The Children’s Center utilizes the California Department of Education’s DRDP to ensure that all children are making progress in all domains: social emotional, language and literacy, math, science, social studies, and physical and health development. We use the DRDP (2015), a tool developed by the CDE to assess the development of children. Children are assessed within 60 days of enrollment and twice a year thereafter. The assessment results are used to plan and conduct developmental activities that are age appropriate for the children and allows teachers to develop individualized lesson plans for children. The assessments are also used as a conversation tool to use during parent-teacher conferences.
Child assessments are an integral component of the program and serve 5 main purposes.
- To track growth and developmental progress in individual children
Developmental assessments and observations on primary children are carried out by all teachers throughout the semester. Observations of children are made during a variety of children’s activities and are ongoing in order to fully see the progress of a child. Throughout the semester, teachers compile evidence obtained from observations on the developmental assessment form. At the end of each semester, the information gained from the individual child assessments are summarized and written on the parent conference form. This information is then shared with families at the parent-teacher conference. - To identify children’s interests, temperaments, and needs
- To inform curriculum planning/implementation and classroom instruction
Child observations are used in planning the curriculum. This assessment process allows teachers to develop individualized lesson plans for children as well as a group of children. These observations also allow for making sound decisions about effective teaching approaches and personal interactions for individual children as well as the group. - Identify children who may need additional support and determine if there is a need for intervention or support services.
- To inform planning for overall program improvement
Various forms of assessment are used to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the program and information on how well the program is meeting the goals and needs of the children. Examples of assessments used for this purpose are the CLASS, ECERS (see more information about this scale in the following section), parent and staff surveys, and individual developmental assessments of children. Findings influence ideas for curriculum (particularly for following children’s interests and planning activities accordingly), strategies to enhance teaching practices, and types of professional development that would benefit teachers the most.
In addition, we use an individually administered test (the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) to formerly assess the children for developmental delays and/or disabilities. It identifies developmental strengths and weaknesses. The norm-based standard score allows us to compare children's functioning with that of their peers, design interventions that meet their particular needs, and monitor their progress over time.
You will be given the opportunity to fill out the ASQ upon enrollment. Should you have any questions or concerns about how the assessment method will meet your child’s needs, we encourage you to speak with the director prior to filling out the ASQ. Once you have returned the assessment to the center, it will be scored by your child’s primary teacher, and he or she will go over the findings with you at your first parent-teacher conference.
If your child scores low in any areas on the ASQ, the teachers will design activities to further enhance your child’s development in that particular area and you will be referred to Inland Regional Center for your child to be further assessed.
All assessments are kept confidential and kept in a secure, locked location.
If you would like more information on our developmental assessments or would like to see the actual measures we utilize, please let us know and we will happy to show you.