Background: Over the past few decades early self-regulation has been identified as foundational to positive learning and wellbeing trajectories. As a consequence, a wide range of approaches have been developed to capture children's developmental progress in self-regulation. Little is known, however, about whether and which of these are reliable…

This paper presents evidence of the score reliability, factor structure, criterion-related validity, and measurement equivalence of a web-based assessment of several important social and emotional competencies for children in fourth through sixth grades. The assessment, SELweb LE (Late Elementary), is designed to measure children's understanding…

As a parent of a young child who is in an early intervention (EI) or early childhood special education (ECSE) program, you want to be sure these services are helping your child develop and learn. These services are designed to make the most of each child's potential, as well as to strengthen the family's ability to help their child. But how can…

Self-regulation is a key construct in children's healthy and adaptive development. In this chapter, the authors situate self-regulation in a theoretical context that describes its underlying components that are most important for early school success: flexible attention, working memory, and inhibitory control. The authors review evidence that…

We analyze theoretical differences between conceptualist and minimalist approaches to episodic processing in young children. The "episodic-like" minimalism of Clayton and Dickinson (1998) is a species of the latter. We asked whether an "episodic-like" task (structurally similar to ones used by Clayton and Dickinson) in which participants had to…

This study investigated gender differences in North American preschoolers' biological reasoning about the concept of "life". Four-year-olds (M = 4.6, SD = 3.3 months) and five-year-olds (M = 5.6, SD = 3.8 months) were asked about the function of 13 body parts, organs, and bodily processes. Results indicated that the likelihood of…

As more states have become engaged in kindergarten assessment efforts, early childhood educators and assessment experts have recommended developing such efforts within a coordinated assessment system that provides data about children's progress over time, (pre-k through grade 12), and is designed to address both educational policy and practice…

This study examined the unique longitudinal effects linking academic competence, social competence, and internalizing symptoms from childhood to adulthood. A multimethod and multi-informant approach was used to assess psychopathology and competence in 205 participants during four developmental periods. Social competence in childhood had a…

The use of social studies instruction to train children to engage in creative decision making is described. (CK)

A random sample (n=50) of a school district's total grade level was evaluated in kindergarten, then in first grade using a comprehensive battery of assessments. Data were interpreted to support the Battelle Developmental Inventory as a valid multifactored assessment for use with both handicapped and nonhandicapped young children. (Author/BS)

The premises of open education and related developmental and social issues are explained as an aid to educational practitioners in choosing the proper measurement and evaluation strategies for this philosophy. In addition, a position statement on evaluation is offered and the present status of educational evaluation is outlined. Some…

Examined the association between otitis media with effusion (OME) during the first 3 years of life and cognitive, academic performance, and behavior outcomes at 12 years of age. Results indicated that OME during early childhood was not related to intellectual performance, academic achievement, behavior, and attention. Suggests that generalizations…

This policy brief explores kindergarten readiness observation and its benefits to local and state level stakeholders; highlights efforts by California counties and other states to measure school readiness; and makes recommendations for moving toward statewide use of kindergarten readiness observation tools. Key points include: (1) Early efforts to…

Behavioral objectives for five-year-old children, based on data from a literature search, and scales, tests, and inventories of preschool development, and their appropriateness, are discussed in the two sections of this report. Part A, Behavioral Objectives, presents a summary of findings from a previous report, Report I, and describes the…

This book reports on the extensive longitudinal study of children's language development by B. Hart and T. Risley. Their detailed recording of children's language experience over the first three years of life provides a valuable example of assessing environmental quality. Implications for improving day care and academic achievement are discussed.…