Curriculum & Assessment
Using assessment to help document children's development and milestones
At the Bombeck Family Learning Center, we use assessment to plan and implement curriculum, determine individual and whole-class progress, and inform and initiate interventions. Assessment helps to document a child's milestones and development, as well as progress in the Early Learning Content Standards.
Curriculum
The Center's curriculum implements Ohio's Infant and Toddler Guidelines and the Ohio Early Learning Content Standards. Based on these guidelines and standards, the Center's curriculum:
- Is emergent and follows the children's interests
- Is assessment-supported
- Provides for the physical, social/emotional, language, aesthetic, and cognitive development of the children
- Is socially relevant
- Engages children intellectually
- Is personally meaningful to the children
- Builds on children's knowledge and abilities
- Integrates content matter
- Makes meaningful connections
- Supports children's home cultures
- Reflects realistic and attainable goals
- Allows children to represent their knowledge in a wide variety of ways
The Center also uses ACCESS curriculum, an intentional, integrated and inquiry-based curriculum for children ages infancy through grade 5. It was developed at the Bombeck Family Learning Center by teachers, administrators, the curriculum specialist and early and middle childhood faculty.
ACCESS (Assessment-supported, Child, Centered, Emergent/negotiated, Science emphasis, Standards-integrated) has been piloted in a variety of early care and education settings and also in public, Catholic, and charter schools in grades preschool through 3. The curriculum was developed out of respect for the intelligence and creativity of teachers who seek to create cohesive, engaging and meaningful curriculum. It also embraces children as capable thinkers who have important questions to be answered.
The power of play
Can we use the power of play to educate an innovate workforce? Shauna Adams, executive director, UD Center for Early Learning, explains:
The power of play
Can we use the power of play to educate an innovate workforce? Shauna Adams, executive director, UD Center for Early Learning, explains:
Evaluations
Children at the Center are evaluated informally in the classroom, where the child feels comfortable, by familiar adults on a consistent and ongoing basis. Formal assessments and screenings are done for specific reasons with the consent of parents and by trained, experienced professionals (i.e., teachers or consultants). Parental permission is required prior to formal testing, and results are discussed during conferences.
- Initial screenings: Initial screenings are completed within 30 days of a child's enrollment date at the Center.
- Parent participation: Parents may contribute to assessment data in several ways. Parents are consistently asked for information about children during daily discussions at drop-off and pick-up times, or during conferences and intervention team meetings. Assessment information is shared with parents quarterly, through conferences and/or written reports.
- Confidentiality: Bombeck Family Learning Center employees follow ethical standards for maintaining confidentiality of assessments. Parents may ask to view any assessment information at any time. State-required forms with confidential information and evaluation results are kept in the children's files in the office area. Daily assessments and behavioral observations are kept in confidential files within the classroom. They are used to help teachers plan both individual and whole-class activities. Portfolios are openly displayed for parents and children to view, as no confidential information is included in them.