I hope many teachers reply to your question because the best methods I share in the Power of Assessment come from teachers. Index cards, post-its, teacher-designed sheets with the focus of observatin listed, small legal pads with pens attached placed strategically around the classroom, pre-printed computer labels on a clipboard are some of the ideas I talk about. And then, of course technology has changed the name of the game. When we have cameras, video cameras and voice recorders on our phones (which we never leave home without), our options for recording observations are multiplied.

But I'd love to hear from others out there. What do you use for recording what you observe?

That’s a tough question. You’ve laid out the issues very clearly. My preference is for the teacher to be in the classroom and the substitute doing the assessment.

However, there is another important issue here. Your data is being collected in a one-on-one situation, removing the child from ongoing classroom activities. With careful planning, teachers can collect data in a curriculum-embedded fashion, observing children while they are engaged in a rich, developmentally appropriate curriculum in an ongoing way. Now it may take longer than 13 days to assess all your children, but you will be able to teach and reinforce classroom rules and procedures, and develop your relationship with children while you are assessing them. I also think you'll get more valid information because children will be more relaxed. Perhaps the substitute teacher could provide support in the classroom, documenting observations and leading some activities during the beginning of the year.

I don’t know when you start your “formal assessment”, but I would give children at least two weeks to adjust to the classroom before attempting formal assessment. During that time I would observe without a focus, using the data collected to help me get to know my children and begin to appreciate them as people. I think sometimes we get hung up on timing. Yes, you want baseline data, but given that you have your students for nine months or a year, is it really such an issue if a child learns one or two things before you assess them? It is still the initial assessment. If it takes the first six weeks, that's o.k.

That’s a very interesting perspective. It is true that some assessment tools and processes have violated the notion that assessment should always benefit children. For example, using large group standardized tests with young children is not appropriate due to the way young children think and learn. And there is a great deal of confusion about how the term is used. It is defined in a variety of ways by different people and organizations.

Merriam-Webster (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/assess)
has this to say about the origins of the word ‘assessment’.

“Middle English, probably from Medieval Latin assessus, past participle of assidēre, from Latin, to sit beside, assist in the office of a judge”

I particularly like this word because I learned from Sam Meisels that the word ‘assessment’ comes from Latin and meant “to sit beside”. I love the image of an adult sitting beside a child, scaffolding the child’s learning and learning what the child understands and can do.

That’s a very good question and requires a two-part answer. It is so true that many assessments focus on things that are easy to assess: rote skills, counting, shapes, colors, etc. More significant information such as whether a child is a good problem solver, or how well the child communicates are more difficult to assess, but also much more valuable. I encourage teachers to think about what will still be valuable when the child is 25 years old. This gives some perspective on the significance of things we teach and assess.

But there are times when teachers are required to use assessments that may not be of high quality and may not be developmentally appropriate. I think teachers have to focus on doing these requirements efficiently and reminding students that the required assessments are only one way you find out about what they know. You have many other ways. Try to reduce anxiety.
And finally, be an advocate for young children. Get on the committees that decide what assessment tools will be used. Argue for what you know is best for young children. Find assessments that measure what you value, and work to change the requirements.
How do others deal with mandated or required assessments?

This is indeed a challenge! Many early childhood teachers and prospective teachers first see assessment as a burden, something they are required to do that is separate from teaching. One of my initial goals when I teach undergraduates about assessment is to convince them that they cannot teach well without assessment. I start by talking about how they are actually using assessment quite frequently in their lives; anytime they make a decision after collecting some information – that’s assessment. And I talk very specifically about how assessment gives teachers solid information to guide instruction, enrich their relationships with children, share with families, and enhance their own senses of professionalism. What has the largest influence on my students is emphasizing how much happier preschoolers are when the experiences offered in their classroom match their development, interests and individual personalities - all things a teacher can learn about through assessment.

Sometimes early childhood teachers fear assessment because they think it is hard to do and takes time away from teaching. Only when they see the interrelationship between teaching and assessing, can this concern be dissolved.