The Purposes of Intellectual Assessment in Early Childhood Education: An Analysis of Chilean Regulations

• Published in: Journal of intelligence Vol. 11; no. 7; p. 134
• Main Authors: Ancapichún, Alejandro, López-Jiménez, Tatiana
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 06.07.2023; MDPI
• Subjects: Analysis; assessment in early childhood education; assessment purposes; Child development; Children & youth; Cognitive ability; Decision making; Early childhood education; Identification; intellectual assessment; Intellectual disabilities; intellectual disability; Intelligence tests; Laws, regulations and rules; Learning; Learning disabilities; Psychologists; Special education; Standardized tests; Students; Chile; New York; United States > US; intellectual assessment; assessment purposes; assessment in early childhood education; intellectual disability
• ISSN: 2079-3200; 2079-3200
• DOI: 10.3390/jintelligence11070134

The main purpose of intellectual assessment in early childhood education is the early detection of intellectual disabilities. In Chile, the recent school integration policy has incorporated assessment purposes oriented toward educational improvement, but it is not known how these purposes interact with each other. This study aimed to analyze the purposes of intellectual assessment present in the current Chilean educational policy in early childhood education. A systematic review of ministerial documents and a subsequent qualitative content analysis of official documents published between 1998 and 2022 were carried out. The results revealed that the purposes of intellectual assessment for educational policy are multiple, highlighting the provision eligibility, diagnosis, student monitoring and support, in addition to formative and curricular adjustment purposes. It is discussed how this multiplicity of purposes is congruent with the current regulations governing intellectual assessment procedures in early childhood education. It is concluded that there is a need to update the legislation that regulates intellectual assessment to be consistent with the new assessment proposals in the country.