Prekindergarten Assessment Plan: Language and Literacy

 

Maria Motta

 

EDU 645 Learning & Assessment for the 21st Century

 

Professor Plaskon

 

December 10, 2012 

 

 

          The skills and abilities involved in teaching and assessing preschool students, does not happen at a fast pace.  There are cumulative and interrelated experiences that begin at an early age.  Other experiences have to occur in order to support development.  Purposeful conversations will take place between the teacher and children in order to support language.  A vast array of age appropriate books and learning material must be present. Children will have opportunities to play, participate in large and small group language and literacy activities.  Books will be available in each of the five learning areas; science, dramatic play, block area, quiet area, and art area.  The classroom is rich in literacy through a variety of reading material and print rich through the use of labeling, signs, picture schedules, dictations, children's names on their portfolios and cubbies, and word walls developed through the stories and experiences.

            The purpose of the assessment plan is designed to assist the children to develop book appreciation, print knowledge, vocabulary and retelling a story.  The observable learning outcomes for the unit will include the following:

·         By the end of the unit, the student will increase book knowledge and interest in books

·         By the end of the unit, the student will develop print awareness and concepts

·         By the end of the unit, the student will develop early reading skills and writing skills

·         By the end of the unit, the student will develop alphabet knowledge

The Taxonomy of educational objectives will be applied.  Once the children have grasped the learning outcomes, a more comprehensive set of objectives will be introduced, which will allow the students to form connections and scaffold from their already gained knowledge (Kubiszyn & Borich, 2010). 

            The assessment context will include daily observations and a checklist listing the learning outcomes.  For example, the student will develop print knowledge by identifying some letters and scaffold to identifying ten or more letters.  Anecdotal notes are a series of when, where, what and how questions the teacher uses to observe. If a teacher observes a child during play time (when) in the quiet area (where), reading a book through pictures (material) and using his or her finger to read right to left (what), then the teacher records the anecdotal note and collects samples.

Anecdotal Notes       

Domain:  increase book knowledge	Domain:  increase interest in books
Materials: When: Where: What: Quotes:	Materials: When: Where: What: Quotes:

Once the teacher observes the learning outcome through the observation, a check mark is placed under  Increase Book Knowledge and Interest in Books:  uses picture cues to tell what is happening in a story and  demonstrates basic book knowledge where the child is able to hold the book upright, turn pages, and  read the story left to right.

            According to the authors, Kubiszyn and Borich (2010), "Holistic scoring is used when the rater is more interested in estimating the overall quality of the performance and assigning a numerical value to that quality than assigning points for the addition or omission of a specific aspect of performance" (p. 198).  A Holistic rubric will help mark the child's development.  The rubric will list what the teacher intends to measure (learning outcome), and the scores from 1 to 3.The checklist will coincide with the rubric. 

Rubric

Language and Literacy Unit

Learning Outcome: Student will increase book knowledge

 

3                      Proficient                               Exceeds the required standard      

2                      Developing                             Meets required standard

1                      Beginning                               Falls short of the standard

            A variety of children's sample work, anecdotal and other sources will be used to score the child's learning outcomes.  Each learning outcome will receive one score and will represent the child's work as whole. The student's sample writing, observations, pictures with dictations, photos and other material will be maintained in the child's portfolio. 

            The testing constraint include time, reference material, other people, equipment, prior knowledge of the task and scoring criteria are some the most common problems in testing (Kubiszyn & Borich, 2010).  The use of anecdotal observations, sample work and dictations did not demonstrate a constraint because of the age level. With preschoolers, time was spent observing four children daily by both the teacher and teacher assistant.  The holistic rubric provides an idea of the child as at an individual level and can be compared with he rest of the class.  This will help create both an individual development plan and a classroom development plan. 

Reference

Kubiszyn, T. & Borich, G. (2010).  Educational testing & measurement: Classroom application

           and practice (9th ed.). Hoboken, NJ:  John Wiley & Sons, Inc.