Since January 2014, the Collaborative for Educational Services (CES) has been funded through the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care to provide training and support to MKEA districts, as well as to educators serving children from birth to five, in observation-based formative assessment. The training included the use of the GOLDTM online assessment tool as well as other courses related to observation-based formative assessment and developmental screening.
CES named the project funded to provide this training “Assessment for Responsive Teaching” because the overriding goal of using formative assessment is to enhance teachers’ capacity to respond to children’s individual needs. As early childhood educators know, and as research has shown, teachers’ observations of children are critical for understanding and planning learning experiences that maximize children’s development.
In this blog, through the sharing of ideas, resources, and lessons learned from Massachusetts educators, and through collaborative inquiry and discussion, we aim to foster a statewide professional learning community that will enhance the impact that observational formative assessment will have on young children in Massachusetts. To achieve our aims for this blog, we welcome your voices through your comments on posts and through your messages on the Join the Conversation page.
Jane Myers, Project Director and Jini Alreja, Associate Coordinator and Blog Co-Manager
Assessment for Responsive Teaching supports the Brain Building in Progress initiative and its mission of raising awareness of the critical importance of fostering the cognitive, social, and emotional development of young children. In alignment with the science-based understanding that early experiences shape the developing brain, Assessment for Responsive Teaching is committed to train and support educators of young children in order to maximize the development of the whole child.
Services provided by this program are funded by the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care (EEC), and the Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge grant.