Testing for Intelligence

• Considering a commitment to viewing young children holistically (i.e., a commitment to “the whole child”), what, if anything, do you believe should be measured or assessed? Explain your reasoning.
• In what ways are school-age children assessed in other parts of the world? (Choose a country or region of the world for which you have a personal affinity.)
• What additional ideas, comments, suggestions, examples, and/or concerns related to assessing young children would you like to share with your colleagues?

I believe everything that is currently being assessed, speech, motor development, cognitive development, etc should be continued but should be done differently.  As a teacher, a lot of my children need additional services such as speech and occupational therapy.  Once they go to headstart, they are regularly assessed to make sure they don't need any further assistance or make sure they are progressing properly.  I agree with the testing but I believe that it needs to be done by someone that the child has formed a bond with. A child that does not like or trust someone will not feel comfortable enough to answer questions even if they know the correct answer. How can the assessments be measured accurately if the child does not feel comfortable enough to display their full potential. 

In Africa, there is an Early Child Development Measurement resource called Das-Naglieri Cognitive Assessment System (CAS).  The purpose of this system is to measure the  cognitive development of minority children and to make it more fair and reliable. 

We need a system like this in the USA.  There are many different resources used to assess development but figuring out which one would be best for each individual child seems to be the issue.

Resource:

  Human Sciences Research Council. 
http://www.hsrc.ac.za/ECD-Measure