Design competency assessment backward

Kelly Bittner, Kate Highfield and Nicole Thompson argued in a Springer article published on May 8 that digital assessment in early childhood should be judged by how well it supports assessment for, of and as learning, rather than by novelty alone. Their paper, published in *AI, Brain and Child*, reviewed educators’ use of digital tools in assessment and then set out implications for generative AI in early-childhood evaluation. ### Why start with the final product instead of the worksheet? The May 8 article describes assessment as something tied to evidence children can produce, explain or demonstrate, not just something teachers record through isolated checks. That aligns with a backward-design approach: decide first what visible performance will count as evidence, then plan the lesson sequence and the light-touch checks around it. (link.springer.com) A Year 3 or Year 4 task on saving water shows how that works in practice. The final evidence can be a poster or a short oral explanation on how to save water at school and at home. The point is that the assessment target is observable: what the pupil says, makes or applies in a real context. ### What does “observable evidence” look like in a primary classroom? One main product keeps the assessment legible. In the water example, that product is the poster or oral explanation. (link.springer.com) Two lighter evidence sources can sit beside it: a teacher observation checklist during work time and a short oral check or exit response at the end. That structure separates the main judgment from the supporting notes. The pupil’s final product shows whether the learning goal was met. The checklist records how independently the pupil worked or whether key vocabulary and ideas appeared during the task. A brief oral response can confirm understanding without creating another full marking load. ### How short can the rubric be without becoming vague? Three or four criteria are usually enough for a primary mini-rubric. The criteria in the water task can stay concrete: understands the problem, explains at least one practical action, communicates clearly, and uses key vocabulary or examples accurately. A short rubric also makes moderation easier. If the descriptors are visible and child-friendly, pupils can understand what success looks like before they begin. That is closer to competency-based assessment than adding more rows, more levels and more paperwork. ### Why keep behavior and learning separate? The same planning model works better when achievement is not mixed with conduct. A pupil may understand how to save water but need prompting to stay on task, or may work neatly while offering weak content knowledge. Keeping the academic criteria separate from participation or independence makes the record easier to defend. The May 8 Springer paper does not prescribe a single classroom template, but its framing of digital assessment around learning processes and evidence supports that distinction. Assessment records are clearer when they show what the child learned, what support was needed and what was observed during the task as separate things. ### Where do digital tools fit if the task is mostly live and physical? The article’s focus on digital technologies does not require every assessment to happen on a screen. Digital tools can support documentation, organization or feedback while the core evidence remains a spoken explanation, drawing, poster or teacher observation. That matters in primary classrooms because the assessment burden usually grows when teachers try to capture everything. (link.springer.com) One product, one checklist and one short follow-up response are often enough to produce a usable record of competency without turning the lesson into an evidence-collection exercise. The source text was published in *AI, Brain and Child* on May 8, 2026, under the title “Digital technologies for early childhood assessment and evaluation: emerging implications in a GenAI world,” by Kelly Bittner, Kate Highfield and Nicole Thompson. (link.springer.com)