Testing for Intelligence?

When considering a commitment to viewing young children holistically, the progress young children make in all developmental areas is a continuous and ongoing assessment.  On-going assessment is a responsible form of gathering real information on young children's progress.  One of the most comprehensive on-going assessment techniques is the student portfolio (Guddemi, 2003) which is a flexible and adaptable collection over time of various concrete work samples showing many dimensions of the child’s learning. The collection of these work samples along with the regularly recorded observations of children's interactions and comments serve to show children's progress over time and in a variety of situations. Information gained in this process can also be used in the planning of work that addresses the needs of the child as evidenced in the collection of work samples and teacher observations. And most importantly, it can be used as a tool in the sharing of progress with the child's family and with the child herself (Grace, 2001).


Assessments in China

For many teachers, the focus on performance--both instruction and assessment--is a new thought. Generations of language learners have completed course requirements that measured their ability to regurgitate information about aspects of the language at the expense of being able to use the languge. While traditional testing is still widely used and serves its prescribed purpose, classroom assessment should align with what students have learned and how they have learned. Because the goal of curriculum is for language use, it is important to require students to apply the newly gained communicative competence to similar but different contexts. This ability to transfer is similar to what happens in real life.
Among the assessment tools that teacher will use for classroom assessment include:

• Performance-based assessment tasks
• Self assessments
• Peer assessments
• Teacher observations
• Portfolios
• Quizzes and Tests

External Assessments A growing array of standardized, external assessments is available to measure student performance and program effectiveness.With the exception of Lingua Folio, which focuses on students' self-assessment and reflection, the testing instruments listed below allow the program to compare its results with those of other students and programs nationally and internationally. Most of these assessments are fee-based, and complete information about each can be obtained by contacted the organization.


References

Grace, Cathy (2001).Assessing Young Children, Published: December 2001.The Internet Newspaper:  News, Blogs videos, Community.   Retrieved from (http://www.educ.msstate.edu/cni/eci/)

Guddemi, M. P. (2003). The important role of quality assessment in young children ages 3–8. In Wall, J. & Walz, G. (Eds.) (2003). Measuring up: Assessment issues for teachers, counselors, and administrators. Greensboro, NC: ERIC Counseling and Student Services Clearinghouse.)

http://asiasociety.org/china-learning-initiatives/assessment-0