Using ongoing, research-supported assessments in a busy preschool setting can be challenging. This issue of Teaching Young Children provides supports to understanding what is developmentally appropriate assessment and how to assess in practical and developmentally appropriate ways. To begin, “Using Observation to Guide Your Teaching” shows how to document and use observations of children's learning to guide teaching and decision making. “Foundations of Assessment for Preschool Settings” offers fundamental information about early childhood assessments. Both “Formative Assessment: Doing It with a Purpose” and “5x. Tips for Embedding Assessment into Daily Preschool Routines” offer recommendations for integrating assessment into everyday practices.

In addition, this theme includes a piece about “Authentic and Meaningful Developmental Screening in Early Childhood,” with an accompanying Message in a Backpack for families. And “Learning Stories: Observation, Reflection, and Narrative” introduces an insightful way to document the interests, strengths, and expertise of children and families in narrative form.

These pieces highlight examples and steps you can take to use ongoing, research-informed assessment practices to support your work with children.

Reflection Questions for This Issue

1. In what ways do you find early childhood assessments to be challenging and beneficial to your teaching and children’s learning?
2. In what ways are you engaged in formative assessment? What tips or tools from this issue could be folded into your current approach?
3. Have you heard of Learning Stories? How might you begin to incorporate this narrative-based approach into your repertoire of assessment practices?