Assessment that fits a 3-6 year old's attention span and actually measures learning.
Avoid formal written tests at this age — use observation-based assessment instead: can the child point to the correct picture when you say a word, can they say the word unprompted, can they use it in a simple sentence. Three tiers, not pass/fail.
A shelf test places a small set of objects (3-5) on a low shelf and asks the child to identify or retrieve the one matching a spoken word — it measures listening comprehension without requiring the child to read or write, which fits preschool developmentally.
After every unit (roughly every 4-5 lessons), not weekly — testing too frequently at this age creates test fatigue and doesn't give enough time for vocabulary to actually consolidate between assessments.
I score on three simple bands: no response, single-word response, and full-phrase response — for a preschooler, moving from silence to a single correct word is a real milestone worth recording, not a failure to reach a full sentence.
One score per student per unit — that's it. I used to track detailed notes for every session and never looked at them again. What actually helps is a simple per-unit record: date, unit name, 1-3 (or ✓/✗/—) per student. You can read the whole class at a glance in 30 seconds, which is the only format you'll actually use.
Repeat the unit. Not the test — the unit. A failed test tells you the vocabulary didn't consolidate yet, not that the child has a problem. In my experience, two-thirds of kids who "fail" a test pass it cleanly after one more week on the same vocabulary. The mistake is moving on anyway because the calendar says to.
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