Instruments


Child Development

The critical importance of the first years of life is well acknowledged by researchers and policy makers alike. There is also ample evidence in the scientific literature that the outcomes of early child development become lifelong determinants of health.

There are various theories of child development. Psychoanalytic theories focus on the conflicts between biological drives and societal expectations in shaping a child's personality. Behavioral and social learning theories, on the other hand, stress the importance of the environment and nurturing in child development. Biological theories, meanwhile, pinpoint the role of heredity and innate biological processes in development. Cognitive development theories concentrate on how children learn and acquire knowledge. Systems theories emphasize the complex and multidimensional nature of children's development, which is influenced by various systems in their environment and the reciprocal relationship between the child and the environment.

This section of EdInstruments includes child development measurement tools that have been developed both in the U.S. and internationally. The majority of child development assessment instruments we include here cover multiple domains, including cognitive, language, and motor development.

Displaying 1 - 6 of 6

The Ages & Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) is a screening instrument that measures developmental performance in young children aged 1 month-5.5 years. Early childhood educators and healthcare professionals use ASQ to collect information from parents on children’s development in five domains: communication, gross motor skills, fine motor skills, problem solving, and personal-social skills. 

The most recent version of ASQ as of 2022 is ASQ-3, the third edition of the instrument. ASQ-3 offers 21 parent/caregiver questionnaires that are used depending on the child's age.

Category: Student Well-Being

Sub-Category: Child Development

Grades: < 3 Years, Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten

More →

The Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development (BSID) measures the development of infants and young children (aged 16 days-42 months). Conducted by trained examiners, BSID includes several developmental play tasks to assess cognitive, language, motor, social-emotional, and adaptive behavior development. BSID’s most recent fourth version was created in 2019.

Category: Student Well-Being

Sub-Category: Child Development

Grades: < 3 Years

More →

The Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (ECERS) is an assessment of classroom quality measuring environmental provisions and teacher-child interactions affecting the developmental needs of preschool- and kindergarten-aged children. The third edition of the assessment, ECERS-3, includes 35 items focusing on the following six domains: space and furnishings, personal care routines, language and literacy, learning activities, interaction, and program structure. ECERS may be used to evaluate inclusive and culturally diverse educational settings. 

Category: Student Well-Being

Sub-Category: Child Development

Grades: Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten

More →

Indicators of Individual Growth and Development for Infants and Toddlers (IGDI) measure development outcomes for children between 6 and 42 months. IGDI assessments are evaluations of 6-minute play sessions with the child and require the use of a set of toys in addition to administration materials. IGDI assessments can be conducted live during the play session, based on a video recording of the play session, or by observing the play session virtually.

Category: Student Well-Being

Sub-Category: Child Development

Grades: < 3 Years, Pre-Kindergarten

More →

The Infant/Toddler Environment Rating Scale (ITERS) measures the environmental quality of childcare programs for children up to 30 months old. The instrument was originally developed in 1990 and is now offered in a revised version (Infant/Toddler Environment Rating Scale-Revised, ITERS-R). The 39 items of ITERS-R focus on the following seven domains: space and furnishings, personal care routines, listening and talking, activities, interaction, program structure, and parents and staff. ITERS-R is suitable for inclusive and culturally diverse settings.

Category: Student Well-Being

Sub-Category: Child Development

Grades: < 3 Years

More →

The MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory (CDI) is a parent-focused instrument measuring the communicative development of children aged 8-37 months. CDI allows professionals to screen and develop prognoses for language delays by tapping into parents’ knowledge of their children’s language skills, starting from early comprehension to early vocabulary and grammar expansion.

Category: Student Well-Being

Sub-Category: Child Development

Grades: < 3 Years

More →