Assessment Flashcards
Why Assess?
- to improve learning experiences so that all children can benefit from their educational experiences
Assessment..
- to ascertain knowledge
- identify strengths and weaknesses
- purpose of diagnosing, referring to services, planning instruction or curriculum, evaluating programs and determining school readiness
- Assessment informs treatment planning!
Decisions regarding assessment
- amount of structure (structured, semi structured, unstructured)
- Methods to use (observation, interview, testing, work sampling, surveys)
- Child vs family focus
- current vs historical focus
- level of parent involvement
- what should be assessed?
Assessment
MULTIPLE METHODS are crucial!
- any one method will give only its perspective
- Any form of assessment is subject to bias
Culture in assessment
- importance of transcending egotism
- integrating group identity and individuality
assessment and issues
- developmental appropriateness
- qualifications of assessor
- consent from parent AND CHILD
- privacy
Screenings
- process to IDENTIFY children who have a high probability of showing delayed or atypical development
- usually one measure, whereas assessments are usually multiple measures
Developmental Screening
- brief, efficient
- inexpensive
- easy to learn
- objectively scored
- reliable and valid
- culturally fair
Interviewing
- active listening key
- extract information from them (creates a power differential)
- opportunity to build relationship with family though (how you are just as important as what you do)
- helps you understand what they see as reality
- integrate results (record data, look for common themes, note emotional reactions, develop story, history taking vs history making)
Weaknesses: time constraints, prior knowledge can bias interviewer, feeling critical of parents can damage rapport, feelings of over-responsbility (wanting to give parents ways to fix it)
Interviewing Children
- relational rationality rather than scientific
- process is more important than the end truth
- pleasing or not letting down interviewer is important to kids
- let them use manipulatives, sit diagonally instead of right across from them, build rapport, let them get familiar with room/you
- children know more than we think they do!
- explain confidentiality to them
- ask open ended questions, ask informational less sensitive questions first
- engage in drawing
- use simple sentences
- refrain from asking leading questions
- repeat when necessary
- use multiple choice when needed
- use scenarios
- reassure and praise effort (not answers)
- follow child’s lead
- children as young as 4 can provide relevant info
- interviewer must observe reactions and behaviors
Funnel Technique
- ask child to tell you a story or ask them open ended questions, follow up by asking clarifying questions, follow those questions buy asking more narrow questions for details
McArthur Story Stem Battery
- enact every day, non fantasy scenarios and have child finish story - predictive of emotional difficulties
Berkley Puppet Interview
- two puppets make opposite statements and the examiner asks the child, “How about you?”
- Can be used on children as young as four
- Reports validated on peer relationships, anxiety, depression, conduct problems, aggressive behavior and achievement motivation
Example: “I have a lot of friends at school/I don’t have a lot of friends at school.” “What about you?”
Structured
- explore relatively circumscribed topics and provide users with a standardized method for eliciting information
- maximizes reliability and validity, minimizes interview bias, produces consistent data
WEAKNESSES: focus on diagnosis, not intervention - requires extensive training
- gather limited information on non-diagnostic facts
- unable to ask follow up questions
- may compromise rapport
Unstructured
- Allow for maximum flexibility in information gathering, potentially greater focus on problems considered relevant by the child or family
- assessment of a broader range of clinical information
- only real constraints on unstructured interviews are imposed by the interviewer’s theoretical model and practical considerations, such as obtaining demographic information for clerical functions
- can lead to inconsistent or incomplete formulations
- should be used in combination with OTHER data
Strengths: highly flexible, tailor to individual needs, helpful in problem conceptualization and treatment planning
Weaknesses: minimal structure may lead to problems with reliability and validity, comparison between unstructured interviews is difficult, requires high level of interviewing skills
Semi-Structured
Advantages: allows flexibility while maintaining a standard format
- provides a framework
- allows for follow up as needed
Disadvantages: weak reliability and validity
Observation
Advantages: professional experience will influence how you see the child, observations provide a lot of data, behavior is often context bound, get to witness interactions with others, sensory stimuli, preverbal children (advantage)
Disadvantage: Errors of omission, errors of commission (recording what is not seen), have to be aware of your own bias and subjectivity, how you record data is important, time consuming, can’t observe history, have to make inferences about subject’s internal states
Methods of observation
- narrative
- annecdotal (what you think is meaningful)
- running record (everything possible)
Event sampling
- number of times during entire period the behavior is seen
- infrequent and brief
Interval
presence or absence of behavior in short intervals within long observation period (not counting how many times, just DID it happen during that period)
- frequent and brief
Duration
length of time the behavior occurs
- infrequent and sustained
Latency
length of time between behaviors
- frequent and sustained
School Readiness
Educational demands + Supports + child’s knowledge and skills
- Congress Definition: knows about letters (can identify 10), receptive and expressive vocab, associate sounds with written words, recognize words as a unit of print
- Teacher Definition: healthy and well-rested, communicates needs verbally, enthusiastic and curious
- Parent definition: count to 10, know letters and color, know address and phone number, share, communicate, follow directions
State Early Learning Standards: Physical well being, social and emotional development, approaches to learning, language, cognition and general knowledge
- Child definition: know and follow rules, know where things are and what to do, making friends