The book is a highly readable integration of the latest assessment policies, and includes valuable information regarding young children with special needs and English Language Learners--topics that have rarely been touched upon in other textbooks. Focusing on practical applications of key concepts, this text provides a knowledge base of what every early childhood teacher should know about evaluating young children. This book will be used as a core textbook in upper-division undergraduate courses and first-level graduate courses in early childhood education assessment. The contents of this book are: (I) Background, Current Issues, and Interpretation of Assessments in Early Childhood, which includes: (1) Framework and History of Early Education and the Assessment of Young Children; (2) Issues and Current Practice for Assessing Young Children; (3) Understanding Early Childhood Assessment Scores; (II) Formative and Summative Assessments and Tests, which includes: (4) Informal Evaluations of Young Children; (5) Teacher Constructed Scales and Checklists; (6) Summative Measurements of Educational Outcomes; (III) Individual Screening Measures and Full Assessments, which includes: (7) Developmental Assessments of Infants, Toddlers, and Preschoolers; (8) Cognitive Assessment of Young Children; (9) Standardized Assessments of the Early Academic Skills of Young Children; (IV) Parent Communication and Special Needs Children, which includes: (10) Evaluating, Grading, and Reporting to Parents; (11) Identification of Young Children with Special Needs; (12) Family Involvement and Engagement; and (V) Evaluation of Early Childhood Programs and Schools, which includes: (13) Program Evaluation and Planning.