In Australia NAPLAN (National Assessment
Program – Literacy and Numeracy) testing begins at Year 3 although children
will undergo formal testing in pre-school and in the first year of school is a
systemised way.
NAPLAN
“Why
do students do NAPLAN tests?
NAPLAN is the measure through which governments, education
authorities, schools, teachers and parents can determine whether or not young
Australians have the literacy and numeracy skills that provide the
critical foundation for other learning and for their productive and rewarding
participation in the community.
The tests provide parents and schools with an understanding of
how individual students are performing at the time of the tests. They also
provide schools, states and territories with information about how education
programs are working and which areas need to be prioritised for improvement.
NAPLAN tests are one aspect of each school’s assessment and
reporting process, and do not replace the extensive, ongoing assessments made
by teachers about each student’s performance.”
http://www.nap.edu.au/information/faqs/naplan--general.html
Further to this the AEDI (Australian Early
Development Index) also measures literacy and numeracy. This table shows the Language and cognitive skills (school-based) domain .
This domain
measures children’s basic literacy, interest in literacy, numeracy and
memory, advanced literacy and basic numeracy. This domain mainly reflects
teachers’ scores for children’s language and cognitive skills based on those
necessary for school (with English as the language of instruction) and does
not necessarily reflect children’s proficiency in their home language.5
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Basic literacy
|
Children
developmentally vulnerable
Do not have most of
the basic literacy skills; they have problems with identifying letters or
attaching sounds to them, rhyming, may not know the writing directions and
how to write their own name.
|
Children on
track
Have all the basic
literacy skills including how to handle a book, are able to identify some
letters and attach sounds to some letters, show awareness of rhyming words,
know the writing directions, and are able to write their own name.
|
Interest in
literacy/numeracy and memory
|
May not show
interest in books and reading, or maths and number games, or both, and may
have difficulty remembering things.
|
Show interest in
books and reading, maths and numbers, and have no difficulty with remembering
things.
|
Advanced
literacy
|
Have only up to one
of the advanced literacy skills; cannot read or write simple words or
sentences, and rarely write voluntarily.
|
Have at least half
of the advanced literacy skills such as reading simple words or sentences,
and writing simple words or sentences.
|
Basic numeracy
|
Have marked
difficulty with numbers, cannot count, compare or recognise numbers, may not
be able to name all the shapes and may have difficulty with time concepts.
|
Have all the basic
numeracy skills and can count to 20, recognise shapes and numbers, compare
numbers, sort and classify, use one-to-one correspondence, and understand simple
time concepts.
|
DEEWR (2013) AEDI 2012 Summary Report DEEWR Canberra p 7
While these large formal standardized tests
offer some information the ongoing assessment of individual and groups literacy
and numeracy (and other) learning is far more powerful and appropriate.
In the process of developing a resource I became familiar with Notice Recognise Respond as a way to understand and undertake assessment of children's learning in the early childhood context. Using these filters it becomes possible to understand and make the best professional judgment about what learning is occurring and subsequently what learning could be supported further – deeper and wider. This distance travelled to coin a frame from EYLF is the way to best assess children’s learning generally and is not always linear or developmental. It goes backwards and forwards. Applying this to emerging literacy and numeracy in very young children is helpful.
In the process of developing a resource I became familiar with Notice Recognise Respond as a way to understand and undertake assessment of children's learning in the early childhood context. Using these filters it becomes possible to understand and make the best professional judgment about what learning is occurring and subsequently what learning could be supported further – deeper and wider. This distance travelled to coin a frame from EYLF is the way to best assess children’s learning generally and is not always linear or developmental. It goes backwards and forwards. Applying this to emerging literacy and numeracy in very young children is helpful.
[the] ways in
which, in our everyday practice, we [children, families, teachers, and others]
observe children’s learning [notice], strive to understand it [recognise], and
then put our understanding to good use [respond].
Learning stories are used by many people to record and assess children's learning. This learning story offers a narrative of a wow moment and illustrates the deep relationship between the educator and child.
http://www.elp.co.nz/Downloads/Learning%20Stories/Learning%20Story%20Breeze.pdf
Other resources that support my understanding of assessment
Te Whariki Curriculum New Zealand
Other resources that support my understanding of assessment
Te Whariki Curriculum New Zealand
Numeracy website http://www.decd.sa.gov.au/numeracy/
Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/DECDNumeracyandLiteracy
DECD (DECS) Key
Messages Respect Reflect Relate
Gowrie SA Assessment in the Early Years
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