Testing for Intelligence?

How children are assessed throughout childhood is a controversial topic in our field.  This controversy can become emotional because most required assessments conducted are tied to funding for programs.  This funding comes in various forms: government issued monies, scholarships/grants, or school tuition paid personally by families.  Early childhood professionals are trained to use all sorts of assessments to qualify students and families into categories of need or benefits.  The challenge is to use our knowledge in assessments to support the families we are working with positively, and receive the funding we need to do so.  The problem with required standardized assessments being linked to funding, means the “whole child” is lost in the process. 

            Research has shown across the decades that children learn through experiencing the process concretely.  Abstract thinking is a developing concept and not easily achieved by young children.  In The self-reported academic self-concept of four-year-old children: Global and fixed, or nuanced and changing in the year before school? (2016), researchers found through conducting assessments with four-year-old children in Australia, that academic self-concept and academic achievements are interconnected after the preschool years (Cohrssen, C., Niklas, F., Logan, D., & Tayler, C., 2016).  The children were assessed in various academic areas such as verbal comprehension and mathematical concepts.  They were assessed in the beginning of the school year, mid-year, and as they exited preschool to attend primary grades.  The children were shown to have a more accurate academic self-concept as they entered primary grades because they were becoming more socially aware of their peer’s abilities (Cohrssen et al., 2016). 

            Personally, I agree with developmentalists, Sternberg and Gardner, that children do operate under multiple intelligences, not just one (Berger, 2016).  However, as I mentioned before, regardless of a child’s learning style they will be approached with standardized assessments throughout their education that does not respect their personal learning styles.  As educators, we must provide a positive platform for children to build a positive academic self-concept in the early years, so they are intrinsically motivated to take on the challenges of standardized tests in the future.  Cohrssen et al. stated early childhood professionals need to consider “the support of positive dispositions for learning and the fostering of a positive self-concept in young children” are crucial to a child’s academic achievements (Cohrssen et al., 2016, p. 8).  In my experience, advocating for a child’s specific learning style is a must as well.  If the student is afraid of strangers and works best with their trusted caregivers/teachers, then maybe video footage of the child in their own learning environment would be more beneficial for assessment.  Meeting the child where they are, and respecting the “whole child” is the goal as an early childhood professional.

References

Berger, K. S. (2016). The developing person through childhood (7th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.

Cohrssen, C., Niklas, F., Logan, D., & Tayler, C. (2016, Sept). The self-reported academic self-concept of four-year-old children: Global and fixed, or nuanced and changing in the year before school?. Australian Journal of Early Childhood, 41(3), 4-10.