What information can alternative methods of assessment provide that traditional methods cannot?
Alternative methods of assessment document children’s performance on meaningful tasks that are part of children’s everyday activities and educational curricula. These methods provide a more useful and valid measure of children’s learning in the context of real-life school, home, and community environments. They offer flexibility in the use of materials and provision of instructions and can be adapted to meet the child and family’s individual, cultural, and linguistic characteristics. Another advantage of alternative methods of assessment is that they offer a framework for documenting more complex and holistic aspects of the child’s development, such as socio-emotional behaviors. Alternative methods are more consistent with current naturalistic and child-responsive intervention approaches. Norm-referenced tests that require use of standardized materials and administration procedures are ill-suited for young children who have not yet acquired test-taking skills, nor are they appropriate
