Documentation

We document your child's year in preschool through this website, individual written narratives (March and June) and individual digital portfolios. We will use pictures, dialogue and written explanations to show you how your child is learning and growing with every experience. Knowledge and skill are built and practiced in everything that the children do. These portfolios will give you a glimpse into this continuous growth and learning! When we meet for conferences in the fall and winter, we'll look through these narratives and portfolios together.

Here are some excerpts from an excellent article about portfolios:

''Look What I Did!'' Why Portfolio-Based Assessment Works

By Priscilla D. Huffman, Ph.D.

From: Early Childhood News

Assessment is the process of finding out what children can do, what they know, and what they are interested in. Assessment is important because once a teacher or child care provider had gained information, appropriate activities and experiences can be provided to help the children continue to grow in all areas of development. Both authentic assessment and developmental assessment refer to the type of assessment, which is based on children’s actual performance within their regular, real-life experiences...

While there are many forms of assessment, certain methods work better with young children. The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) provides assessment guidelines in its publication Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Programs Serving Children From Birth Through Age Eight. In this publication, NAEYC states that:

"Developmental assessment of children’s progress and achievements is used to adapt curriculum to match the developmental needs of children, to communicate with the child’s family, and to evaluate the program’s effectiveness" (Bredekamp, 2008).

"Assessment of individual children’s development and learning is essential for planning and implementing developmentally appropriate programs...assessment of young children should rely heavily on the results of observations and descriptive data" (Bredekamp, 2008).

What Are Portfolios?

Portfolios are collections or samplings of information relating to each child’s developmental progress in an educational setting. As explained by Carol Gestwicki in Developmentally Appropriate Practice: Curriculum and Development in Early Education, "Portfolios may contain collections of representative work of children that illustrate their progress and achievements…" and "Children are encouraged to add their own selections of work that they feel show their progress to the portfolios" (Gestwicki, 1995).

Another definition of a portfolio which promotes a positive, enthusiastic perspective is the statement in Janine Batzles’s book, Portfolio Assessment and Evaluation: "A portfolio should be a celebration of the child’s unique abilities, achievements, and progress, displayed through authentic samples" (Batzle, 1992).

There is no right or wrong in terms of setting up and contributing items to a portfolio. Each teacher’s system can be unique and made to fit his or her particular program and curriculum. Each child’s unique interests and needs can also be addressed in terms of what is included in his or her portfolio. Examples of photos, drawings, conversational notes, and observations are included in the forms of documentation used.

Conclusion

Portfolios are useful, effective tools to aid early childhood professionals in acknowledging and documenting each child’s progress. Portfolios can be unique to each child and the contents can focus on each child’s specific interactions with his or her environment, materials, peers, and teachers. Both parents and children can work together positively. This three-way conferencing and planning method, involving teachers, parents, and children, is a major goal of authentic assessment today (Ryan, 1994). Portfolios are practical and useful as both reporting and planning tools. The form and format are adaptable to each educational program for young children.