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Checklists are lists that comprise developmental skills and behaviors that educators use to assess development. They often use boxes that can be checked off when a behavior of skill is observed.

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In this checklist, the educator or caregiver would check off if the child fits into a specific category of completion. For example, if the child usually enjoys bath time, they would check "Yes".

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Some reasons educators might want to use checklists are:

Checklists allow for a structured, standardized approach to observation that promotes consistency.

Checklists are brief and can track large sections of development in less time

Checklists have clear criteria and specifications for skills and behaviors being assessed, which may reduce subjectivity.

Checklists are easily documented and track development in a way it can be shared with interested parties (Family, other teachers)

Focusing on specific areas of development can help educators develop a comprehensive view of a child's total development.

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While there are positives to checklists, there may also be factors that play as a disadvantage to using checklists, such as:

Checklists provide limited context that can interfere with the total understanding of a child's abilities

The constricted nature of checklists may provide a simplified understanding of a child's abilities

Checklists may not accommodate all children and their individual needs and learning styles

Since checklists maintain a simplified structure, they leave plenty of room for subjectivity and interpretation

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Rubrics are structured assessment tools that rate the quality or level of a child's work, behaviors and additional qualities based on specific predetermined criteria.

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This is an example of a rubric that uses numbers to rate specific qualities and skills in a child's work, with 3 being the highest level and 1 being the lowest.

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Some reasons that educators might want to use rubrics are:

They allow for clear expectations and guidelines that account for successful skill mastery. This allows for clarity between educators, parents and children about what is expected

By providing specific feedback, children are have a clearer understanding on where they need to improve and educators are able to focus on areas of need and additional support for children

By having specific standardized criteria, educators can limit subjectivity, as they have a clearer focus on what is being assessed.

Rubrics focus on multiple facets of skills and behaviors, which supports the whole child (holistic approach)

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Like checklists, rubrics also have some negative factors that may serve as a disadvantage to observation, such as:

When used too frequently, rubrics may hinder creativity and imaginative thinking in children's work, as well promoting over-conformity

Rubrics don't always consider all aspects of a child's learning and can be narrowly focused.

Rubrics may over-emphasis performance, which contradicts other aspects of learning and development.

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Rating scales are structured assessment tools that allow educators to provide descriptive feedback on a child's behaviors, skills and abilities, typically using numbers or basic statements to describe placement and progress. Rating scales allow for orderly documentation and evaluation based on the child's performance.

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This is an example of a rating scale that uses numbers to indicate how well a child performs or demonstrates a specific set of tasks and skills.

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Some reasons teachers may want to use rating scales are:

Rating scales allow for consistency in observation by targeting specific areas of development and providing clear guideline for rating

Rating scales offer an efficient method to evaluating multiple children in a brief period of time

Rating scales are comparable over multiple time periods and in multiple different contexts

Rating scales provide physical data of progress that can be tracked over time and conveyed to parents.

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Similarly to checklists and rubrics, rating skills have some potentially negative qualities that may work as a disadvantage, such as:

rating scales are simplistic in nature, allowing complex factors of a child's development and learning to become oversimplified and lacking distinction.

Rating scales may not represent all of a child's abilities and skills, especially if those skills are difficult to measure.

These scales can lead to inconsistency based on how they are interpreted by an observer, which may lead result in an observer bias.