Samantha King

Standard 3. Observing, Documenting, and Assessing to Support Young Children and

Families
Candidates prepared in early childhood degree programs understand that child observation,
documentation, and other forms of assessment are central to the practice of all early childhood
professionals. They know about and understand the goals, benefits, and use of assessment. They
know about the use systematics observations, documentation, and other effective assessment
strategies in a responsible way, in partnership with families and other professionals, to positively
influence the development of every child.
3a: Understanding the goals, benefits, and uses of assessment including its use in development
of appropriate goals, curriculum, and teaching strategies for young children
3b: Knowing about and using observation, documentation, and other appropriate assessment
tools and approaches, including the use of technology in documentation, assessment and data
collection.
3c: Understanding and practicing responsible assessment to promote positive outcomes for each
child, including the use of assistive technology for children with disabilities.
3d: Knowing about assessment partnerships with families and with professional colleagues to
build effective learning environment.
Knowledge and Competence:
My understanding of observing, documenting, and assessing children is that it is a necessity for
their learning and development. Children are constantly developing and understanding more. For
this reason, it is the job of the educator to observe, document, and assess the children to help the
educator understand where the child is, and create future goals for each individual child with the
family. Each observation should be objective, clearly identifying where the child stands
developmentally. The educator should also have access to appropriate assessment tools and
supportive and assisting technology for children with disabilities. To do all of this, the educator
must have a solid partnership with the family to benefit the childs learning and development.
Application:
I will apply what I know by observing the children on a daily basis. I should always have a
pencil and paper to document the childrens actions and interactions. I will also look into the
most appropriate assessment tools to use as well as technology assistance for children with
disabilities. Lastly, I will partner with the families to discuss their childs learning, development,
goals, and also listen to the families questions, concerns, and advise.
Growth Over Time:
I have changed my understanding of observing, documenting, and assessing children this past
semester as a took a course that addressed this topic. I did not understand the importance of
documenting each childs actions and interactions. Observing the child is a great way to see
where they stand developmentally. I also learned how important it is to share this information
 Samantha King

with the family. Together, the teacher and the family can help create appropriate goals for the
children.
Future Goals:
I hope to grow and improve in this standard by making a portfolio for all the children in my
class. This is will help me know where each child is developmentally and help me create
experiences that will help them reach those goals. The portfolios I create for each child will be
placed in a safe place and will remain confident. I will only share the information with families
and other professionals the family approves of.