Inspiring Teacher Agency: (Re)claiming Assessment as an Advocacy Tool in the Primary Grades
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For many primary-grade teachers, assessments have become top-down mandates, imposed by a school district or state. Required, formal assessments are often tightly bound to academic standards and, to ensure fidelity, come with scripted protocols and strict administrative timelines. Because of intensified pressure on teachers to improve students’ performance and prepare them for standardized tests (Stanford 2023), educators and children are now navigating a significant increase in the number of formal assessments they experience yearly (Bassok et al. 2016).
When assessment is viewed as something separate from instruction—something that happens after teaching rather than during—it can feel disconnected or even burdensome. This article offers insights for early childhood educators who are navigating assessment systems that often feel misaligned with developmentally appropriate practices. It offers ways that primary-grade educators can use agency to reclaim assessments as tools for illuminating children’s individual strengths.
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Copyright © 2026 by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. See permissions and reprints online at NAEYC.org/resources/permissions.
Sehyun Yun, PhD, is an assistant professor of curriculum and instruction at Ball State University. Her research centers on the literacy and language development of children from diverse cultural, linguistic, and socio-economic backgrounds. Her work also aims to enhance teacher education programs by preparing preservice teachers to develop expertise in fair and equitable assessment practices. [email protected]
Leslie La Croix, PhD, is an assistant professor in the College of Education and Human Development at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. Dr. La Croix facilitates early literacy and social studies professional development experiences and methods courses for early childhood educators. [email protected]