Julie A. Ray Southeast Missouri State University, USA

Julie A. Ray (Ph.D., University of Missouri, Columbia) is a professor emeritus of Early Childhood Education at Southeast Missouri State University. With 42 years’ experience in teaching both young children and undergraduate / graduate early childhood assessment courses, she has seen major changes in the best practices of assessing children’s development and learning. As a supervisor of clinical field experiences in the preschool and primary grades, she also observed many real life examples of the complexities in early childhood assessment. Ray is a longtime member of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and served as a higher education peer reviewer and auditor for programs seeking NAEYC accreditation.   This is her second early childhood textbook, as she is the co-author of Home, School, and Community Collaboration with Kathy Grant, now in its 5th edition.  These experiences and education have shaped and informed this textbook to be a comprehensive, yet practical guide to the subject of assessment of young children.