intentional, having a clear purpose related to a child’ s growth and learning( Schmidtke 2025). This means that assessment is not about compliance or simply collecting data. Rather, it is about pausing to ask,“ What am I learning about this child?” and“ How can I use this information to support their growth?”
Children should have opportunities to demonstrate their understanding in ways that reflect their cultural backgrounds, languages, and lived experiences( NAEYC 2019, 2020; Nortvedt et al. 2020; Taylor 2022). Rather than relying on a single assessment moment, educators must collect multiple data points over time to capture the complexity and nonlinear nature of young children’ s learning( DeLuca & Hughes 2014; Kidd et al. 2019). They also must guard against assessment bias, which occurs when a tool’ s design or content unintentionally favors certain groups of students because of differences in background knowledge or comfort with a task( Taylor 2022; Jones et al. 2023). For example,
› If an assessment includes unfamiliar contexts, children may struggle to understand a question or story, even if they have the skills needed to answer it correctly( Taylor 2022).
› Language complexity can create barriers, especially for young children or multilingual learners.
› An assessment’ s format can also lead to bias. For example, children who are still developing writing skills may be unfairly disadvantaged by tasks that require lengthy written responses, even though they can explain their thinking clearly through speaking( Taylor 2022).
If educators identify biased content, language, or formats, they should be able to use their professional judgment to introduce adaptations so that the assessment is fair, meaningful, and accurately reflective of what all children know and can do( see“ More About Assessment Bias” on this page for further discussion on this topic). In this way, assessment becomes a tool that yields rich, meaningful insights that both improve educators’ practices and guide their instructional decisions and planning for each and every child( NAEYC 2020; Yun et al. 2025).
More About Assessment Bias
Assessment bias is not limited to a particular tool or approach. It also occurs when educators hold attitudes, expectations, or assumptions about children’ s families, communities, and / or social identities, such as race, culture, language, or abilities( Jones et al. 2023). These beliefs about abilities, behaviors, and backgrounds can be either implicit or explicit. Either way, they can significantly influence how educators interpret and evaluate students’ work( Copur-Gencturk et al. 2020; Denessen et al. 2022). For example, an educator might unconsciously set lower expectations for multilingual learners or children from communities that are racially or economically marginalized. This may affect both the assessment criteria they apply and the feedback they provide.
Recognizing and addressing assessment bias are critical expressions of teacher agency that require both awareness and action. Because teachers’ beliefs are deeply embedded in classroom practices, ongoing self-reflection and professional learning are essential. Educators must critically examine their expectations, how they interpret student responses, and the assessment tools they select. In doing so, they can begin to ensure that assessments are fair, valid, and truly reflective of what children know and can do( Siegel 2014; Wiese & Nortvedt 2023).
24 Young Children
Summer 2026