Teachers' ratings of the informativeness and usefuleness of cognitive assessment reports: Does dynamic assessment make a difference?

Abstract

Dynamic assessment is presumed to reveal specific difficulties in cognitive problem solving and determine the kinds of support which may aid in overcoming them. In the present study we examined whether these additional data provided by dynamic assessment contribute to the informativeness and usefulness of assessment reports, as rated by teachers. In the preliminary phase, nine preschoolers were tested with the adapted Serbian WISC, containing an additional block of dynamic assessment. In the main phase, two groups of elementary teachers (Nstat= 41, Ndyn= 44) rated the informativeness, usefulness, and clarity of reports based on either static, or static+dynamic assessment of three children from the preliminary sample. The results indicate a significant positive effect of dynamic assessment on teachers' ratings of the informativeness of reports (particularly regarding the child's reactions to adult scuffolding) and their combined ratings of several aspects of the reports' usefulness. The reports did not differ with respect to clarity, and their informativeness and usefulness were generally rated very high. The findings thus provide empirical support for the proposed advantages of dynamic assessment, encourage its use in assessing school readiness, and urge school psychologists to regularly inform teachers on their observations from both static and dynamic cognitive assessment.