Policies and National Regulations and Standards for Early Childhood Education

North Carolina has an office known as the office of early learning which focuses on grades pk-3. This office supports children by promoting other linkages for reforming early education for North Carolina's children. The standards used for early childhood is Foundations which describes goals for all children’s development and learning, no matter what program they may be served in, what language they speak, what disabilities they may have, or what family circumstances they are growing up in. Foundations provides age-appropriate goals and developmental indicators for each age level (infant, toddler, and preschooler). The link to this information can be found at http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/earlylearning/

NAEYC believes that policy makers, the early childhood profession, and other stakeholders in young children’s lives should “construct comprehensive systems of curriculum, assessment, and program evaluation guided by sound early childhood practices, effective early learning standards and program standards, and a set of core principles and values: belief in civic and democratic values; commitment to ethical behavior on behalf of children; use of important goals as guides to action; coordinated systems; support for children as individuals and members of families, cultures,1 and communities; partnerships with families; respect for evidence; and shared accountability.” (p.2) Foundations and one of NAEYC positions align in the belief of using goals as guides. Foundations has goals in areas such as literacy, mathematics, social-emotional, cognitive, and physical. The goals set for each age level serves as a guide for activities and lessons. As someone who has used Foundations I feel that all those teaching early childhood should use this to serve as a guide for planning activities and lessons. Everyone in the early childhood community should be using the same guides to ensure that everyone is one the same page. Guides should be research based.

1.      How can teachers use assessments to enhance cooperative learning?

2.      How can assessment in early learning be enhanced?

3.      What are some ways to create portfolios using assessment information for parents and next year’s teacher to see?

4.      What are some things you can do to ensure that all children are being assessed?

References

Akers, L., Atkins-Burnett, S., Monahan, S., Carta, J., Wasik, B., & Boller, K. (2015). What Does it Mean to use Ongoing Assessment to Individualize Instruction in Early Childhood? (1st ed.). Retrieved from http://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/opre/what_does_it_mean_to_use_ongoing_assessment_to_individualize.pdf

National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). (2003). Early Childhood Curriculum, Assessment and Program Evaluation. Retrieved from https://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/CAPEexpand.pdf.

National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS). (2012). Early childhood generalist standards. (3^rd edition). Retrieved from http://boardcertifiedteachers.org/sites/default/files/EC-GEN.pdf.

Office of Early Learning. (2016). Dpi.state.nc.us. Retrieved from http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/earlylearning/