ECE/207 - Assessment in Early Childhood Education

Course Description

This course provides an overview of a variety of assessment techniques in early childhood education, including assessment of children with special needs. There is a focus on structured observations, use of behavioral rating scales, psycho-educational screening tests, and assessment of parent-child interactions. Formal and informal parent contacts, interviewing techniques, the use of technology in the assessment process, and referrals to school and community resources are also explored. Emphasis is placed on developmental and differentiated assessment strategies for children, birth through age eight.

This undergraduate course is 5 weeks.

PLEASE NOTE:
Attendance and participation are mandatory in all university courses, and specific requirements may differ by course. If attendance requirements are not met, a student may be removed from the course. Please review the Course Attendance Policy in the Catalog for more information.

This course is not available for enrollment to residents of Alabama, Arkansas, and Kentucky.

Course Objectives

Assessment Systems for Early Childhood

• Explain the purposes of assessment in early childhood.
• Describe the foundational principles of an assessment system.
• Differentiate between assessment and testing.

Classroom Assessments

• Analyze the types of differentiated and developmental assessments used with preschool and primary-grade children.
• Summarize guidelines for conducting developmentally-appropriate observations.
• Identify techniques for collecting, recording, compiling, and summarizing classroom and parent-child interaction assessment data.
• Explain how to ensure the validity and reliability of checklists, rating scales, and rubrics.
• Apply technology tools to the creation of classroom assessments.

Standardized Tests

• Discuss the use of standardized tests in early childhood education, including psycho-educational screening.
• Describe the role of the early childhood teacher in standardized testing.
• Identify appropriate accommodations for standardized testing of children with special needs.

Using Assessment Data

• Apply technology to the analysis of assessment data.
• Discuss the use of documentation for planning differentiated instruction.
• Analyze use of assessment data to plan instruction.
• Apply the use of assessment data for making referrals to school and community resources.

Communicating Assessment Results to Families

• Develop strategies for communicating assessment results in parent conferences.
• Analyze the roles of families in screening and assessment.
• Describe how early childhood educators collaborate with parents to apply assessment data to educational interventions.

Disclaimers

The University of Phoenix reserves the right to modify courses.

Although our continuing teacher education courses are accepted by some state agencies in the United States toward teacher certifications and endorsements, this may not be the case in all states or foreign jurisdictions. If you plan to use courses for certification or endorsement, please check with your own state agency and your school district for applicability. Continuing teacher education courses are not eligible to apply to degree programs at University of Phoenix. These courses are not eligible for federal financial aid.

Transferability of credit is at the discretion of the receiving institution. It is the student’s responsibility to confirm whether or not credits earned at University of Phoenix will be accepted by another institution of the student’s choice.

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