An area of development, usually including physical, cognitive, social, or emotional development.

The process of keeping track of and preserving children's work as evidence of their progress.

A purposeful collection of a child's work and other indicators of learning, collected over time, that demonstrates the child's progress or achievement in particular developmental or subject areas.

An in-depth appraisal of a child by a specialist to identify specific abilities and needs, frequently administered after the child has had a screening.

A means of determining where a child stands compared with a performance standard rather than compared with other children

A systemic procedure of obtaining information from observation, interviews, portfolios, projects, tests and other sources to make interpretations about characteristics/developmental level of children.

The process of checking assessment results to determine the child's current level and next steps. Frequently, this is the last step in assessment.

A test to evaluate whether or not a child is ready for a particular academic program.

A process in which the teacher systemically observes and records information about a child's level of development and/or knowledge, skills, and attitudes in order to make a determination about the child's learning.

A procedure for obtaining information about a child through naturally occurring events.

A testing instrument that is administered, scored, and interpreted in a standard manner. It may be either norm referenced or criterion referenced.

The use of a brief procedure or instrument designed to identify those who may need further assessment to verify developmental and/or health risks.

A procedure for obtaining information that can be used to interpret characteristics of children or programs using standardized instruments.

The extent to which an assessment measures what the test is intended to measure and not something else.

Finding out what children know and can do from their ability to perform certain tasks. Usually uses tasks as close as possible to real-life practical and intellectual challenges.

A means of determining a child's performance compared with the performance of other children on the same measure.

Statements that describe expectations for the learning and development of young children across the domains.

The extent to which any assessment technique gives results that are accurate and consistent over time.

A special type of rating scale, with clear criteria, used to measure authentic performance assesment.

A testing instrument, typically standardized, used to measure how much a child has learned in relation to educational objectives.