Exemplars
Ngā tauaromahi

Empowerment – Whakamana

Effective assessment practices enhance children’s sense of themselves as capable and competent learners.

What to look for:

Assessments that refer to children setting their own goals
Children developing their own criteria for assessing achievement
Teachers’ criteria for assessment that are transparent and accessible (and that may be negotiated by older children)
Children being consulted about what they will do next
Children being consulted about what will be recorded or collected.

Reflecting on our practice

Discuss the occasions when, in our setting, assessments have referred to children setting their own goals. (For example, see “George gets to where he wants to be”)
Have there been any occasions in our setting when children set a new goal because they were involved with an assessment? (For example, see “Aminiasi sets himself a goal”)
How can children initiate or take a role in deciding what will be recorded or collected for their portfolio? (For example, see “Write about my moves!”)
What strategies within our programme enable teachers to document children’s words? (For example, see “Those are the exact words I said, Mum!”)
What opportunities are there in our setting for children to revisit their assessments?

Effective assessment practices reflect the holistic way that children learn.

What to look for:

The integration of children’s physical, intellectual, emotional, social, and spiritual development as they learn within the strands of well-being, belonging, communication, contribution, and exploration and “as reflected in their working theories and learning dispositions” (see Te Whāriki, page 44)
Assessments that connect what is being learned to meaningful situations and purposes, in many cases, through using narrative forms of assessment
Multiple perspectives that enhance the interpretation and analysis of the learning
Assessments that recognise that learning is multidimensional, for example, “science” exploration may include a sense of belonging to the world of the scientist, collaborating with others, and calling on the language of mathematics.

Reflecting on our practice

How can we use assessment documentation to draw attention to the integrated nature of children’s learning?
Many exemplars provide a picture of a complex learning experience. For example, read “The mosaic project” and identify the learning that might be going on here, considering a variety of goals for learning and development (for example, problem solving, involvement, creativity, mathematics, and persistence)
Discuss the occasions when, in our setting, assessments have illustrated learning that is integrated within the strands of well-being, belonging, communication, contribution, and exploration.
Discuss the documentation of a project in our setting and list the variety of ways our centre has recorded noticing, recognising, and responding.

Effective assessment practices involve whānau and community.

What to look for:

Assessment practices that are accessible to families and whānau
Assessments that invite families and whānau into the curriculum
Families and whānau participating in assessment
Assessments that encompass participation by the teachers and children in community activities outside the early childhood setting.

Reflecting on our practice

Assessments can provide an opportunity to engage families in their children’s learning in a shared and meaningful way. Discuss an occasion where a parent has initiated curriculum ideas in our setting.
The use of a home language in children’s assessments can play an important role in supporting the families’ contribution and their sense of belonging to our setting. What strategies would enable us to enrich children’s documentation in this way? (For example, see “Jet’s mother contributes to the assessment”)
Are there any opportunities in our programme for the documentation to be shared with the wider community? (For example, see “The mosaic project”)
Describe the ways in which learning is made visible and documented for individual families and whānau in our setting.

Effective assessment practices reflect reciprocal and responsive relationships with people, places, and things.

What to look for:

Assessments that are conversations between learner, peers, teachers, and families about the learning in progress
Adult assistance and teaching as part of assessments
Peer assistance and teaching as part of assessments
Documented assessments that reflect opportunities to learn what is valued (the roles of people, places, and things)
Documented assessments that build on and construct informal everyday interactions and vice versa.

Reflecting on our practice

How can teachers make space and time for reciprocal assessment “conversations” with families and whānau in our setting? How might some of these be documented?
Discuss the occasions when, in our setting, assessments have made visible instances of children assisting each other. (For example, see “Toddlers as teachers” and “Bella and Nina dancing”)
Assessments will document what is valued in our setting. Discuss some assessments and record the learning that is valued in them.
Do the assessments in our setting give details of the opportunities to learn? (For example, the learning contexts in “Mana reo” are very clearly described).