CHAPTER 11 Communicating with Families
Suzanne Clouzeau/Pearson
Chapter Objectives
As a result of reading this chapter, you will be able to:
1. Discuss characteristics of family-professional partnerships that promote children’s development and learning.
2. Explain strategies for establishing and maintaining family-professional partnerships that benefit children.
3. Describe strategies for conducting effective parent conferences.
4. Discuss the roles of families in screening and assessment.
Parents are children’s first and most important teacher. As such, they have a critical role in their child’s development and learning. Teachers,administrators, and other early childhood providers understand that children’s success as learners depends on parents as well asprofessionals. The importance of having parents as partners in early childhood settings is essential to quality care and education (Dunst &Trivette, 2012; Schmidt & Matthews, 2013; Turnbull et al., 2006). Today’s children experience a variety of family relationships. Somechildren live with a single parent or with grandparents. Children may live in blended families where both parents had previous marriagesand children from the first and second marriages now live together as one family. Other children live in households with same-sex parents. Still others may live in households that include adults who function as caretakers but are not related. Therefore, the term families shouldacknowledge the expanded roles of parenting to include any persons that function as family in their daily lives. Throughout this book,information related to family partnerships during screening and assessment processes has been discussed. This chapter will be devoted tohow professionals can engage in meaningful partnerships with adults who serve in parenting roles for children, particularly during theassessment process. Strategies for communicating with families about children’s progress will be discussed, including planning and how toconduct effective family conferences.
11.1 Family-Professional Partnerships that Promote Children’s Development andLearning
Parents have always actively participated in early-childhood settings such as child-care centers and schools. When the first author’s fatherwas an elementary school student in the early 20th century in Austin, Texas, mothers took turns going to the school to prepare lunch forthe children. Traditionally, parents helped with school parties and volunteered in the classroom. Parent–teacher organizations raised moneyto secure needed books, equipment, and other materials that were not in the school budget.
Today, the idea of a partnership with parents goes beyond helping with school programs toward empowering and engaging families inmutually respectful interactions that benefit children. Fundamental to effective family-professional partnerships is the belief that theyshould be strengths-based (built on family resources and assets) and family-centered (led by family concerns and priorities) (Dunst &Trivette, 2012). Turnbull et al. (2006) describe family-professional partnerships as relationships in which families (not just parents) andprofessionals build on each other’s expertise and resources so decisions will benefit children as well as their partnership. They suggestpartnerships that support children’s well-being and are achieved by applying the following seven principles:
• Communication—ongoing, honest interactions using methods agreed on by both the parents and the professionals
• Professional Competence—well-trained professionals committed to lifelong learning and who have expectations for children
• Respect—regarding each other in high esteem and interactions that promote honesty and dignity
• Commitment—being accessible and sensitive to the needs of families
• Equality—shared power and decision making
• Advocacy—forming alliances based on identified needs and taking action to address them
• Trust—the keystone of strong family-professional partnerships
Numerous professional organizations have published position papers and guidelines that help educators understand essentialcharacteristics of effective family-professional partnerships. For example, the NAEYC Standards for Early Childhood Professional Preparationdescribes professional standards for early childhood professionals (NAEYC, 2009). The purpose of these standards is to provide guidancefor professionals that reflect the values of inclusive, high-quality early childhood services. Standard 2, Building Family and CommunityRelationships, describes elements of strong family-professional partnerships as follows:
Parents and teachers are partners in the learning and assessment of youngchildren.
David Kostelnik/Pearson
2a: Knowing about and understanding diverse family and community characteristics
2b: Supporting and engaging families and communities through respectful, reciprocal relationships
2c: Involving families and communities in their children’s development and learning (p. 12)
Other professional organizations have published guidelines for establishing and maintaining family-professional partnerships that reflectthe diversity of families. For example, the Division of Early Childhood/Council for Exceptional Children (DEC, 2010) published a positionpaper entitled Responsiveness to ALL Children, Families, and Professionals: Integrating Cultural and Linguistic Diversity into Policy and Practice,which provides information about ways to establish and maintain effective family-professional partnerships with diverse families, especiallythose who have children with disabilities and families from culturally and linguistically diverse families.
In addition, as early learning standards have become an expected aspect of young children’s education, national and state organizationshave stressed the importance of family partnerships. For example, a joint position statement on early learning standards developed by theNational Association for Young Children and the National Association of Early Childhood Specialists in State Departments of Education(2002) describes four conditions needed in the development and implementation of early learning standards. The fourth conditionemphasizes the importance of family-professional partnerships: “Early learning standards will have the most positive effects if families—keypartners in young children’s learning—are provided with respectful communication and support” (p. 8). This position statement and itscontent are supported by the National Association of Elementary School Principals and other prominent organizations as a unified effort toguide the field toward quality and developmentally appropriate content in standards, including the important role of families.
11.2 Strategies for Establishing and Maintaining Family–Professional Partnerships thatBenefit Children
Establishing Relationships with Families
The importance of a strong partnership with families becomes more evident as we learn more about how children benefit from a strongteacher–parent relationship. All parties in the partnership have an equal role. The quality of the partnership affects the child’s security andmaximizes the child’s potential for learning. This quality partnership includes frequent two-way communications, interest in each other’sperspectives, and acceptance of the views of the other partner. The partnership grows through mutual consultation both on daily activitiesand important decisions. It requires working through differences with mutual respect (Keyser, 2006; Lightfoot, 2003).
Building Bridges with Families of Infants and Toddlers
In 2014, more than 11 million children of working mothers who were younger than age 5 participated in child care (Child Care Awareof America, 2014). Thirty-eight percent of the children who participate in child care are infants and toddlers (Schmitt & Matthews, 2013). These children spend on average 36 hours a week in child care and often participate in multiple placements. Thus, for manyfamilies, the partnership between educational settings and the home begins when their children are infants and toddlers. Thedevelopment of relationships between the home and facilities or schools is initiated when the child is transitioned from home to acenter or other care and/or educational setting. The development of trust and positive, consistent caregiving are important indeveloping bonds between the caregiver and the child and the caregiver and the parents. Each day the child and family adults gothrough emotions related to separation when the child is left in the caregiving setting and then another adjustment when they areunited at the end of the day. Caregivers and other center personnel who show sensitivity and understanding of unique familycharacteristics and cultural differences can facilitate the daily transitions and ongoing interactions with the child and family. Families ofbabies have the same needs for support and communication regarding their child as families of older children in school settings;however, the needs for daily communication and exchange of information about the child are even more crucial for young children.
The expanded nature of parenting also includes an understanding of diversity. Family members and professionals from a variety ofcultures, ethnicities, family structures, and levels of income can enrich partnerships. A variety of languages may be spoken, and familiesmight have different views from professionals on how children should be raised. This means that all parties (e.g., schools, centers, servicesproviders, parents) must learn about each other, both at school and at home. Families need to learn about the school culture and how theirchild fits into a group of diverse children. Likewise, professionals must understand each child’s family cultural practices and seek ways toincorporate them in the early childhood setting (Keyser, 2006).
Parents and teachers are not the only beneficiaries of a strong, mutually respectful partnership. Children benefit the most! When parentsand other significant adults in their life have a positive relationship with teachers and other education professionals, children feel that theyand their family are honored and respected. The better the relationship, the more children feel that they, too, can have a trustingrelationship with the teacher. They learn how to conduct social relationships by watching adult relationships. They notice all the nuances ofspoken language, body language, and tone of voice that the adults use. They use these positive models to develop their own relationshipswith others (Keyser, 2006). Informal and formal communication processes as well as home visits are effective methods for establishingpositive family-professional partnerships.
Ongoing Communications
Continuing conversations and other forms of communication are an important step in establishing a partnership. At times, the teacherinitiates the communication, but at other times the parent initiates the contact. Families have different ways to engage in the partnership.The continuum from relationship to partnership is different from family to family. The teacher needs to be sensitive to how best tocommunicate with families. Written newsletters to parents may not be effective if the parents speak another language and the writtenmaterials are not in the parents’ home language, for example. Parents may also be very intimidated by requests for them to giveinformation through written notes. Care should be taken, however, to make sure parents who speak a language other than English can readin their home language. The first author’s years as a teacher of children from Spanish-speaking families provides another example of howto be sensitive to parents. The principal decided that all newsletters and information sheets would be communicated in both English andSpanish. It took some reflection and awkward interactions before it was understood that the Spanish-speaking families in the schoolcommunity could not read in Spanish either. Patience and goodwill are necessary for both families and teachers as partnerships develop,especially if there are extenuating circumstances, such as language differences, that may be challenging.
Today, technological advances can be used to enhance communication between parents and educational settings. For example, the teachercan establish a classroom website where information can be shared and ideas exchanged. Photographs and videos of class work can beposted and opportunities for family comments provided. E-mails to individual families can replace notes with families who have access to acomputer. Other families without computers can continue to exchange written notes with the teacher. Cell phone calls can includephotographs of the child at school and possibly text messages to keep families informed. The messages can include anecdotes about thechild’s experiences at school, new accomplishments, or newly developed social skills (Mitchell, Foulger, & Wetzel, 2009).
Home Visits
One of the most effective ways to establish a relationship with a child and the family is to make a home visit before the child beginsattending the center or school. When the teacher visits the home environment, a context for understanding the child and family isestablished. As young teachers, we made home visits at the beginning of every school year. It was very educational to learn how and wherethe children in our classrooms lived. The first author taught in a bilingual program; as a result, most of the children in the classroom wereHispanic. Many children were from families of migrant workers. A majority of families she visited had a very low income. One family livedout of two cars several miles from the school bus route. The children were dressed and ready to leave by 5 a.m. so that they could walk withtheir older siblings to the bus stop. In the afternoons, it was almost dark before they reached home again. Another family lived very nearthe school, but in a very old wood frame house with bare wood floors. The mother got water from the tap outside for cooking and cleaning.She had a history of being abused and beaten by her husband. When the first author visited, the house was very clean, and the motherproudly showed her the room where three of the girls shared a double bed. Later in the year, when the child from that family in herclassroom appeared at school with a broken arm, the school nurse was notified to work with child welfare authorities to investigate andassist the mother, if needed. The families were pleased that the teacher came to their home. The children were always dressed in their bestclothes and on their best behavior. Family pictures, the children’s toys, and the plants in the yard were often topics of conversation. Theseinitial visits were vital to the parents’ feeling comfortable with the teacher, especially since she spoke Spanish, and the parents were able toovercome their hesitations to come to the school for meetings and conferences. Many times parent conferences were conducted at aparent’s place of work because they could not leave their job or did not have transportation to the school. Home visits continued in somesituations when the family or the teacher needed support from the other.
In conclusion, home visits are an effective way to begin and maintain family-professional partnerships as they provide authenticexperiences for both the family members and teachers or other professionals. Ongoing communication strategies can grow out of theseexperiences or other avenues of learning about the types of communication that work best for families.
Using Professional Ethics in School–Family Partnerships
Teachers are responsible for maintaining professionalism in their relationships with parents. Guidelines for teachers are provided byprofessional education organizations. The Code of Ethical Conduct was first published by the National Association for the Education ofYoung Children in 1989, and most recently updated in 2011 (NAEYC, 2011). The code provides guidelines for professional behavior forteachers and caregivers of young children. It describes categories of ethics that provide a framework for how teachers should interact intheir positions in early childhood settings. Throughout this Code of Ethics it is stressed that professional ethics includes responsibilities forchildren, families, communities, and society. The descriptions discuss that professional ethical judgments guide educators as to what theyshould and should not do as professionals. Section II of the Code is dedicated to ethical partnerships with families. The code of ethics is adocument that permits the profession to speak as a group. The hope for the future is that the code can be used not only as a basis foradvocacy addressing the needs of young children and their families, but also to help early childhood educators to focus on what is best forall young children and their families (Feeney, 2010).
Assessment Roles of Families of Children with Disabilities
When parents discover that their infant, toddler, or young child has a delay or disability, they soon understand the important role ofassessment in the child’s life. They experience conflicting emotions about what the assessment will reveal. One mother described herreaction (Rocco, 1996):
When assessments emphasize deficits and diminished expectations for future success, we parents generally begin to look for away to thwart these negative prognostications. At the very best, we want a miracle cure. At the least, we want professionals to“fix” our children…. We believe that professionals have all the answers, and therefore, all the power. (p. 56)
After parents experience the first stages of screening and diagnosis, they find they have a major role in assessing what the child needs andparticipate in planning for the child. Once their child has been evaluated and determined eligible for services, the ongoing assessment andintervention process centers on the family as well as the child, especially in the early intervention program, Part C of IDEA, for infants andtoddlers. The extent of the family’s involvement affects the child’s performance and the relevance of the child’s assessment in guidingintervention services (Berman & Shaw, 1996; Dunst & Trivette, 2012; Ray, Pewitt-Kinder, & George, 2009). Dunst and Trivette (2012)describe the assessment process as family-directed or family-centered, with the child and family’s concerns, priorities, resources, and valuesthe most important in planning for the child. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA, 2004) requiresthat families be a team member and partner in the assessment, decision-making, and activities planned for addressing the child’s needs (U.S.Congress, 2004). Conferences with families who have a child with a disability are more complex than the common understanding of parent–teacher conferences. An Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) is developed specifically for children and families participating in theEarly Intervention Program (Part C of IDEA 2004). A team of intervention providers that might include therapists, early interventionspecialists, teachers, and family members are involved in both planning for the family and child’s needs and later assessing progress on theIFSP with the family (Ray, Pewitt-Kinder, & George, 2009).
Involving All Parents in the Assessment Process
Practices established for parents of children with disabilities involve parents in the assessment process used with all children. Home visitswith parents before the beginning of school can initiate the process of gathering information about the child. Thereafter, parents canparticipate in the assessment process through the teacher’s ongoing efforts to solicit information from parents, participating in conferenceswhen the child’s progress is reported, and contributing information about the child’s progress within the conference, through writtenresponses submitted to the teacher and by telephone or e-mail messages (Gilkerson & Hanson, 2000).
All the assessment strategies discussed in this text apply to children with disabilities. Some types of assessments may have to be modified,especially for children who have a cognitive delay or physical disability. Nevertheless, children with disabilities should not be excluded fromperformance assessments and portfolios. These children should have ongoing opportunities to demonstrate what they understand and canuse. Teachers and parents will need to be creative in finding ways for children to engage in their own assessment if they are unable toparticipate in the same manner as children without disabilities. Computers and other types of assistive technologies can be used, as well asphotographs, videotapes, and audiotapes. The important point is that children with disabilities should be included in the assessment andplanning process to the best of their abilities. Bridging their disabilities with alternative assessment strategies will complete their inclusionas full members of the classroom (Jarrett, Browne, & Wallin, 2006; McLean, Wolery, & Bailey, 2004; Zero to Three, 2010).
Parent Partnership in Portfolio Assessment
The principal, teachers, and parents at Thomas Jefferson Kindergarten and Primary School discussed portfolio assessment at schoolcouncil meetings for several months. Teachers and a principal from a school in a nearby community were invited to attend the councilmeeting and talk about their experiences in starting portfolio assessment. In April, the council decided to implement portfolios thefollowing year. As training sessions were held for the teachers at the end of the school year, newsletters were sent to parents informingthem of the change in reporting using portfolios and of evening sessions that would be held to share how the teachers were preparingfor using portfolios.
During the summer months, teacher training continued. At the beginning of the school year, an open house was held to further explainhow the portfolio process would be used and the rationale for moving to this type of assessment and reporting. Following a generalmeeting in the multipurpose room of the school, parents visited their child’s classroom, where the teacher showed a model of theportfolio that would be used in the classroom and how parents could contribute to the information that would be included in theportfolio. Questions about the portfolio assessment process were answered.
At the first parent–teacher conferences, portfolio assessment to report student progress was used for the first time. Parents wereinvited to reflect on what the child had accomplished. In some classrooms, the child participated in the conference and discussed whysome entries were important. Following review of the portfolios, both the parents and teacher discussed how to plan for the child’slearning experiences based on the progress made during the first part of the school year.
Some teachers found the move to the portfolio process easier than others. Likewise, some parents understood and supportedportfolio assessment more quickly than others. The principal provided troubleshooting sessions for teachers, and the school councildiscussed how to continue to improve the process.
11.3 Conducting Effective Parent Conferences
Whatever approaches a teacher uses to assess children, a report is made to communicate with the parents about the child’s developmentaladvances and learning accomplishments. The assessments that have been made are evaluated to determine what will be in the report.Families are given the opportunity to share their ideas about the child’s growth and progress and to respond to the report that the teacherhas developed. Although written reports and portfolios are helpful assessment systems to use when sharing information with families,conferences permit families and teachers to interact directly. In the following sections, parent conferences will be discussed, including howto prepare for and conduct conferences.
Types of Parent Conferences
In addition to traditional teacher-led conferences, other options for conducting parent conferences include three-way conferences, student-led conferences, and parent group meeting conferences. Each of these types of conferences are described in the following section.
Three-Way Conferences
In the three-way conference, the student, parent, and teacher all participate. The student has an opportunity to present and discuss his orher work through a portfolio, the parent has an opportunity to introduce relevant information about the child’s progress, and the teacherhas the opportunity to summarize what has been accomplished during the time period. All participants plan together for future goals,projects, and general learning. All participants discuss how the home and the school can work together to accomplish the child’s learninggoals.
Student-Led Conferences
Students can be taught to conduct a conference with the family (Cromwell, 2010). Using a showcase or evaluative portfolio, the student andparent study portfolio contents and discuss the student’s work. The teacher can join the conference later and answer questions the parentmight have or elicit the family’s ideas for the child’s further progress (Stiggins, 2005). Regardless of the approach to be used for the parentconference, the conference should follow the assumption that families are partners in the process:
The inclusion of families in the overall assessment is critically important. They need to be involved in more than just the finalstage of the process if they are to see all the skills and strategies that their children are developing and to assist their childrenalong the way.
Family involvement with portfolios can take many forms, including holding three-way conferences that include students, teachers, andparents. Parents may also respond in writing to the work in the portfolio. They can complete a questionnaire about their perceptions of thestudent’s work and provide examples they think are indicative of growth (Lescher, 1995, p. 28).
Parent Group Meeting Conferences
When circumstances do not permit conferences with individual families, a group conference for all parents might be considered. In this typeof conference, the teacher spends time explaining to all the parents the assessments that have been used, the nature of those assessments,and information on projects or thematic study topics. Classroom documentation in various forms is explained and parents are invited tospend time looking at them. The teacher can make opportunities for individual questions and for parents with concerns to stay after thegroup meeting to discuss these with the teacher. Arrangements might be made for individual phone calls or other communications whenneeded to discuss future questions or issues.
Preparing for Family Conferences
The teacher or other professional must prepare the information that is to be shared prior to conducting a conference with a family. Some ofthe information should involve input from parents and the child. As part of the preparation, the teacher selects the assessments that will beused for reporting progress and develops a profile or some type of encapsulation that summarizes the child’s evidence of development andlearning.
Selecting Options for Reporting Progress
If the teacher uses portfolio assessment, the process of preparing the portfolio contents for the child’s evaluation becomes the vehicle forreporting. If a portfolio is not used, the teacher gathers and organizes examples of the child’s work, assessments that have been conducted,and some type of report on the child’s evaluation that has been determined by the teacher.
Developing a Profile for the Child Using Assessment Results
Portfolios include assessment results and other evidence of the child’s work that permit an evaluation to take place. Materials in theportfolio, when combined with a narrative report, provide a profile of progress. A profile can also be developed using checklistassessments, samples of the child’s work, and a summary report, as in The Work Sampling System, 5th Edition (Meisels, Marsden, Jablon, &Dichtelmiller, 2014), and the checklist and anecdotal records used in the Preschool Child Observation Record (COR) (High/ScopeEducational Research Foundation, 2003). Given the many types of assessments and record-keeping strategies described in earlier chapters,the teacher has a variety of ways to organize assessment and evaluation into a comprehensive profile of the child to share with parents.This report may also include the results of standardized tests in the primary grades.
Considering Individual Family Backgrounds and Needs
As the teacher prepares for the conference with the parents, the backgrounds, concerns, priorities, resources, and needs of parents areconsidered. Parents must feel comfortable and relaxed when they come for the conference. A trained interpreter should be provided forparents who speak a language other than English. The environment for the conference should be welcoming. Some teachers providerefreshments and decorate the area with flowers and student work.
When preparing for a conference, the teacher must consider the diverse backgrounds of the children also. The children may come fromdifferent religions, cultures, languages, and family practices. For example, in some cultures the father takes the lead in participating in theconference, with the mother taking a secondary role. In other cultures, especially traditional American groups, both parents participateequally, or the mother takes the lead.
If language is an issue, provisions should be made for a trained interpreter to assist with the meeting, if the teacher does not speak thehome language of the family. In the event of families speaking several different languages, trained interpreters who speak both languagesmight facilitate the conference conversations. It is important to have trained interpreters who understand that their role is to serve as aconduit for delivering information from the teacher, parent, student, or other person involved in the conference without judgment orprejudice. Avoid asking a friend, family member, or other person who is not a professional interpreter. The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA, 2014) recommends the following considerations when selecting an interpreter to assist with assessment:
• Determine the interpreter’s level of proficiency in English and in the home language used by the child and family
• Examine the interpreter’s educational background and experience
• Determine the interpreter’s communication style to ensure it will work with that of the teacher, child, and parents
• Try to use the same interpreter for multiple assignments so that you may establish an effective working relationship
Additional tips for using an interpreter effectively before, during, and after the conference can be found on the ASHA website.
Sometimes parents are intimidated by the teacher and other professionals and are uncomfortable attending a conference at the school.Parents may feel inadequate or have bad memories from their own school experiences. Teachers need to be very sensitive to thesesituations and be ready to help these parents feel welcome and appreciated (Kersey & Masterson, 2009).
Another factor to consider is parental awareness of how assessments are conducted and interpreted, particularly in the case ofstandardized test results. Some families may be very familiar and comfortable in understanding the meaning of different terms used instandardized test reports. Others may be totally bewildered when a child’s test profile is discussed. The teacher will want to vary how thesetests are discussed and what explanations might be necessary. Standardized tests and test reports were discussed in Chapters 3 and 4. Theteacher will want to understand test reports and how to interpret them to parents from diverse backgrounds.
Conducting Family Conferences
Once the parents or other family representatives have arrived and the conference is ready to begin, the teacher keeps three guidelines inmind when conducting a successful experience for the parents and child, if the child is to participate, including: (1) helping parentsunderstand evaluation information, (2) helping parents interpret evaluation information accurately, and (3) soliciting parental and childinput for assessment and planning for the child. If standardized test results are used, these guidelines are especially important.
Steps in Preparing to Conduct Conferences with Families
The teacher can also think through best strategies that will ensure a positive conference result. Following are some measures teachers taketo conduct successful conferences:
• Start and end on a positive note. It was mentioned earlier that parents should feel welcomed by the teacher. The teacher can share thechild’s strengths and examples of the child’s positive experiences at school.
• Encourage parents to share information about their child. Early in the conference, parents are asked about their child. The teacher mayask questions about how the child and family interact at home. The objective is to have the parents take the lead in the discussion abouttheir child.
• Discuss relevant information about the child’s progress. Important information about the child’s accomplishments is discussed with theparents, using portfolio examples, various assessments, and standardized test results, when appropriate. Parents are included in thediscussion throughout this part of the conference. Their questions are answered, and the teacher asks questions to extend theinformation.
• Discuss the child’s needs or issues about progress. Difficulties the child might be experiencing at school are discussed objectively. Theteacher focuses on the most important difficulties that a child might be experiencing. The teacher asks the parents for help inaddressing the child’s needs. The parents and teacher discuss how they might help the child. The teacher asks the parents forsuggestions about how the child might be better helped in school. If possible, the parents and teacher set a plan for the child to beaddressed in a follow-up conference or other communication (Kersey & Masterson, 2009).
• End the conference on a positive note. The teacher closes the conference by again focusing on the child’s positive attributes. The teacherthanks the parents for attending and being helpful in providing needed information. The teacher stresses that the family-professionalrelationship is a partnership to further positive feelings with parents or family representatives.
Helping Parents Interpret Evaluation Information
When parents encounter a collection of work examples of the children and teacher assessments that form the basis for a child’s evaluation,they may feel a bit overwhelmed when they compare this type of reporting with a report card. If the teacher and school have prepared theparents for the use of portfolios and performance assessments, they will appreciate understanding how the materials they are seeing forma picture of what the child has learned; nevertheless, they are likely to have questions about assessments and the meaning of the child’swork. The teacher needs to be prepared to volunteer information about the assessment strategies used and why the collection of the child’swork provides evidence of learning.
11.4 Role of Parents in the Screening and Assessment Process
Parents may have questions such as the following: How are checklist assessments conducted? What strategies does the teacher use toacquire checklist information? Why are observation reports important? What does the teacher learn about the child by doing observations?What do the summaries of the child’s advances and accomplishments mean when compared with a traditional report card? How does arubric work? How does the teacher design written tests for primary-grade children? The teacher should be able to explain during theconference how and why assessments are used so that parents understand the assessment process. Parents will vary in how theyunderstand technical information. The teacher needs to be prepared to help interpret assessment results with individual families.
The same is true of assessment materials shared at the parent–teacher conference. One method of summarizing the child’s progress andoverall evaluation is to have a summary report or narrative report for the parents. The teacher goes over the report with the parents,helping them understand the relationship between the assessment resources and the child’s overall evaluation. If a summary report is notused, the teacher must have an overall evaluation ready to share with the parents. The assessments and work samples must be explained,with their implications for the child’s progress and future needs for instructional experiences.
A Group Conference for a Child with ADHD
Miles Clark is a third-grade child who was identified as having ADHD in the first grade. He was evaluated and received specialeducation classification at that time. He has received the help of a resource teacher for the past 2 years. The purpose of the conferenceis to determine how Miles should be served as he moves to fourth grade. The conference includes Miles’s parents, his grandmother, theregular classroom teacher, the school counselor, the resource teacher, and the principal. The conference has been called at the requestof Miles’s mother, who is concerned about the possible end of services by the resource teacher.
Each member of the teaching and support staff presents an assessment of Miles’s progress. At the end of each presentation, theparents and other members of the group are invited to comment or ask questions. The classroom teacher and resource teacherpresent examples of work that Miles has been able to complete on his own, without assistance. Each member of the group is askedabout Miles’s ability to work independently, without a resource teacher to assist with assignments. School staff members believe thattheir plan to transition Miles to working without assistance is showing good progress. Miles’s mother is not convinced and insists thatMiles is entitled to the continued services of the resource teacher because of his designation as having ADHD.
At the end of the conference, each member of the conference group summarizes his or her current assessment of Miles and whatfuture planning is appropriate for his continued progress. The school counselor summarizes the events of the conference and asks theparents for their assessment. Miles’s mother strongly supports the continuation of assistance for Miles. The school staff reluctantlyagree to continue the use of the resource teacher during the next school year.
Soliciting Parental Input for Assessment and Planning
Opportunities for parental input into the assessment and planning process should be built into the conference. If parents do not voluntarilyreflect on the child’s progress and make suggestions, the teacher should be ready to solicit input. As the teacher completes the evaluationreport, parents can give their own views about progress and concerns they might have about the child. The child also discusses progressand how learning might be improved. As the teacher discusses the next steps in planning for the child, parents can give their suggestions ofwhat might be helpful for the child. Also, the teacher and parents can discuss what the parents might do to help the child at home. Theimportant point is that parents and children need to feel that they are a vital part of the evaluation process and not mere recipients of theevaluation report. Although the teacher may need to discuss improvements that the child needs to make, parents should also beencouraged to look at problems and suggest solutions. If a true partnership has been established, parents will be able to address the child’sneeds and help plan ways to guide the child without feeling that they are being judged.
Summary
Assessment in early childhood education includes opportunities and challenges. Many of the issues that developed during the latterdecades of the 20th century persist at the beginning of the 21st century. The implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act and theCommon Core State Standards presented their own challenges.
Assessment of young children that evolved during the 20th century has broadened and intensified over the decades, as more has beenlearned about how young children develop and learn and how variances in development and culture may cause young children toencounter difficulties when they enter school. Tests and measures to assess young children have been developed for children who needintervention services and preschool programs to enhance their academic success when they enter the primary grades.
The development and use of a variety of approaches for the assessment of children in the early childhood years has not come withoutproblems. Because of the nature and rapidity of development of young children, it is difficult to design measures that are dependable andthat accurately measure personal characteristics and other needed information. Each kind of measure designed for use with young childrenhas pluses and minuses. Users of each type of assessment must be informed about the strengths and limitations of the strategies they planto use. With young children especially, a combination of assessment approaches, rather than a single instrument or method, is indicated.
As school reform decisions increase the use of testing of preschool and primary-grade children for placement, promotion, and retention,teachers increasingly believe that they are accountable for their role in the decisions made about their students. If they disagree with thegrading procedures they are required to use, for example, do they have a responsibility to voice their concern? When they have research-based information that an instrument is being used for the wrong purpose or lacks reliability, should they inform the personnel whoselected the tests? Should teachers press for alternative methods of assessment that include informal strategies and performanceassessments? Do school policies prohibit any variation in how children are assessed? Parents want teachers to explain the use ofperformance assessments and changes in student progress reports that accompany the use of these assessments. Teachers want parents tohave input when the decision is made to move to this type of assessment and the use of portfolios, rather than report cards. In addition,teachers want to be confident that they have the skills to use and interpret assessment results with parents.
No crystal ball reveals future trends in measuring young children. Demands for accountability and increases in learning achievementcurrently drive curriculum and assessment. School reform, which is a national phenomenon, will continue to affect early childhoodeducation. As the importance of the early years is again being emphasized, the school reform movement continues to force restrictiveparameters on the education of young children. The push for quality early childhood programs conflicts with efforts to raise academicstandards. And, as the makeup of early childhood classrooms changes to reflect the presence of more children with disabilities and diversebackgrounds and languages, competence in selecting and using appropriate types of assessments assumes even more importance.Decisions about educational practices are often political rather than educational. As different forces affect representation in Congress,policies can change.
The issues that surround the assessment of young children will not be resolved soon. If present trends continue, improvement in methodsof assessment of young children will continue in the effort to improve their potential for optimal development and learning. The ongoingimprovement in assessment methods should have a positive effect on the quality of early childhood programs and services as well.
Key Terms
Family-centered 268
Parent conferences 275
Family-professional partnerships 268
Parent group meeting conferences 275
Strengths-based 268
Student-led conferences 275
Three-way conferences 275
Selected Organizations
Search for the following organizations online:
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
Beach Center on Disability
Center for Law and Social Policy
Child Care Aware of America
National Coalition for Parent Involvement in Education (NCPIE)
Parent Teacher Association
TeacherVision
Wrightslaw
References
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Child Care Aware of America. (2014). Child care in America today. Arlington, VA: NACCRRA.
Cromwell, S. (2010). Student-led conferences: A growing trend. Retrieved from http://www.educationworld.com/a_admin/admin/admin112.shtml
Division of Early Childhood. (2010). Responsiveness to ALL children, families, and professionals: Integrating cultural and linguistic diversity intopolicy and practice. Author.
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Feeney, S. (2010, March). Ethics today in early care and education. Young Children, 65, 72–77.
Gilkerson, D., & Hanson, M. F. (2000). Family portfolios: Involving families in portfolio documentation. Early Childhood Education Journal, 27,197–201.
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High/Scope Educational Research Foundation. (2003). Preschool child observation record. Ypsilanti, MI: Author.
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Lescher, M. L. (1995). Portfolios: Assessing learning in the primary grades. Washington, DC: National Education Association.
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