Answer to Question 1
ANSWER: Answers will vary but should include an overview of the following points: Readiness assessment should function as a means of finding out where to begin instruction, not as a gatekeeper for deciding who is let in and who is kept out of classrooms. Besides reforming readiness assessment, the whole area of assessment of young children is in need of change. Paper-and-pencil, multiple-choice, group-administered, standardized achievement tests should not be used with young children. They increase stress level, use up valuable instructional time with preparation, and are too abstract to provide reliable or valid measures of young childrens academic achievement. In addition, they overlook areas such as social development, motor development, problem solving, and thinking. Authentic evaluation procedures that provide information from naturally occurring learning experiences are appropriate. The standards movement has moved schools to testing overload. Even Head Start had a required inappropriate assessment test which was highly criticized and eventually suspended. Assessments should be planned with a goal in mind. Reasons may be to promote childrens learning and development to identify children for health and special learning services to monitor trends and evaluate programs and services and/or to assess academic achievement and hold individual students, teachers, and schools accountable. Examples of authentic evaluation may be given.
Answer to Question 2
ANSWER: Answers will vary, but should include: Readiness is commonly used to describe an end point that is reached during a certain age or stage, which then enables children to progress to the next level. The meaning of the term readiness is socially constructed and has changed from letting children get ready through the typical course of development with adult support and guidance to making them ready. In different cultures and communities the word may have different meanings. It is deeply ingrained in the American Culture and would be difficult to get rid of, but it would be helpful for adults to come to a consensus on what it means.
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