In my current program we complete Ages and Stages developmental screening tool.  It covers social, emotional, cognitive, gross and fine motor skills.  This screening tool assist us to refer children for full evaluations if their score falls in the at-risk categories.  Ages and Stages allows for monitoring and tracking of skills similar to milestones along a scripted healthy trajectory.  It also serves for us to provide parents with activities to conduct at home with their children to assist with achieving milestones.    Its parent friendly and is conducted in a play format therefore not intimidating to the families.  I fully support using screening tools to help identify children that maybe in need of early intervention services. 

I don’t necessarily support standardized testing in schools.   It does not account to be suitable for all types of learners and test takers.  It can cause a mass amount of stress in some children.  In others that don’t have a long attention spam they are not able to display their full potential.  I was a smart kid but would get bored and circle all d’s.  The test did not have the ability to account for me being an A-B student.  I also don’t like that fact that these state and national test are always using it to display the assumption that children of color are lacking in academic skills.  I however support behavioral and academic assessments.  These results can be used to support academic placements and support for children with behavioral concerns and for the exceptional student (special needs and gifted children).  

In the state of Arizona if a child fails the reading portion of the AIMS testing they are not permitted to move to the 5^th grade.  Testing is completed nearly at the end of the school year…. My question is why was this child not given support earlier in the school year?  What if they have been successful in other portions of the test?  Why should they be condemned to peer humiliation and held back?  Support will be provided the following school year with mandatory tutoring.  Now the educators know good and well that this child was failing at this subject earlier in the school year.  Thus my continued dislike for non-objective testing for children.  I believe that all children should be taught as if they have an IEP (individual education plan) based on their own strenghts and learning styles.  There maybe a need for measurements and therefore should be customized and individualized to meet each child.  Not for the mindset of the mainstream. 

“There are no external standardized tests used to rank students or schools in Finland, and most teacher feedback to students is in narrative form, emphasizing descriptions of their learning progress and areas for growth. As in the NAEP exams in the United States, samples of students are evaluated on open-ended assessments at the end of the second and ninth grades to inform curriculum and school investments. The focus is on using information to drive learning and problem-solving, rather than punishment.  Inquiry is a major focus of learning in Finland, and assessment is used to cultivate students’ active learning skills by asking open-ended questions and helping students address them" (Darling-Hammond, 2010).

“In a Finnish classroom, it is rare to see a teacher standing at the front of a classroom lecturing students for 50 minutes. Instead, students are likely to determine their own weekly targets with their teachers in specific subject areas and choose the tasks they will work on at their own pace. In a typical classroom, students are likely to be walking around, rotating through workshops or gathering information, asking questions of their teacher, and working with other students in small groups. They may be completing independent or group projects or writing articles for their own magazine. The cultivation of independence and active learning allows students to develop metacognitive skills that help them to frame, tackle, and solve problems; evaluate and improve their own work; and guide their learning processes in productive ways” (Darling-Hammond, 2010).

Darling-Hammond, L. (2010).  What we can Learn from Finland's Successful School Reform, Retrieved June 14, 2014, from, http://www.nea.org/home/40991.htm