A pluralistic view of early assessment: The project spectrum approach

This is a time of unusual ferment in early education. Serious debate over how to provide quality programming for young children entering school settings continues as demands for care become more pressing (Fiske, 1986). While some educators propose the integration of 4-year-olds into public school systems (Ambach, 1985), others express misgivings about the potential downward extension of formal schooling and testing to such children (Elkind, 1986; Morado, 1986; Zigler, 1986; Zimiles, 1985). In particular, the increased use of standardized readiness and screening tests to determine school placement has alarmed individuals who fear that children's early experiences of becoming students will be inexorably linked with that of becoming test takers. In the wake of these policy discussions, educators and researchers have begun to reexamine how such traditional standardized tests stand