Authentic assessment is an ongoing process of evaluating a child’s development. It also includes planning and implementing activities to support better outcomes for children. Authentic assessment happens in familiar settings, with familiar people, and it happens over time¹.

A framework of principles and guidelines for practice that promotes optimal learning and development for young children.  It is based around what is known about general processes of child development and learning, what is known about the child as an individual who is a member of a particular family and community, and what is known about the social and cultural contexts in which the learning occurs².

Uses information from a variety of sources.

Occurs as a child interacts with familiar materials, people, and activities.

Is a natural part of what teachers do every day.

Helps teachers plan, measure progress, work with families, and individualize the curriculum.

Helps us observe all areas of a child’s growth and development.

Anecdotal records are brief notes teachers take while observing children. The notes document a range of behaviors in areas such as literacy, mathematics, social studies, science, the arts, social and emotional development, and physical development. When recording observations, it’s important to include a concrete description and enough details to inform future teaching strategies.

Example

The C-L-I-P-S system uses anecdotal notes, organized in a quick, easy way.

• C (Cognitive)
• L (Language)
• I (Interactions)
• P (Physical)
• S (Social-emotional)

Example

Checklists are an efficient way to collect information about a child’s development. However, unlike anecdotal notes or running records, checklists do not provide rich details or context. Want to learn more about checklists? Check out this article on checklists and rating scales.

Example

The checklist pictured has places to record information for 20 children. There are columns for teachers to check off specific skills, such as pencil grip, scissor grip, and the writing stage.

A running record is a detailed narrative account that describes a child’s behavior in sequence, as it occurs.

Example

• Maggii enters the classroom standing behind her mother. She is peaking around her mother’s leg with one eye. Her mother takes her by the hand and guides her into the classroom in front of her. Mother turns and leaves quietly. Magii stands motionless with her eyes cast downward.
• Ann greets Magii with “Good morning, Magii” and reaches out to grasp her hands. Magii’s body stiffens. She pulls away from Ann’s embrace. Ann releases her hands.
• Magii goes to the cubbies on the outskirts of the classroom. She does not make eye contact with the other arriving children. She looks down at the floor. She puts her lunch away and walks over to the group area. She sits on the rug circle and looks at her hands until the rest of the children are gathered. She does not respond to the other children’s activity as they come to the circle.
• Magii looks up as the teacher begins to speak. She sits at the circle, motionless and silent, while the teacher talks to the children about the day’s activities. The teacher asks, “Who wants to work with blocks?” Magii does not volunteer. As the teacher asks the same questions about the various activities, Magii does not respond. The other children leave the circle one by one until Magii is the only one left.
• “Would you like to work with Luciano and the puzzles?” the teacher asks.
• “Yes, I don’t want to,” Magii replies in a barely audible voice. She gets up, walks to the small-toys area, chooses a Lotto game, spreads the cards out on the table, and sits down with her back to the center of the classroom. She looks closely at each picture card for a second or two before putting it in place. She completes all 12 matches on 2 cardboard sheets.
• Ann asks, “How many ducks are there? and points to a card.
• Magii answers “Two” without hesitation, holding up her hand with her middle, ring, and pinky fingers bent down.

Way back in 1992, Judith Arter and Vicki Spandel from the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory defined the portfolio as “a purposeful collection of student work that exhibits to the student, or others, her efforts or achievement in one or more areas”. Portfolios can contain all sorts of examples of the student’s work, such as:

• Anecdotal notes
• Writing samples
• Photographs
• Self-portraits
• Fine motor skills
• Math skills
• Literacy skills
• Science
• Art

Example

A frequency count is an informal observation method that is used to gather information about a child’s interests, social interactions, play patterns, and temperamental traits. As the teacher observes the children at play, a tally mark is made every time the noted behavior or action occurs within a set time frame. In their 2018 textbook Observation and Assessment in Early Childhood, Gina Peterson and Emily Elam point out the flexibility of frequency counts: they can be used to track undesirable or challenging behaviors as well as ideal or positive behaviors. 

Example

The frequency count sheet pictured was used during observation to record how often the subject child deliberately hurt another child. It is set up so that the teacher can make a hashmark each time they see the behavior. This sheet includes data from 5 days as well as daily and weekly totals.

Use an Antecedent-Behavior-Consequence (ABC) chart to record behavior. This involves writing down:

• Antecedent: What happened just before the behavior occurred that might have triggered it? This could include events. environmental factors like the physical setting or cues, or triggers such as instructions, emotional states, or specific times of day.
• Behavior: The observable action you’re examining or targeting for change. What did the student actually do?
• Consequence: The event or outcome that followed the behavior. Consequences can reinforce the behavior if they are positive or discourage it if they are negative.

Example

The sample ABC chart pictured to the left includes 5 columns with important information related to a child’s behavior. The columns and their accompanying data are:

1. The Antecedent (What happened just before? What time of day? Where?): 4:30 as we were getting ready to leave, told Peter to carry his water bottle to the car.
2. Behavior: Peter threw the water bottle across the room.
3. How long did it last?: 20 seconds
4. How intense?: Medium
5. Consequence (What happened just after?): Water bottle was taken away. Peter was told he would not be participating in the activity.

Capturing children’s thinking using videos or photographs enables teachers to examine children’s work later on, when they have time to reflect on what children know and how children understand it. They can also be shared with the child’s family as part of a portfolio.

Example

Authentic assessment relies on the observations, reports, and judgments of familiar and knowledgeable caregivers with whom the child has an attachment relationship. Interviews with families and children provide a wealth of detail, information, and explanations behind actions, thoughts, and behaviors. Families play a pivotal role in sharing information about their child and must feel comfortable and valued as members.