Stratton, S GOLD Curriculum-Based Assessment Critique 1

How GOLD is Used Advantages/Disadvantages How GOLD is useful for Recommendations for Use
of GOLD professionals in ECE/ECSE and Revision

 Gold (widely Advantages How GOLD useful for  The Creative

known as the  GOLD encourages families: Curriculum
Creative teachers to use  It is a nice tool to embraces “an
Curriculum) is a ongoing gage where their interventionist
tool that assessment to child is at in role, with teachers
professionals in inform curriculum different areas of actively designing
the Early learning to find tailored
Childhood  There are strengths and interactions and
Education field resources and areas of challenge activities
use to identify trainings for implemented
whether each professionals with  Helps to catch throughout the
child has wide ranges of skill milestones that day” (File,
achieved levels the child is Mueller, &
different learning mastering, Wisneski, 2012, p.
objectives and  GOLD reaches knowing their 114).
what milestones across several strengths and
they have levels of early what area they  It also advocates
mastered. childhood need to work on that “specialized
education. professional
 It is like a grade  GOLD produces development is
book, but instead  It’s very specific at learning goals required to
of giving a grade, helping children during parent- successfully
the assessment reach different teacher implement each
has social- milestones conferences with model” (File et al.,
emotional, math, struggling 2012, p. 114).
science, physical,  Gives more students
language, information on the  Currently, there
literacy, and rating system How GOLD is useful for has been a lack of
cognitive instead of giving a teachers and research done
objectives. letter grade interventionists: regarding
Disadvantages curriculum-based
 There is a total of  Different discipline  it is very assessments and
25 objectives for areas of GOLD can descriptive as far their effectiveness
preschool 38 differ from as skills go and the (File et al., 2012).
objectives for traditional levels of the
kindergarten approaches to different skills  File et al. (2012)
education, and continues to
 The disciplines therefore, can alter  GOLD is a useful assert their point
consist of Social- the balance tool for seeing and asks
Emotional, between academic milestones— important open
Physical, content and seeing what we questions. “How
Language, appropriate care want children to can practitioners
Cognitive, for infants and be able to do and choose a
Literacy, toddlers. curriculum model
Stratton, S.
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Math/Science, where we want wisely if evidence

Language  There has not been them to go does not exist?
acquisition research done on How can we
GOLD How GOLD is useful for assure families
 Within each ECE/ECSE administrators and policy makers
objective, there  GOLD can be and faculty: that infants [and
are specific sub- viewed as a broad toddlers] are
objectives having framework rather  Administrators receiving care that
to do with that than a specific can see what is growth
objective curriculum-based others post about promoting and
category assessment the children that not harmful if no
 GOLD required a are enrolled systematic
 There are 4 good deal of research has been
“checkpoints” teacher expertise  Administrators conducted?” (File
that require a to be implemented look at all the et al., 2012, p.
cumulative score properly. documentation 116).
for each (File et al. 2012) that is being put in
checkpoint to the system  There should be
 It’s an more on the job
 These overwhelming  There are areas training available
“checkpoints” amount of that with easier access
determine if the information to administrators can (e.g. video
child is absorb and can be talk to teachers training),
progressing or hard to learn to about a specific especially with
regressing in assess children for child to better preschools or
skills over time. a professional help that child’s child care centers
without a lot of well-being and
 There is a color- experience with development.  Teachers should
coded ranking early childhood be aware of
system for assessments How GOLD is useful for definitions of
scoring where researchers and policy specific
red is birth  There are many makers: terminology
through 1 years objectives to work within GOLD
old, orange is 1 on with many  Researchers can
to 2 years old, students formulate a  Measure different
yellow is 2 to 3 specific milestones and
years old, green  It’s hard to find out randomized keep a journal
is preschool, blue where the children sample to help
is are at study the  Make a personal
prekindergarten, developmentally outcomes and checklist for each
and purple is and academically measures of goal and check
kindergarten. at the individual validity and different goals off
level, especially reliability of the as you go
since every child is GOLD assessment (intentional
different. across different planning—can
populations and also help with
areas across the
 Stratton, S.
3

 Doesn’t help with United States to intervention

unwanted behavior
or help with special
needs children
find out whether planning)
it is an effective
curriculum-based
assessment for
young children.

Comments/Conclusion:
Over the years, “school readiness” has become the new expectation for students, especially in early childhood
education. Will curriculum-based assessments be able to provide rich content knowledge integrated within play-
based models, or will curriculum-based assessments just continue adding to the pressure of being ready
academically or having inappropriate expectations for young children? The Creative Curriculum, despite its
disadvantages, still advocates for play-based approaches to curriculum for infants and toddlers. This in turn, can
help with intervention planning for teachers and interventionists to help identify children or students with diverse
learning needs or children with disabilities. We as practitioners should balance out the use of the specific
curriculum, weigh its pros and cons, while also continuing to monitor its system framework and opening
opportunities for revision to better help the well-being of children with and without disabilities.
Stratton, S.
4

References

File, N., Mueller, J. L. & Wisneski, D., M. (2012). Curriculum in early childhood education re-examined,

re-discovered, renewed. New York, NY: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group.

(J. Stratton, personal communication, April 21, 2018)