ASSESSMENTS The early school years are an important phase in children's education, as they lay the foundation for their learning.It is also the time when they are most inquisitive – what they asks and how their questions are answered will be crucial to their development later on in life. During these formative years,it is important that we build their confidence and desire to learn, and expose them to different aspects of learning, in both academic and non-academic areas, so that they will have a well rounded early education. It is also important that we give children broad exposure to a range of activities so that he can discover his talents and interests. Assessment is an important aspect of teaching and learning. It should be used to support the holistic development of our pupils.When children are just beginning school, a key focus should be on building their confidence and desire to learn. Thus, assessment should focus more on providing information on the learning progress of each child.Teachers should use a range of assessment tools, including written and performance tasks to enable them to provide feedback to pupils on their mastery of concepts and skills as well as their strengths and areas for improvement.Holistic Assessments allow schools to move beyond tests and examinations and use assessment to provide useful information that supports your child’s learning and holistic development. I believe that we should formative assessment should be used to monitor student performance and move away from the traditional forms of assessment which do not cater for the different types of intelligence of children. More alternative forms of assessment usually assess a wider range of intelligence of students. These include role plays and dramatizations, displays on specific themes, etc.I believe that assessment should involve quality interactions, careful listening and reflective responses.When this is done it will be more meaningful to the students. ASSESSMENTS IN GUYANA In Guyana, the traditional paper and pencil tests are mainly used to assess students progress. These tests are administered at different grades beginning at grade two. One can imagine the stress that is experienced by such young children and their parents as they prepare for the National Grade Six Assessment Exams. These exams are set by the state and are used to measure how schools and districts are performing when compared to the national standards and benchmarks. At the primary level, children are also required to write the national exams at grades four and six.The results of the grade six exams is used to determine which high school the child will attend. ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS ON ASSESSMENT 'Formative assessment describes all those processes by which teachers and learners use information about student’s achievement to improve their achievements. So it’s about using information to adapt your teaching, to adapt the work of your pupils to put the learning back on track … to make sure the learning is proceeding in the right direction and to support that learning. Assessment for learning shifts the emphasis to enable a better balance between summative and formative assessment - from making judgement to engaging in ongoing activities that can be used to support the next stages of learning. Formative assessment provides teachers with information with which to modify or change the teaching and learning activities in which students are engaged.The teacher is then more able to tune into the learner’s progress, picking up on emerging understandings and difficulties.Formative assessment focuses on how a young person is learning as they undertake the task.