Child Health assessment

Child Health assessment:
Early Childhood Assessment
Early childhood assessment is a tool used to gather and provide educators, parents, and families with critical information about a child’s development and growth. Here we have included information and resources to inform educators on early childhood assessment programs.
What is childhood assessment?
Childhood assessment is a process of gathering information about a child, reviewing the information, and then using the information to plan educational activities that are at a level the child can understand and is able to learn from.
Assessment is a critical part of a high-quality, early childhood program. When educators do an assessment, they observe a child to get information about what he knows and what he can do.
This assessment record is also a great tool to share with parents so they can follow their child’s progress at school, understand their child’s strengths and challenges, and plan how they can help extend the learning into their homes.
What is Early Childhood Assessment?
? Process of observing, recording, and documenting work of children
? Allows educators to make the best decisions for the child
? Methods can include standardized tests observations, child portfolios, teacher and parent checklists and child and parent interviews
? Child screening vs. assessment
Why is assessment important?
Assessment provides educators, parents, and families with critical information about a child’s development and growth. Assessment can:
• Provide a record of growth in all developmental areas: cognitive, physical/motor, language, social-emotional, and approaches to learning.
• Identify children who may need additional support and determine if there is a need for intervention or support services.
• Help educators plan individualized instruction for a child or for a group of children that are at the same stage of development.
• Identify the strengths and weaknesses within a program and information on how well the program meets the goals and needs of the children.
• Provide a common ground between educators and parents or families to use in collaborating on a strategy to support their child.
What are different child assessment methods?
Methods of child assessment can be informal (conducting natural observations, collecting data and children’s work for portfolios, using educator and teacher ratings) and formal (using assessment tools such as questionnaires and standardized testing). Both methods are effective and can help inform educators and parents about a child’s progress.
• Observations can be made with minimal or no intrusion into children’s activities. Educators can observe all facets of development, including intellectual, linguistic, social-emotional, and physical development, on a regular basis.
• Portfolios are a record of data that is collected through the work children have produced over a period of time. The collection clearly shows the progress of a child’s development. Portfolios can be an important tool in helping facilitate a partnership between teachers and parents.
• Educator Ratings are useful in assessing children’s cognitive and language abilities as well as their social-emotional development. These ratings can be linked to other methods of assessment, such as standardized testing or other assessment tools.
• Parent Ratings integrate parents into the assessment process. Parents who are encouraged to observe and listen to their child can help detect and target important milestones and behaviors in their child’s development.
• Standardized Tests are tests created to fit a set of testing standards. These tests are administered and scored in a standard manner and are often used to assess the performance of children in a program.

ASSESSMENT CATEGORIES
Global Screening: Comprehensive tools that assess multiple domains of functioning. Screening tools are included in this section
1-Adaptive Behavior/
Social Emotional
Assessment tools used to evaluate social-emotional functioning, adaptive behavior, attention and/or hyperactivity, and
behaviors associated with autism. expressing feelings, forming friendships, resolving conflicts with others
How does early childhood assessment differ from grade assessment?
? Kindergarten grade assessment places emphasis on academic knowledge
? Early childhood assessment places emphasis on all aspects of a child’s development

How does early childhood assessment differ from grade assessment continued…
? grade assessment uses mainly tests, quizzes and essays.
? Early childhood assessment uses child observations, developmental checklists and child portfolios
? Both are used to guide decisions about…
* Child interventions
* Resources
Choosing an Appropriate Assessment System
? A well-designed assessment system:
* Considers all domains of child development
* Is developmentally appropriate
* Aligned with your curriculum and the state’s early learning standards
* Reliable, valid, and fair
* Captures growth over a period of time
Using Child Assessment Data
? Evaluate effectiveness
? Staff support
? Better inform parents
? Assist in child transitions
? Identify children who need
special services
? Program improvement
Suggested Equipment, Materials, and Resources
? Equipment: computer, printer, digital camera, high-speed internet
? Materials: notebooks for portfolios, photo paper, paper, clip boards, post-it notes
? Resources: assessment tool-kits, books/articles on early childhood assessment
How can Parents be Involved in the Early Childhood Assessment Process?
? Enrollment
? On-site developmental screenings
? Parent Checklists
? Parent/Teacher conferences
? Examples of the childhood assessment:
Fetal Stage
The fetal stage lasts from 9 weeks to birth. All body organs and systems continue to grow and develop. At the end of the first
trimester (12 weeks’ gestation), some reflexes are present, kidney secretion begins, the heartbeat can be heard by Doppler, and the sex of the infant is distinguishable by outward appearance.
At the end of the second trimester (24 weeks’ gestation), fetal heart tones are audible by stethoscope, the liver and pancreas are functioning, hair forms, sleep–wake patterns are established, lung surfactant is produced, and eyelids open.
At the end of the third trimester (40 weeks’ gestation), testes have descended, lung alveoli are formed, subcutaneous fat is deposited, and the fetus actively kicks. By birth, the average neonate weighs 7.5 lb (3.4 kg) and is 20 inches (50.8 cm) long.
The neonate is assessed immediately after birth. Of several existing measurement scales, the Apgar rating scale is the most commonly used. This scale is used to assess neonates 1 minute and 5 minutes after birth. The neonate becomes an infant at 1 month, a period lasting
until the first birthday.