Unique in development!

I absolutely love this anonymous quote! I believe that all children learn at their own pace. Infants began to sit, crawl, and walk at different times.Children began to count, read, and write at different times. Therefore each child should be treated as an unique individual. Through my course of study I have learned that exposure and experiences shapes a child and wires the architecture of the brain, It is important to remember that the early years are the most important years to make an impact on a child. Early learning sets the stage for the future and lack of involvement can be detrimental to a child.

Every Child is Unique as his/her fingerprints!

Thank you Paul Priest for sharing your experiences and ideas. Your insight from a male perspective was refreshing to read. I also love that you shared information about your up bringing.

Thank you Dana V. for your insights from the classroom. It was nice to read your real examples of different topics with your students.

Assessment Today

Educational institutions are increasingly being asked to prove their worth. School systems and government agencies are asking for set goals, progress, analyzing strengths and weaknesses in programs, and reports on achievements. I agree that assessment is important but I disagree with formal assessment. Past studies have shown that adults experience test anxiety with standardized testing. Just like adults, children can be intimidated by formal testing. Even though children are capable of taking standardized tested, I strongly believe that children learn at their own pace, and that their intellect should not be compared to other students. 
I do agree with developmental assessment which is a structured evaluation of a child's development physical, language, intellectual, social, and emotional by a developmental assessment specialist, or a team of professionals which can include a pediatrician, language specialist, audiologist, occupational therapist, child psychologist, and child psychiatrist. Before the age of 7 a child should have been examined in all domains of development, and ongoing assessment should take place in order to form an IEP. 

Another form of assessment is observation. I observe my children carefully in order to discuss the child's development with professionals or their parents. The development assessment is tailored to the child's age and suspected problem or delay. In general, I spend time answering a host of detailed questions about the child's growth, physical movements, behavior, play, and interactions with other children and the rest of the world. In the end the professional should take the responsibility for collecting the information and pulling it together. Then, the information is discussed with the parents and presented in a written report. 

In respect to another country and assessment, Japan has a highly competitive examination system, but it doesn't hold educators accountable for students' scores on standardized tests. Japan specifically excludes student achievement on these tests as a criterion for the self-evaluations that Japanese schools conduct.. In Japanese public schools, elementary and lower secondary students do not take high-stakes tests nor are they assigned to schools by achievement. The examination pressures begin between lower and upper secondary school, when examination results determine the upper secondary  school that students will enter.

Rotberg, I. (2006). Assessment around the world. Educational Leadership, 58-63.