Equitable Assessment
One of the concepts provided in Chapters 1 and 2 of “Assessing and Guiding Young Children’s Development and Learning” by McAfee et al. is developing an equitable assessment regardless of the cultural, ethnic, or religious diversity presented in the classroom. Although there is no specific example provided for this concept, it can be discussed whether this equitable assessment can be achieved in the diverse community of US education. Two sources of the critics—standardized tests and teacher bias—were discussed, so it is possible to outline solutions for these challenges.
Standardized Testing for English Language Learners
Firstly, standardized testing can be reevaluated from the perspective of diverse communities. It can also apply to English language learners’ classes where students acquire basic knowledge of English compared to their native ones. There, standardized testing can create obstacles to grasping and assimilating into American culture while preserving one’s cultural heritage. Moral guidance, ethics, history, and assumptions provided by standardized testing can become confusing and irrational for the diverse community.
The teacher’s responsibility here is to work with these cases individually. Teachers should be able to draw upon their experience and knowledge from studying different cultures to effectively work with diverse communities, as there is no definitive solution to this challenge. The essential requirement for an educator is to have an understanding of different cultures.
Teacher Bias
This understanding can also be reviewed from the second challenge of teacher bias. As teachers can evaluate students from different backgrounds based on their norms and ethics, the prejudice or supposed judgment here can also be a barrier for students to learn and acquire new knowledge. Thus, this teacher needs to understand the varied cultures they are working with better. At this point, language or culture training and additional learning on the backgrounds of its students can be a relevant solution to the challenge. Finally, it still depends on the personal experience of an educator and, thus, his or her motivation to provide an equitable assessment.