Play-Based approaches to preschool assessment

Play assessment has been used since the early 1990s to evaluate preschool children’s developing cognitive, communication, social, motor, and behavioral skills. When using play-based assessment, examiners observe children while in free play to determine their competencies and areas of need, providing information that can lead directly to interventions. Play assessment is child-friendly, and, importantly, parents/caregivers and early childhood educators can easily identify with and understand the results. Several methods of play assessment are available and most have a companion intervention system. More research is needed to inform the use of play assessments in early childhood decision-making.