Preschool Assessment in Kenya

Assessment, defined as gathering information in order to make informed instructional decisions, is an integral part of most early childhood programs (Meisels, 1995). Assessment is an ongoing process that includes collecting, synthesizing and interpreting information about pupils, the classroom and their instruction. Testing is one form of assessment that, appropriately applied, systematically measures skills such as literacy and numeracy. While it does not provide a complete picture, testing is an important tool, for both its efficiency and ability to measure prescribed bodies of knowledge (Coleman, M.R., Buysse, V., and Neitzel, J. 2006). Alternative or “authentic” forms of assessment can be culturally sensitive and pose an alternative to testing, but they require a larger investment in establishing criteria for judging development and evaluator training. Child assessment has value that goes well beyond measuring progress in children to evaluating programs, identifying staff development needs and planning future instruction.
Young children are difficult subjects to assess accurately because of their activity level and distractibility, shorter attention span, wariness of strangers, and inconsistent performance in unfamiliar environments (Benner, 1992). Other factors that may affect a child 's performance include cultural differences and language barriers, parents not having books to read to their child and a child 's lack of interaction with other children. Consequently, assessment of infants, toddlers, and young children requires sensitivity to the child 's background, and knowledge of testing limitations and procedures with young children (Wortham, 1990; Benner, 1992).

Assessment of young children is crucial in meeting a variety of purposes (Goldstein and Sammons, 1997). It provides information with which caregivers and teachers can better understand individual children’s developmental progress and status and how well they are learning, and it can inform

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