Assessment Tools - Anecdotal Records

What are Anecdotal Records?

Anecdotal records are used to record direct observations, usually done by focusing on a few students at a time (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2003). All students should be recorded in turn, not only the ones who have specific needs. We should avoid comparison between students. Anecdotal records might come in the form of sticky notes, templates, audiotape, pictures, etc. (Children First, 1994) They are used to record factual information, and we need to be objective and avoid biases as we record (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2003). If we do make any interpretations, it should be made clear. This tool can be used to document behavior, social interaction, as well as academic goals. It is important to have expectations in mind while we make anecdotal records, so we have a focus on what we are looking for in our observation. They should be taken in various times during the day – arrival, circle time, activity centres, large group and small group instruction, play time, etc. (Children First, 1994). All anecdotal records should be dated and organized in a binder/folder so they can be conveniently accessed and reviewed. Regular assessment should take place (Brewer & Harp, 2000).

Anecdotal Records in the Kindergarten Classroom

There are a variety of ways that anecdotal records can be used effectively in the Kindergarten classroom. During literacy centres, we can ask students to print their names, making aids (e.g. a poster with all the alphabets) available. We can focus on a few students and observe their writing – the strokes of the letters, spacing, if they need to use the aid or ask for help, etc.) We can also provide them with tracing templates of their names, to make notes on their ability to trace if they have trouble writing. Another way to assess students with anecdotal records is to put letters in the sand table, and ask them to recognize specific letter names and sounds, or to spell their name with the alphabets. A way to assess a student’s social interaction (e.g. if we want to know how a student shares and plays with others), we can watch him during play time and focus on questions like “Is he asking when he wants a toy that somebody is playing with? If he does, what kind of words is he using?”, “How well does he follow game rules as he play with others?”, etc. To assess behaviours, we can make notes on how a student’s emotions and behaviours change throughout the day. For example, does he listen and pay attention in the morning, but acts out in the afternoon? What did he do? Before we make any interpretations, we should ask him to tell us how he feels, and if he’s feeling frustrated, what’s the cause of that.
Anecdotal records are great to document details of observation, but it shouldn’t be used in isolation. They should be made regularly to avoid biases, and we need to make sure that we are not putting vague and generic comments. Like all other assessment tools, anecdotal records are used to help us understand where our children stand, so we can plan for strategies to help them work on specific skills to reach specific goals.


References:

Ontario Ministry of Education (2003). A Guide to Effective Instruction in Reading, Kindergarten to Grade 3. [On-line]. Available at http://www.eworkshop.on.ca/edu/resources/guides/Reading_K_3_English.pdf. Accessed [July 12, 2010].

Brewer, J. & Harp, B. (2000). Beginning Reading and Writing, 2000: Chapter 13: Assessing Reading and Writing in the Early Years. [On-line]. Available at http://www.learner.org/workshops/readingk2/support/AssessingReading.1.pdf. Accessed [July 12, 2010].

Children First: A Curriculum Guide For Kindergarten (1994). Evaluation. [On-line]. Available at http://www.sasked.gov.sk.ca/docs/kindergarten/kindstu.html. Accessed [July 13, 2010].