ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors address the issue of how the complex transformation can be understood in the context of assessment by presenting an alternative model to one they believe is au courant—the child as a reactive subject in the assessment situation. They deal with an advocation for a shift in concept to that of an active model paradigm. Concurrently, the examiner is actively constructing the child's response, forming and reformulating hypotheses about the child's cognitive status. Behavior comes more under the child's control as he or she acquires additional knowledge and more complex strategies that, in turn, facilitate the application of this knowledge. The self-correcting adjustments made in that context will heavily depend on the developmental level of the child. The identification of this developmental level can only be made through assessments which are extensive and intensive. The active organism model of human development must call for a more encompassing model of assessment—a cybernetic model.
