In this unit, you have learned about the importance of developmental screenings for all young children. Standardized screening assessments can help identify children who may have a developmental delay or are at-risk for developmental delay.

All children should be screened, not just children you may suspect may have a delay.

Be sure to closely review the following resource prior to beginning this assignment:

Developmental and Behavioral Screening Guide for Early Care and Education Providers

For the Unit 4 Assignment, you will use the multiple resources provided in this unit to create a chart and write an essay discussing the use of standardized screening assessments specific to the age group you have chosen for your target child.

In addition, you will use a case scenario to discuss how standardized screening could be used in conjunction with non-standardized, informal assessments for a thorough assessment and evaluation of your target child.

Please use the Unit 4 Assignment Template, which can also be found in Course Documents.

Part 1: Standardized Screening Assessment Chart

This chart will explore one standardized screening assessment that would be appropriate for the age of the target child you have chosen for your observation for this course.

You will not actually administer this standardized screening in this course, as this is a simulated assignment. In order to administer a standardized screening assessment, you would need to have access to and training on the assessment instrument and direct supervision of administration. Therefore, we will only discuss standardized assessment in this course, not administer them to a child.

When creating your chart, you must select an appropriate standardized screening assessment based on the age of your target child.

Use the following resources to select an appropriate standardized screening assessment:

Developmental Screening Tools

Early Childhood Developmental Screening

First Signs Screening Tools

The first part of the template contains the categories highlighted below:

Age of target child in months

Standardized Screening Assessment Title: Be sure to provide the full name using APA format.

Developmental Domain(s) Covered: Which are addressed in the screening assessment (motor, physical growth, social, emotional, behavior, communication, etc.)?

Age Range: What is the appropriate age range for administering the standardized screening assessment to the child? Be sure this age range corresponds to the age of your target child.

Purpose of the Screening: What can an early childhood professional do with the results based on your target child? What should happen next? Be sure to discuss the limitations of screening instruments.

Part 2: Standardized Screening Assessments Essay

Case Scenario: Imagine that you have been hired as the new director of an Early Childhood Program in which your target child is enrolled. During the interview and hiring process, you realize that the culture in this Early Childhood Program has historically centered on the use of informal portfolios as the sole assessment format.

The staff and families enjoy the use of portfolios and are very satisfied with this type of informal assessment.

You would like to propose using standardized screening assessments for all of the children in this setting as best practice indicates the use of both standardized screening assessment scores and non-standardized assessments to assist with the assessment and evaluation of young children.

To prepare for your essay discussion on the importance of respecting the culture in early childhood, please be sure to read the following resources prior to beginning this part of the assignment.

School Culture

School Culture and Climate

In the second part of the template, you will discuss the following using the case scenario above:

What is this organization's culture concerning assessment?

Why is this organization's culture on assessment important to understand?

How would you discuss your proposal to use the standardized screening assessment you discussed in Part 1 for your target child, while respecting the culture and role of informal, non-standardized assessment?

Assignment Guidelines

Use the Unit 4 Assignment Template and add the appropriate information into the correct areas of the document. Answers to the questions should be in sentence/paragraph format. The response to Part 2 should be one-page, double-spaced, use 12-point font, follow APA style guidelines (including in-text citations), and include a title and reference page (with at least three references).

Your assignment should be written in Standard English with well-organized and original thoughts supported by the text material. Be sure to use correct grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure throughout your assignment.

Textbook is Assessment in Early Childhood Education, 7th Edition