defining and assessing quality in early childhood education

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An Introduction to Assessment and Evaluation in ECEC Context

• First Online: 05 July 2022

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• Susanne Garvis 7 ,
• Jonna Kangas 8 &
• Heidi Harju-Luukkainen 9 , 10 , 11  

Part of the book series: Early Childhood Research and Education: An Inter-theoretical Focus ((ECRE,volume 2))

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The quality of early childhood education and care (ECEC) is linked with societal values, understanding of curricula, and future goals. In the hands of motivated and qualified practitioners and stakeholders, the methods and practices of the evaluation could thrive, sustain, and secure a better future. In this book, we explore and define the assessment and evaluation in the context of ECEC to provide systematic information and an overview of practices, policies, and research for ensuring and developing the quality of education. In this chapter, we identify the voices of the stakeholders of ECEC, create an understanding of what and why assessment and evaluation are taking place, form a critical discourse, and describe the assessment processes.

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Susanne Garvis

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Jonna Kangas

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Heidi Harju-Luukkainen

Nord University, Bodø, Norway

Tampere University, Tampere, Finland

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About this chapter

Garvis, S., Kangas, J., Harju-Luukkainen, H. (2022). An Introduction to Assessment and Evaluation in ECEC Context. In: Garvis, S., Harju-Luukkainen, H., Kangas, J. (eds) Assessing and Evaluating Early Childhood Education Systems. Early Childhood Research and Education: An Inter-theoretical Focus, vol 2. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-99910-0_1

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Published : 05 July 2022

Publisher Name : Springer, Cham

Print ISBN : 978-3-030-99909-4

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The 10 NAEYC Program Standards

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NAEYC has set 10 standards for early childhood programs that can help families make the right choice when they are looking for a child care center, preschool, or kindergarten. The standards and criteria are also the foundation of the NAEYC Accreditation system for early childhood programs. To earn accreditation, programs must meet all 10 standards.

Based on research on the development and education of young children, the standards were created with input from experts and educators from around the country. The standards define what NAEYC—the world’s largest organization of early childhood professionals—believes all early childhood programs should provide.

Review this guide to help identify programs that meet NAEYC standards for high-quality programs.

The Standards

Standard 1: relationships, standard 2: curriculum, standard 3: teaching, standard 4: assessment of child progress, standard 5: health.

• Standard 6: Staff Competencies, Preparation, and Support  

Standard 7: Families

Standard 8: community relationships, standard 9: physical environment, standard 10: leadership and management.

Warm, sensitive, and responsive relationships help children feel secure. The safe and secure environments built by positive relationships help children thrive physically, benefit from learning experiences, and cooperate and get along with others.

What to look for in a program:

• Children and adults feel welcome when they visit the program. Teachers help new children adjust to the program environment and make friends with other children.
• Teaching staff engage in warm, friendly conversations with the children and encourage and recognize children’s work and accomplishments.
• Children are encouraged to play and work together.
• Teachers help children resolve conflicts by identifying feelings, describing problems, and trying alternative solutions. Teaching staff never physically punish children.

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A well-planned written curriculum provides a guide for teachers and administrators. It helps them work together and balance different activities and approaches to maximize children’s learning and development. The curriculum includes goals for the content that children are learning, planned activities linked to these goals, daily schedules and routines, and materials to be used.

NAEYC and the NAEYC Accreditation system do not prescribe a specific curriculum; programs can design their own or choose a commercially available curriculum that meets NAEYC’s guidelines.

• Ask about the program’s curriculum and how it addresses all aspects of child development. The curriculum should not focus on just one area of development.
• Children are given opportunities to learn and develop through exploration and play, and teachers have opportunities to work with individual children and small groups on specific skills.
• Materials and equipment spark children’s interest and encourage them to experiment and learn.
• Activities are designed to help children get better at reasoning, solving problems, getting along with others, using language, and developing other skills.
• Infants and toddlers play with toys and art materials that “do something” based on children’s actions, such as jack-in-the-box, cups that fit inside one another, and playdough.

Children have different learning styles, needs, capacities, interests, and backgrounds. By recognizing these differences and using instructional approaches that are appropriate for each child, teachers and staff help all children learn.

• Teachers carefully supervise all children.
• Teachers provide time each day for indoor and outdoor activities (weather permitting) and organize time and space so that children have opportunities to work or play individually and in groups.
• Children’s recent work (for example, art and emergent writing) is displayed in the classroom to help children reflect on and extend their learning.
• Teachers modify strategies and materials to respond to the needs and interests of individual children, engaging each child and enhancing learning.

Assessment results benefit children by informing sound decisions, teaching, and program improvement.

Assessments help teachers plan appropriately challenging curriculum and tailor instruction that responds to each child’s strengths and needs. Assessments can also help teachers identify children with disabilities and ensuring that they receive needed services.

• The program supports children’s learning using a variety of assessment methods, such as observations, checklists, and rating scales.
• Assessment methods are appropriate for each child’s age and level of development and encompass all areas of development, including math, science, and other cognitive skills; language; social-emotional; and physical.
• Teachers use assessment methods and information to design goals for individual children and monitor their progress, as well as to improve the program and its teaching strategies.
• Families receive information about their child’s development and learning on a regular basis, including through meetings or conferences.

• Teaching staff have training in pediatric first aid.
• Infants are placed on their backs to sleep.
• The program has policies regarding regular hand washing and routinely cleans and sanitizes all surfaces in the facility.
• There is a clear plan for responding to illness, including how to decide whether a child needs to go home and how families will be notified.
• Snacks and meals are nutritious, and food is prepared and stored safely.

Standard 6: Staff Competencies, Preparation, and Support 

Teachers who have specific preparation, knowledge, and skills in child development and early childhood education are more likely to provide positive interactions, richer language experiences, and quality learning environments.

• Teaching staff have educational qualifications and specialized knowledge about young children and early childhood development. Ask, for example, how many teachers have Child Development Associate (CDA) credentials, associate’s degrees, or higher degrees.
• The program makes provisions for ongoing staff development, including orientations for new staff and opportunities for continuing education.
• Teaching staff have training in the program’s curriculum and work as a teaching team.

• All families are welcome and encouraged to be involved in all aspects of the program.
• Teachers and staff talk with families about their family structure and their views on childrearing and use that information to adapt the curriculum and teaching methods to the families served.
• The program uses a variety of strategies to communicate with families, including family conferences, new family orientations, and individual conversations.
• Program information—including policies and operating procedures—is provided in a language that families can understand.

• The program connects with and uses museums, parks, libraries, zoos, and other resources in the community.
• Representatives from community programs, such as musical performers and local artists, are invited to share their interests and talents with the children.
• The staff develop professional relationships with community agencies and organizations that further the program’s capacity to meet the needs and interests of children and families.

An organized, properly equipped, and well-maintained program environment facilitates the learning, comfort, health, and safety of the children and adults who use the program.

• The facility is designed so that staff can supervise all children by sight and sound.
• The program has necessary furnishings, such as hand-washing sinks, child-size chairs and tables, and cots, cribs, beds, or sleeping pads.
• A variety of materials and equipment appropriate for children’s ages, skills and abilities is available and kept clean, safe, and in good repair.
• Outdoor play areas have fences or natural barriers that prevent access to streets and other hazards.
• First-aid kits, fire extinguishers, fire alarms, and other safety equipment are installed and available.

Effective management and operations, knowledgeable leaders, and sensible policies and procedures are essential to building a quality program and maintaining the quality over time.

• The program administrator has the necessary educational qualifications, including a degree from a four-year college and specialized courses in early childhood education, child development, or related fields.
• The program is licensed and/or regulated by the applicable state agency.
• The program’s written policies and procedures are shared with families and address issues such as the program’s philosophy and curriculum goals, policies on guidance and discipline, and health and safety procedures.
• Appropriate group sizes and ratios of teaching staff to children are maintained (for example, infants—no more than 8 children in a group, with 2 teaching staff; toddlers—no more than 12 children in a group, with 2 teaching staff; and 4-year-olds—no more than 20 children in a group, with 2 teaching staff).

Families on NAEYC-Accredited programs

“Valued teachers lead to valued children … Accredited programs tend to attract employees who not only view themselves as educators, they consider themselves child advocates.” — Kate in San Antonio, Texas. Her child attends an NAEYC-Accredited program.

“Choosing a preschool for my first child was somewhat overwhelming, so when you find a program accredited by NAEYC, it adds peace of mind that you’re making a good choice for your child.” — Jen in Torrance, California. Her child attends an NAEYC-Accredited program.

“NAEYC is an organization that can be trusted with the future of my child’s education … That is why I chose an NAEYC-Accredited center—nothing but the best.” — Jennifer in Newark, New Jersey. Her child attends an NAEYC-Accredited program.

• Compendium of Promising Practices

What you need to know about early childhood care and education

Why is early childhood care and education so important  .

Early childhood care and education (ECCE), which addresses the period from birth to 8 years old, is important because it capitalizes on a period of rich brain development for children and, when it is of good quality, can help them achieve their full potential. It can lay the foundation for good health and nutrition, learning and educational success, social-emotional learning, and economic productivity throughout life. Despite the evidence for these social, human and economic developmental gains, it is still often given low priority in education policy and investment and, where it does exist, may exclude marginalized groups. ECCE has its own extra vulnerability in that much of it is privately provided. 

What is the global situation for ECCE? 

As a snapshot of disparity, worldwide 75% of children were enrolled in pre-primary education one year before the official primary entry age in the school year ending in 2019, but in sub-Saharan Africa and in Northern Africa and Western Asia the rate was about 50% (GEM report 2021).

In times of crisis the closure of schools and other institutions that provide social protection, health, nutrition, learning and socio-emotional nurturing to young children represents an immense threat to their development potential. ECCE was already a ‘blind spot’ in many countries before the COVID-19 pandemic and for that reason was made a part of the #Save Our Future campaign launched by UNESCO and partner organizations to protect and prioritize education as the key to recovery and the best investment for the future.  

Although some countries took measures to support families, caregivers and children, such as financial support, psychological counselling, and emergency childcare services for frontline volunteers, pre-primary education was relatively neglected compared to other levels of education. 

A UNESCO COVID-19 Education webinar , organized in 2020, under the patronage of Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands, UNESCO Special Envoy on Literacy for Development, focused on the importance of ECCE to ensure learning and wellbeing of young children, especially the vulnerable, when educational and care services are disrupted. 

What is the basis for UNESCO’s approach to this work? 

UNESCO regards ECCE as a fundamental and integral part of the education system and a solid foundation on which to build lifelong education, lives and careers. All of its work in this area is aligned with target 4.2 of Sustainable Development Goal 4 which aims to ‘By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care and pre-primary education so that they are ready for primary education.’ To further advance this target, UNESCO established a new Global Partnership Strategy to bridge the gap and ensure that quality ECCE, early primary school years, and family education, are available for all children.  

UNESCO’s work is based on the idea that ‘Learning begins at birth’ introduced into the World Declaration on Education for All  Jomtien declaration . As inscribed in the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), young children have the right not only to survive but to thrive and develop to their fullest potential. In 2000 the international community at the World Education Forum (Dakar 2000) committed itself to ‘expanding and improving comprehensive early childhood care and education, especially for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children.’ Ten years later, UNESCO’s World Conference on Early Childhood Care and Education (Moscow 2010) warned that the EFA Goal on ECCE was ‘at great risk of not being achieved by 2015 unless urgent and resolute action is taken’ and highlighted ECCE as a social, human and economic development imperative. 

The SDG4 - Education 2030 agenda marked the first global commitment to ECCE beyond the education community and was followed by other international and regional initiatives and statements. 

How does UNESCO work to promote ECCE? 

UNESCO collaborates with governments and other key stakeholders concerned with the care and education of young children from birth until primary school entry. Its ECCE activities focus on promoting holistic and quality pre-primary education for all children over the age of 3, ensuring the use of developmentally appropriate pedagogies and emphasizing the links with primary education as well as early childhood health, nutrition and social services.  

Concretely it works with Member States at national, regional and international levels by influencing policies and practices through evidence-based advocacy, knowledge generation and sharing, partnership-building, capacity-building and technical assistance. These include work in teacher development through projects like STEPP (The Survey of Teachers in Pre-Primary Education), parenting education and family literacy, and measurement and monitoring. 

UNESCO promotes the integration of an ECCE component in countries’ education sector plans to address the needs of different age groups and includes the marginalized. Partnerships that involve working with health, nutrition and social sectors as well as civil society and private sector actors help widen the reach to children.  

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Defining and Assessing Quality in Early Childhood Education (Studia Paedagogica) Paperback – February 15, 1994

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• Print length 292 pages
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• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Leuven University Press (February 15, 1994)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 292 pages
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• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-9061865865
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• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.2 x 1.1 x 9.3 inches

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Assessment in Early Childhood Education

• May 30, 2024
• Kangaroo Kids

Knowing and understanding how children grow and develop is an essential aspect of education, more importantly in their early years. Assessment in early childhood education involves gathering information about children’s strengths, weaknesses, and learning needs. This assessment will help parents and teachers create appropriate routines and strategies that support their development. Assessment in early childhood education or at a later stage is not just about tests and grades. It involves watching, writing notes, and thinking about how children learn. Through this, educators can understand each child’s unique abilities and potential. In this article, we will discuss the importance of assessment in early childhood education and the different types of assessments commonly used in the field.

Assessment in Early Childhood Education: The Definition

Assessment in early childhood education is a process that involves collecting and analysing information about children’s learning, growth, and development. This information helps teachers understand what each child is good at and what they might need help with.

Assessment happens in different ways, such as watching and listening to children, taking notes, etc.

Principles of Assessment in Early Childhood Education

There are a few key principles of assessment in early childhood education to keep in mind:

• Assessment should be ongoing:

Assessment should be a continuous process that occurs throughout the time period when a child is receiving education.

• Assessment should be comprehensive:

It should cover all areas of a child’s development. This means it should cover cognitive, social-emotional, and physical domains.

• Assessment should be culturally responsive:

Assessments should take into account the cultural background and experiences of the child being assessed.

• Assessment should be developmentally appropriate:

Assessments should be designed to match the developmental stage of the child being assessed.

• Assessment should be conducted in a safe and supportive environment:

Children should feel comfortable during the assessment process. They should be given the opportunity to demonstrate their skills and knowledge in a non-threatening environment.

Assessment in Early Childhood Education: Learn the Types

The assessment process in early childhood education involves a range of observation, documentation, and reflection techniques that aim to provide a comprehensive understanding of each child’s unique abilities and potential. Let’s look into the types of assessment in early childhood education.

• Developmental assessments:

Developmental assessments aim to identify children’s developmental strengths and weaknesses. This type of assessment is usually done through observation, documentation, and reflection techniques. It helps educators understand how children learn and develop.

• Standardised assessments:

Standardised assessments are assessments that are designed to measure children’s knowledge and skills against a specific set of standards. These assessments are usually administered in a formal setting.

• Informal assessments:

Informal assessments are designed to provide educators with information about children’s learning progress and understanding. These assessments are usually done through observation, conversation, and reflection techniques, etc. These help educators identify children’s strengths and weaknesses.

• Diagnostic assessments:

Diagnostic assessments are assessments to identify children’s specific learning needs. These assessments are usually done after children have been identified as having learning difficulties. These types of assessments help educators plan appropriate strategies to support their development.

• Portfolio assessments:

Portfolio assessments are assessments that involve collecting and analysing a collection of children’s work over time. This type of assessment helps educators understand children’s progress and development over time. It provides a comprehensive understanding of each child’s potential.

Importance of assessment in early childhood education

Importance of observation and assessment are crucial in early childhood. They are key to effective learning and child development. It is key to shaping the education of young learners. It has a big effect on their future success. Observation and assessment are important in early childhood education. They help us understand unique needs. They also let us find delays early. They help us make personalized learning. They aid in parental involvement and collaboration. And they let us track progress over time.

Assessment in early childhood education holds paramount importance for several reasons. First, it gives teachers valuable data. They can use it to tailor their teaching to each child’s needs and style. This fosters meaningful and effective learning. Second, it lets educators track learner’s progress over time. This helps them find milestones, strengths and challenges early on. Lastly, assessment involves families in their children’s education. It fosters collaboration between educators and parents. They work together to support children’s growth and development.

Assessment in early childhood education is a dynamic process. It plays a crucial role in supporting children’s learning and development. By gathering information about what children know and can do, educators can see their strengths and areas for growth. They can then tailor instruction to meet their needs and provide support.

Moreover, assessment is a valuable tool. It tracks children’s progress over time and finds areas of concern or delays early. It also guides instruction and strategies to address needs well.

At Kangaroo Kids International Preschool , we strongly believe in assessment and try to improve children’s overall growth through our specially curated curriculum. For admission, contact us today!

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