Screening and Assessment—Strategies and Purpose
Introduction
In order to provide instruction that is developmentally appropriate for the children in your program, teachers in your classrooms must have an understanding of screening and assessment strategies. Using information from screening and assessment helps your staff to create lesson plans and deliver instruction in ways that meet the needs of all children. Screening and assessment strategies are intended to provide data to the teacher so that he or she is able to shape the learning environment to ensure that each child gains skills and progresses developmentally. The types of data collected and the methods used to gain the data will differ depending on whether screening or assessment instruments are used.
Section
Objectives
In this section you will
- identify the importance and impact of screening and assessment
- review the similarities and differences between screening and assessment
- review the process of linking screening and assessment data to instructional strategies to improve child outcomes
- identify what is needed to make informed choices about the type of screening or assessment instrument needed to address specific areas (e.g., enhancing programming, planning for individual children, pacing whole group instruction).
