

3 opinion

Te Whāriki offers clarification on the

purposes and strategies for assessment in
early childhood. It recommends a strong
focus on formative feedback, as well as
alignment with the four principles that
underpin the curriculum document. This
means assessment should:
 Principles for assessment in Early
Childhood Education
Empowerment
Enhance the mana of the child, and the child’s sense of
him or herself as a capable person and competent learner.
This means teachers need to recognise children’s
individual strengths and abilities, and notice and respond
to their initiatives
Holistic development
Take account of the whole child and reflect the holistic way
in which children learn, based on the context of children’s
activities and relationships
This means teachers need to draw on their wide knowledge
of each child when interpreting, and invite families to
contribute knowledge of children’s capabilities at home and
in other settings. As learning is influenced by the
environment and by relationships between children and
teachers, these should be recognised.
Family and Community
Assessment should be a social practice where teachers,
children, parents and whānau engage together in
assessment and the planning based on it. Te Whāriki
suggests that assessment takes place within a learning
community that co-analyses children’s activity and co-
constructs goals. Rather than the one-way relations in
which teachers report progress and learning to families
and children, this involves the sharing of power to make
assessment and planning decisions
Family and Community
This means children’s learning should be assessed in
context, and assessment documentation should reflect the
social contexts in which children are learning. It will
involve giving meaningful descriptions of the
environment and the people and objects in it that
influence learning, as well as taking account of the
children’s cultural contexts.
Principles for assessment in Early
Childhood Education
James H. McMillan,
states there are three main principles
in the assessment and evaluation of
child development.
The first principle is that
information about an assessment
and evaluation that assessment
should be clear, reliable and
accessible in a transparent manner.
The second principle is that
assessment and evaluation should be
reliable and consistent. The last
principle is that the assessment must
be inclusive and fair.
 Surayah Zaidon and Haslinda Md. Ali
states that there are six principles of child development
assessment.
The first principle is that it is carried out continuously, appropriately and can help the child's development. This is very much in line
with the nature of child development that is, child development is a continuous process. Therefore, preschool teachers need to conduct
assessments and evaluations more than twice so that the information obtained is clear, reliable and transparent.

The second principle is that assessment and evaluation should have different assessment plans, strategies and instruments in accordance
with each purpose of assessment and learning outcomes. This principle coincides with the process of conducting assessment and
evaluation, the first step is the planning process, the second step is assessment and the third step is to record the results of observations or
information into assessment instruments appropriate to the developmental aspects to be observed.

The third principle is that it must have developmental evaluation criteria that are appropriate to the learning objectives (curriculum).
The assessment to be implemented must take into account the learning standards found in the National Preschool Standard Curriculum.

The next principle is that it should be beneficial and meaningful in children's daily experiences.
Next, assessment and evaluation should also be carried out informally, that is, during the learning process so that the desired results are
authentic and have no theatrics.
The last principle is implemented through observation and documentation. This is done in order to prove that the assessments and evaluations
carried out are valid and accurate