Designing Learning-Oriented Assessment Systems in Indonesian Early Childhood Education: A Design-Based Research on Formative Assessment Practices

This study aims to develop a learning-oriented assessment system for early childhood education through a Design-Based Research (DBR) approach within the context of the Merdeka Curriculum. The research was conducted at Siwi Kencana Kindergarten in Langsa City, involving ECE teachers and children in a pilot implementation. The research focus includes identifying teachers’ assessment practices, developing a preliminary design for an assessment-for-learning-based system, analyzing the implementation results regarding children’s engagement and learning outcomes, and formulating design principles for an effective assessment system. Data were collected through observation, interviews, document analysis, and the study of learning artifacts, and were then analyzed using descriptive qualitative methods. The results indicate that teachers’ assessment practices remain largely administrative and have not been optimally integrated with learning. This study produced an initial prototype of a formative assessment system consisting of seven main instruments and demonstrated improvements in the quality of teacher observations, children’s active engagement, and the appropriateness of follow-up learning interventions. Importantly, this study contributes a set of design principles for implementing learning-oriented assessment in early childhood settings, emphasizing integration, authenticity, child participation, and pedagogical responsiveness. These findings underscore that early childhood education assessment needs to be developed as a pedagogical system integrated with the play-based learning process.