Arizona's First Things First partners with other agencies to create a high-quality, family-centered, comprehensive, and collaborative early childhood system that supports the development, health, and early education of all Arizona's children through age 5, helping ensure they enter kindergarten healthy and ready to succeed. One of First Things…

In this paper we discuss several key challenges encountered when conducting a study of the continuity of participation in the child care subsidy program. While many of these issues are familiar to those who have studied participation dynamics in other assistance programs, and to those familiar with survival analysis, we describe these challenges…

The early years of childhood are critical for optimal development of a variety of skills. The accurate and efficient identification of potential delays in, or issues with child development, is essential in identifying those children most in need of early intervention services. Screening procedures are designed to identify children who appear at…

There is an increasing support from international organizations and the research community for stepping beyond infant or child mortality as the most common child level social indicator and progressing towards an international measure of child development. The Early Development Instrument (EDI) is a teacher-completed measure of children's…

The development and interrelationship of various measures of independence in children ages 3-12 are examined. Subjects were scored on measures of locus of control and achievement motivation and were rated by teachers on independence and achievement. Subjects were also scored on reliance on adult evaluation and self-evaluation. The results showed…

Presents the theoretical background for the concept of mastery motivation and describes three characteristics of mastery motivation in toddlers: behavioral manifestations in multiple domains, developmental changes in those manifestations, and the influence of the socializing environment. Implications for assessment of individual differences and…

This article discusses primary education in Britain and the development of performance indicators for children with movement difficulties. It focuses on children's central movement difficulties as a factor in their total development and calls for early assessment and regular monitoring. (Contains references.) (DB)

Reviewing the advantages and many disadvantages of conventional grading systems, the article discusses pass/fail grading, suggests the contract system as a solution, and describes a sample contract for a beginning high school child development class. (MW)

Based on the view that a simple and efficient process of portfolio collection could be developed based on authentically documenting the daily experiences of children in away-from-home settings, this book identifies steps in the processes of portfolio planning, collection, and selection, and conferencing with families. The book is intended for…

It is proposed that criteria for evaluating the quality of performance should be defined, at least tentatively, during the initial design of a performance assessment. Six characteristics of sound criteria are (1) significance; (2) fidelity; (3) generalizability; (4) developmental appropriateness; (5) accessibility; and (6) utility. (SLD)

Assessment of the overarching self-regulatory mechanisms, or executive functions, in any age group is challenging, in part due to the complexity of this domain, in part due to their dynamic essence, and in part due to the inextricable links between these central processes and the associated domain-specific processes, such as language, motor…

Covered in the paper on the psychoeducational assessment of the multihandicapped child are the importance of the learning accomplished in the sensory motor period and the effects of evaluation media and sequence on child performance. Described are the six stages of sensory motor development measured by a Piagetian-based instrument developed by J.…

Educators have recognized the limitations of artificial assessments and called for more authentic assessments of student performance, i.e., assessment that is contextualized. In the field of movement education, teachers have typically tended to evaluate their students by administering skill tests, categorizing children for their developmental…

This comprehensive guide to alternative, authentic assessment in early childhood education provides discussions of the most current research and practical ways to integrate assessments into teaching. It shows assessment as a process that teachers can use in their own classrooms, using the latest procedures, such as portfolios, standards,…

Describes issues which are common to all research methodologies and some that were unique to the assessment techniques used in the Child Development Project (CDP) in San Ramon, California. Looks at the limited amount of time given assessments and the "fluid" nature of measurements. Notes that CDP issues involved observations,…