Making best-fit judgements
‘Best-fit’ judgements
Best-fit judgements are about consistency, not perfection, and professional judgement is key. You should base your judgements on how well the ELG descriptors fit the child and look for secure, repeated behaviours across a developmentally appropriate range, not flawless execution or equal mastery.
Your judgements should reflect the child’s overall development in relation to the ELG instead of isolated pieces of evidence. When using the best-fit model, use your professional judgement and consider if a child can meet most of the descriptors, most of the time.
Practical tips
When making your judgements, you should:
- use professional judgement informed by observations in varied contexts, such as play, routines and guided tasks
- consider what the child can do in different contexts or environments, such as at home and in the setting, indoor and outdoor, and group scenarios and one-to-one
- consider what the child can do when using adaptations and their established mode of communication, such as using sign language
- hold discussions with colleagues to inform your assessment judgements
- apply the best-fit model consistently
This video illustrates examples of assessment practice. While it features real children in real school settings, their actual developmental levels may differ from what is shown, and some scenes include acting for demonstration purposes.