Assessment

Project H.E.L.P. believes that the assessment of young children should be ongoing, developmentally appropriate, purposeful, and take place in a natural setting by adults with whom the children are familiar. All results of each child’s assessment will be kept confidential, placed in each child’s file, and stored in a secure location.

Classrooms utilize the Early Learning Scale assessment tool for each child in the program. This is aligned with the Illinois Early Learning Standards and is used as a basis for gathering information on the skill levels of each student. This information is the guiding force in planning for lesson plans and also instruction.

ELS Log-in

Fall Checkpoint - October 19, 2025

Winter Checkpoint - February 8, 2026

Spring Checkpoint - May 17, 2026

Portfolios that document student progress over time are a required component of all PFA programs. Collections contained in the portfolio should be representative of the work done by the student illustrating his/her progress over time. Anyone who works with the student should contribute to collecting documentation. In many early childhood programs, younger students spend time working on tasks that are not easily saved for future reference.  For example, building with blocks can be an involved activity that a child might pursue with vigor. Progress in the student’s ability to work with blocks can be documented over time by taking photographs of the various structures built.   A collection is then available for future reference and can serve as a topic of discussion with the family and the student.

A portfolio for each child contains:

• A research-based developmental checklist that measures progress over time with three reporting periods

• Individualized collections such as work samples, photos, anecdotal notes, etc. that reflect the IELDS that reflect, at a minimum, two benchmarks from the language arts, math, social-emotional, science, social studies, physical, fine arts, and ELL (if applicable) domains of the IELDS per reporting period

• Narrative summary reports used to share assessment information with parents/guardians

o Should be factual, brief, and relevant

o Contain name, date collected, domain, and IELDS objective or the indicator from the program’s researched-based assessment tool that is aligned with the IELDS

Teachers should choose a benchmark to show progress that documents the integration of many skills and capabilities of the child. It should also show the unique ways a child goes about doing something and show how a child is growing and learning over time. After collecting and documenting information, teachers should use it to reflect on the child and drive instruction. 

Some questions to guide reflection include:

• What was my purpose for observing?

• What similarities or patterns do I notice?

• What do these observations suggest?

• What else might be going on?

• What else do I want to observe or find out?

• How does this observation fit with other things that I know about the child from previous observations?

• How will I document my interpretations?

The Child Portfolio Teacher Reflection Tool may be used by teachers and administrators to improve the quality of child portfolios.

Portfolio FAQ

Progress reports are shared with parents three times a year.  A hard copy of  each child's progress report should be maintained in each child's student file.  Progress reports must have a narrative.  Staff must use the Child Accomplishments Summary found in ELS and may also chose to use the checklist below when reporting progress.