Purposes of Assessment As you know, the focus of this course is assessment in early childhood education. “Child assessment is a vital and growing component of high-quality early childhood programs. Not only is it an important tool in understanding and supporting young children’s development, it is essential to document and evaluate program effectiveness” (Epstein, Schweinhart, DeBruin-Parecki, & Robin, 2006, p. 1). It is hard to understand the role that assessment will play in your work without understanding its purpose. For this discussion, use Chapter 1 of your course text, Assessment in Early Childhood Education, to support your response to the following: Explain the purposes of assessment in early childhood. Make sure to include how the different purposes of assessment are aligned with NAEYC’s Code of Ethical Conduct and Statement of Commitment (Links to an external site.). Considering these different purposes, discuss the related trends you have seen in your work with children. If you are not currently working with children, discuss what you think the trends might be and why. Analyze at least two examples of how these purposes of assessment can be beneficial and two examples of how they can be detrimental. Using at least one scholarly or credible source besides your course text, discuss how these different purposes of assessment will ensure that you are meeting the social and cultural needs of your students. Week 1 – Discussion 1