Assessement and Children

I think children need to be assessed as a unique individual and as an individual in comparison to others of a similar age and gender. Every child does not learn the same way; there are different learning styles that make up how a child retains information. Boys and girls are even different as learning goes. I think that birth order has something to do with how a child will function in an educational setting. I see this in two students in our preschool classrooms. One is the youngest of 4 boys in his family and he struggles with sharing and taking turns which is not unusual at that age but it is difficult for him. Another is a girl, youngest and only girl with 3 older brothers who do everything for her and her mom is a teacher. The girl will go to kindergarten next year, she is one of the oldest in the class but watching and observing her, you would not know that. I personally think you have to look at every child as a unique person and assess their skills fairly.

My grandpa was from Germany so I decided to see how they assess children. They use a 6 point marking system with 1 being the highest to monitor student achievement. They also use a medical test and enrollment test to determine if a child has the physical and mental maturity required for school attendance. Assessments are introduced in Year 1 and children must progress through the 6 point marking system to continue their education. They use observation, written, and formal assessments to determine their progress.

Reference:
http://www.inca.org.uk/1436.html.