Early Assessments

As an early childhood educator, I understand and see the importance of assessment at an early age. The earlier teachers can determine, distinguish and implement strategies for a child to learn, the better and more successful they will be in their future academics. The two articles I chose to focus on were Tile Assessment and Early Childhood Assessments.

Article 4 and 5 shared two main themes ; 1. the first being that both assessments increase child success as well as help teachers prepare for instruction and strategy to help the child become that successful and 2. both assessments create guided steps and tools having to do with phonological awareness, letters and spelling in helping children with literary skills in comprehending and obtaining the  English language.

According to the article Tile Assessment, "one can examine students’ understanding of the English orthographic system. It provides a hands-on interactive experience with letters and sounds for teachers who want to delve more deeply into students’ underlying thinking." Similary, Early literacy assessments such PALS 1-3 defines as "a multilayered assessment that extends as needed to document the beginning literacy strengths of students" (Invernizzi & Meier, 2003). 

Both Assessments begin with steps of recognition. While the Tile Test focuses on decoding words and their sounds, PALS focuses on words themselves with out sounding it out. Later on both steps go on to include spelling in assessments. Spelling is a crucial part of both assessments because phonolicial awareness as well asinitial and final conso- nants, digraphs, short vowels, consonant blends, long vowels, r- and l-controlled vowels, and am- biguous vowels all come into play depedning on grade levels. Children need to be aware and prepared in order to obtain this skill as well as be provided the necessary recourses and assistance if needed. However, on the contrary Tile Test allows students to create the words while PALS require the children to spell them out as they are told. Lastly, tile test require sentence and PALS is oral reading in text. The words used in the previous activity are now used to read and build sentences. According to Tile text article, they "recommend that the student read the sentence after building to allow for self-correction and to provide additional assessment information." In comparison to PALS children "In this task, students read a graded passage of text and are scored for ac- curacy, fluency, and comprehension."

Both are similar in their purpose but while one observes perspectives and thinking, another is preparing and sort of molding ways in order to make that way of thinking solid and strong.
From reading about these assessments, I then began to observe different forms of assessment. Depending on the grade level children can have formative, interim and summative. Formative mostly reflect on early child and are authentic forms of assessing children and their growth through daily class routines, interim assess through curriculum based units and summatives are given state wide. I found this interesting in linking the assessments because though they help improve and increase English and reading skills, they are also in a way state or curriculum based. The assessments go based on what is expected or should I say what we expect of a current grade to be when that is not always necessarily the case.

Below I have attached additional links to forms of assessment as well as the accuracy and stability of these assessments. And now I ask you which assessment do you believe is most accurate and beneficial to a child and why?



https://pals.virginia.edu/
https://prezi.com/i6lxum0cfepx/tile-test-a-hands-on-approach-for-assessing-phonics-in-the/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mx42-CXt448