Play-based assessment (PBA) is “a process characterized by using transdisciplinary teams, observing children in natural environments and actively involving the family.” Assessment is part of the work professionals in the Preschool special education field take on to support many aspects of daily activities with young children. Collecting information, monitoring progress, uncovering developmental patterns and analyzing data have become important standards of practice to ensure services and supports foster positive outcomes for young children. Especially related to special education activities, assessment makes an impact on educators’ abilities to determine eligibility and the nature of services children need. Assessment also identifies key skills to help monitor progress on children's individualized education programs.
Often, educators find it challenging to consider how various assessment activities fit together and build on each other, rather than accepting the isolated ways in which they are sometimes completed. Identifying the assessment tools, practices and procedures that best serve an assessment’s purpose calls for another layer of decision-making that also can make assessment challenging (Gettinger, 2001). It is critical for Preschool special education evaluation teams to continually reflect on their current practices and procedures and consider how to strengthen assessment activities to best support decision-making in the evaluation process.
When a school suspects and determines a child’s eligibility for special education services, it should view the phases of that process as integrated activities, since each element of data collected builds on and supports key decisions along the way. An evaluation team’s picture of the whole child helps team members understand the child’s need for special education services eligibility, informs the development of an individualized education program and must be linked to the information used to support instructional decisions thereafter. The goal of assessment is to present an accurate picture of the child’s strengths, areas of need and current development. These are key pieces of information to support next-step decision-making.