Observational Assessment

Internationally, assessment of young children is an increasingly important topic, as many governments become concerned about their investment in early childhood education and seek evidence on outcomes of investment. One example is Head Start in the United States, a program that is federally funded to ensure that children growing up in poverty receive high-quality early childhood education and are prepared to start school. This is the policy initiative developed to close the gap of economic disadvantage. Significant focus has fallen on validating scientifically based assessment that will demonstrate requisite Head Start program outcomes have been achieved and that children are making progress across the range of developmental domains.

One assessment measure is the Preschool Child Observation Record, Second Edition (COR-2), a widely used early childhood assessment ...