If we are being true to the philosophy & tenets of Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP), there is no reason for early childhood educators to use a formal standardized test to determine individual progress toward stated goals.

Assessment can be done during the daily experiences of the day – both routine (arrival, separation from parent, meals, transitions, hygiene) and curricular (circle time, center time, teacher-led small or whole group activities, and enrichment classes).

Use a system (I call it OCDRP) that includes Observation, Collaboration, Documentation, Referral, & Planning. Let’s just deal with Observation. It means careful looking and listening while the children engage in purposeful play. Add to that, your personal, full-on attention and encouragement and knowledge of child development and assessment becomes a natural part of the day.

If a teacher is fully engaged with her children during all aspects of the day – watching, listening, carrying on personal conversations, and asking questions that spark interest and scaffold learning – almost every item on a program’s list of goals can be assessed without a sit-down-formal-paper & pencil-standardized test. This is not always easy, but MUST be done as often as possible – especially during those times when the children are specifically engaged in child-chosen purposeful play. (No paperwork, errand-running, diapering (if possible) or potty breaks during Center Time – it is the meat in the sandwich of the day!!!)

The best assessments are made by observing and listening to the children as they play and engaging them in conversation by asking open-ended questions.  These assessment moments must be recognized as learning by knowing your program’s stated developmental expectations and matching them to your observations. Ex: I had a conversation with a three-year-old while comparing ‘owies’ on our arms. I said, “My owie happened a time ago” and the child replied, “Oh, it is healing now.” This tells me that this child had a sense of past, present, and future; an idea of the scientific/health concept of injury and healing; a vocabulary that was above average; and the ability to express his learning. No sit-down testing needed.

Last week a two-year-old handed me a book to read to him. I read it twice and then asked him to read it to me. He turned the pages beautifully, pointed to the pictures and repeated the story to me (in two-ese) four times. Fine motor, page-turning, picture recognition, retelling, and attention span assessed – BOOM!

Document these moments by taking mental or physical notes and transcribing them to the child’s portfolio or video assessment system. Take and post dictation & quotes on the walls of your classroom and share them with both children and parents. Use your program’s standardized checklist or formal assessment forms to document, but not to conduct a formal one-on-one testing situation for children under the age of five.