Skip Navigation
acfbanner  
ACF
Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families
          
ACF Home   |   Services   |   Working with ACF   |   Policy/Planning   |   About ACF   |   ACF News   |   HHS Home

  Questions?  |  Privacy  |  Site Index  |  Contact Us  |  Download Reader™Download Reader  |  Print Print      

Office of Planning, Research & Evaluation (OPRE) skip to primary page content
Advanced
Search

Return to Previous page   

Instruments to Assess Child


HS = Head Start child, KG = Kindergarten child, 1G = 1st grade child
Name of the Instrument Spring
1997		 Fall
1997		 Spring
1998		 Spring
1999		 Spring
2000
COGNITIVE OUTCOMES          
1. Social Awareness Tasks HS HS HS, KG HS, KG KG, 1G
2. Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test III (PPVT)/Test de Vocabulario en Imagenes Peabody (TVIP)*1 HS HS HS, KG HS, KG KG, 1G
3. McCarthy Draw-A-Design HS HS HS HS -
4. Color Names and Counting HS HS HS HS -
5. Woodcock-Johnson Letter-Word Identification*2 / Woodcock-Muñoz Identifcación de letras y palabras HS HS HS, KG HS -
6. Woodcock-Johnson Applied Problems*2 / Woodcock-Muñoz Problemas aplicados HS HS HS, KG HS, KG KG, 1G
7. Woodcock-Johnson Dictation*2 / Woodcock-Muñoz Problemas aplicados HS HS HS, KG HS, KG KG, 1G
8. Story and Print Concepts
• 1997: Goodnight Moon/Buenas Nochas Luna
• 1998, 1999: Where's My Teddy/¿Dónde Está Mi Osito? 		HS HS HS, KG HS -
9. The Phonemic Analysis Task from the Test of Language Development, Third Version (TOLD-III) HS* 3 - KG KG KG, 1G
10. Name Writing Task - - KG KG KG, 1G
11. Early Childhood Longitudinal Study- Kindergarten Cohort (ECLS-K) Reading - - - KG KG, 1G
12. Early Childhood Longitudinal Study- Kindergarten Cohort (ECLS-K) General Knowledge - - - KG KG, 1G
13. Developmental Accomplishments HS HS HS, KG HS, KG KG, 1G*4
 
SOCIO-EMOTIONAL OUTCOMES          
1. Social Skills (completed by teacher) HS HS HS, KG HS, KG KG
2. Classroom Conduct Problems (completed by teacher) HS HS HS, KG HS, KG KG
3. Your Child's Behavior (completed by parent) HS HS HS, KG HS, KG*5 KG*5
4. Peer Play Observation Scale HS HS HS HS*6 -
5. Assessment Behavior Scale (completed by interviewer) HS HS HS, KG HS, KG KG, 1G
6. Teacher Feedback on Child's School Performance and Behavior (completed by parent) - - KG KG KG, 1G
7. Child Observation Record (COR) HS HS HS, KG HS, KG KG, 1G
*1 TVIP was administered mainly in Spring 1997 & Fall 1997. In Spring 1998, Spring 1999 & Spring 2000 it was administered only to children in Spanish-speaking classrooms.
*2 Woodcock-Johnson Scales were not administered to 3-year-old children in the second cohort.
*3 Administered only to 4-year-old children.
*4 Parents were asked only questions about their child reading storybooks on own.
*5 This version of the scale is different from the one used with HS children and the scale used with KG children in Spring 1998.
*6 Used only for a small subsample of children observed by the Quality Check Visitors.


Citation & Ordering Information for Child Instruments

  1. Social Awareness Tasks - Child is asked to tell his/her full name, age, birthday and address. (Instructions were also translated into Spanish by the FACES Research Team.)

    2. Authors: FACES Research Team, modified from the Social and Communicative Competence tasks in: Jana M. Mason and Janice Stewart (1989), The CAP Early Childhood Diagnostic Instrument (prepublication edition), American Testronics.

  2. Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test - III Performance Record, Form A (PPVT)/Test de Vocabulario en Imagenes Peabody (TVIP)

    3. Authors of PPVT: Dunn, L. M., Dunn, L. L., & Dunn, D. M. (1997) Peabody Picture and Vocabulary Test, Third Edition. Examiner's Manual and Norms Booklet. Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance Service.
    Authors of TVIP: Dunn, L.M., Padilla, E.R., Lugo, D.E., & Dunn, L.M. (1986). Test de Vocabulario en Imagenes Peabody. Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance Service. Ordering Information: American Guidance Service, Inc.

    4201 Woodland Road, PO Box 190
    Circle Pines, MN 55014-1796
    1-800-328-2560
    www.agsnet.com

  3. McCarthy Draw-A-Design Task from the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities. (Instructions were also translated into Spanish by the FACES Research Team.)

    4. Author: McCarthy, D. (1970, 1972). McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities. San Antonio, TX: The Psychological Corporation.Ordering Information: The Psychological Corporation

    4555 Academic Court
    San Antonio, TX 78204-2498
    210-299-1061
    1-800-211-8378
    www.psychcorp.com

  4. Color Names and Counting - Child is shown a page of ten colored bears and asked to name all the colors he or she can. For those colors that the child cannot name, assessor asks, "Can you find the...(color)...bear?" Then the child is asked to count the bears. (Instructions were also translated into Spanish by the FACES Research Team.)

    5. Authors: FACES Research Team, modified from the Color Concepts and Number Concepts tasks in: Jana M. Mason and Janice Stewart (1989), The CAP Early Childhood Diagnostic Instrument (prepublication edition), American Testronics.

  5. Letter-Word Identification Test, Applied Problems Test, and Dictation Test from Woodcock-Johnson, Revised Tests of Achievement, Standard Battery / Bateria Woodcock-Muñoz Pruebas de Aprovechamiento-Revisada.

    6. Authors of English version: Woodcock, R. W., & Mather, N. (1989, 1990). WJ-R test of achievement: Examiner's manual. In R.W. Woodcock & M.B. Johnson, Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery - Revised. Chicago: Riverside.

    Authors of Spanish version: Woodcock, R.W., & Muñoz-Sandoval, A.F. (1996). Bateria Woodcock-Muñoz Pruebas de Aprovechamiento-Revisada. Chicago: Riverside.
    Ordering Information: Riverside Publishing

    425 Spring Lake Drive
    Itasca, IL 60143-2079
    1-800-323-9540
    www.riverpub.com

  6. Story and Print Concepts - Child is asked to show the front of the book, open it for reading, point to where the assessor can start reading, point to things on the page that are requested by the assessor, explain why certain things are happening in the story, point to the title of the book, explain what the author does when author's name is pointed to, and recall certain content from the book. (Instructions were also translated into Spanish by the FACES Research Team.)

    7. Authors: FACES Research Team, modified from Story and Print Concepts tasks in: Jana M. Mason and Janice Stewart (1989), The CAP Early Childhood Diagnostic Instrument (prepublication edition), American Testronics.

    The books used to assess child's story and print concepts are as follows:

    Author for English version: Brown, M. W. (1947). Goodnight Moon. New York, NY: Harper Collins [ISBN 0-06020-705-1]
    Author for Spanish version: Brown, M. W. (1947). Buenas Nochas Luna (T.M. Lawer, Trans.). New York, NY: Harper Collins [ISBN 0-06026-214-1]

    Author for English version: Alborough, J. (1992). Where's My Teddy? Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press [ISBN 1-56402-048-7]
    Author for Spanish version: Alborough, J. (1992). ¿Dónde Está Mi Osito? (M. Castro, Trans.). Compton, CA: Santillana. [ISBN 1-56014-582-X]

  7. The Phonemic Analysis Task from the Test of Language Development, Third Version (TOLD-III)

    8. Authors: Newcomer, P.L., & Hamill, D.D. (1997). Test of Language Development, Second Edition. Austin, TX: Pro-Ed.Ordering Information: Pro-Ed
    8700 Shoal Creek Blvd.
    Austin, TX 78758-6897
    512-451-3246
    www.proedinc.com

  8. Name Writing Task. (Instructions were also translated into Spanish by the FACES Research Team.)
    Authors: FACES Research Team, modified from the Name Writing tasks in: Jana M. Mason and Janice Stewart (1989), The CAP Early Childhood Diagnostic Instrument (prepublication edition), American Testronics, and Writing Samples test in Woodcock-Johnson, Revised Achievement Battery.

  9. Early Childhood Longitudinal Study - Kindergarten Cohort (ECLS-K) - Reading assessment and General Knowledge assessment. These assessment instruments are not available for use by other investigators without special arrangements with the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).
    Contact Information: Jerry West, Director

    10. Early Childhood Studies Program
    NCES/US Department of Education
    Room 9046
    1990 K Street NW
    Washington, DC 20006-5650
    ECLS@ed.gov

  10. Developmental Accomplishments Scale ("Your Child's Activities") - Parents report on their children's accomplishments and difficulties in 17 specific areas, including cognitive skills, fine motor skills, speech, and gross motor coordination. Thirteen of the items are from the 1993 National Health Interview Survey on School Readiness, which can provide comparative data on a national sample of preschool children. Four additional items on number recognition, name recognition, counting, and liking to write were added by members of the Head Start Quality Research Consortium.

    11. Authors: Zill, N., Collins, M., & West, J. (1995). Approaching kindergarten: A look at preschoolers in the United States. NCES Statistical Analysis Report 95-280. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement.

SOCIO-EMOTIONAL OUTCOMES

  1. Social Skills (Rating scale completed by Head Start and kindergarten teachers) - Twelve-item scale assessing frequency with which child engaged in friendly, cooperative, and compliant behavior in class during past month.

    2. Authors: FACES Research Team. Modified from Elliot, S. N., Gresham, F. M., Freeman, R. & McCloskey, G. (1988). Teacher and observer ratings of children's social skills: Validation of the social skills rating scales. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 6, 152-161.

  2. Classroom Conduct Problems (Rating scale completed by Head Start and kindergarten teachers) - Fourteen-item scale assessing frequency with which child engaged in aggressive, hyperactive, or depressed-withdrawn behavior in class during past month.

    3. Authors: FACES Research Team. Modified from: Achenbach, T. M. (1992). Teacher/Caregiver Report Form for Ages 2-5. Burlington, VT: Center for Children, Youth, and Families, University of Vermont; and, Zill, N. (1976), Child Behavior Rating Scale for Teachers (Personal Maturity Scale), National Survey of Children. New York: Foundation for Child Development.

    See also:
    Alexander, K. L., & Entwisle, D. R. (1988). Achievement in the first two years of school: Patterns and processes. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 53(2), Serial No. 218.

  3. Your Child's Behavior

    4. Rating scale completed by Head Start parents - Seven items assess frequency with which child engaged in prosocial behavior and positive approaches to learning during past month. Twelve items assess frequency with which child engaged in aggressive, hyperactive, anxious or depressed behavior during past month.

    Authors: FACES Research Team and Head Start Quality Research Consortium. Positive items modified from Elliot, S. N., Gresham, F. M., Freeman, R. & McCloskey, G. (1988). Teacher and observer ratings of children's social skills: Validation of the social skills rating scales. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 6, 152-161.

    Selection of problem behavior items based in part on unpublished discriminant analyses of Child Behavior Check List done for National Center for Health Statistics by Thomas Achenbach (1996), Burlington, VT: Center for Children, Youth, and Families, University of Vermont. Selected items were among those found to be most disc riminating of children receiving clinical mental health services.

    Rating scale completed by kindergarten parents - Twenty-six item child behavior rating scale used in parent interview of Early Childhood Longitudinal Study of a kindergarten cohort (ECLS-K). Thirteen items assess frequency with which child engaged in cooperative social behavior and positive approaches to learning. Thirteen items assess frequency with which child engaged in aggressive, hyperactive, anxious or depressed behavior.

    Authors: Samuel J. Meisels and Sally Atkins-Burnett, University of Michigan School of Education, and Jerry West and Elvira Germino Hausken, National Center for Education Statistics. Items modified from Elliot, S. N., Gresham, F. M., Freeman, R. & McCloskey, G. (1988). Teacher and observer ratings of children's social skills: Validation of the social skills rating scales. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 6, 152-161.

  4. Peer Play Observation Scale - Time-sampling observational measure of extent and nature of child's interaction with other children and teachers or other adults during free-play periods.

    5. Authors: FACES Research Team. Adapted from Howes Peer Play Scale with permission from Carollee Howes.

    Howes, C., & Matheson, C.C. (1992). Sequences in the development of competent play with peers: Social and social pretend play. Developmental Psychology, 23, 961-974.

    Howes, C., & Stewart, P. (1987). Child's play with adults, toys and peers: An examination of family and child care influences. Developmental Psychology, 23, 423-430.

    Contact information: Carollee Howes
    howes@gseis.ucla.edu

    Gary Resnick
    resnicg1@westat.com

  5. Assessment Behavior Scale (Interviewer's rating of child's behavior during cognitive assessment) - Upon completion of assessment battery, interviewer rates child's attitude and behavior during assessment. Eight items cover task persistence, attention span, body movement, attention to directions, comprehension of directions, verbalization, ease of relationship, and confidence. Interviewer also completes seven-item check list of special conditions that may have applied, such as nonverbal responses, nonstandard English, English as second language, limited English proficiency, child had difficulty hearing or seeing, and child's speech was difficult to understand.

    6. Authors: FACES Research Team.

  6. Teacher Feedback on Child's School Performance and Behavior (Checklist completed by kindergarten parents) - Fourteen-item checklist of types of feedback parent has received from child's teacher about the child's academic performance and classroom behavior during the current school year. Similar reports on teacher feedback were obtained for a national sample of kindergarten children in the 1993 National Household Education Survey.

    7. Authors: Zill, N., Loomis, L. S., & West, J. (1997). The elementary school performance and adjustment of children who enter kindergarten late or repeat kindergarten: Findings from national surveys. NCES Statistical Analysis report 98-097. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement.

  7. Child Observation Record (COR) - Criterion-referenced ratings by teacher of child's problem solving and initiative, social relationships, creative representations, musical skills and fine and gross motor coordination, and language and mathematics skills.

    8. Author: High/Scope Educational Research Foundation (1992). Child Observation Record-Manual. Ypsilanti, MI: High/Scope Educational Research Foundation.



 

 

Return to Previous page