In addition to studies measuring the impact of The Creative Curriculum^® on child outcomes, we have evaluated the reliability and validity of our assessment tools, The Developmental Continuum^® for Ages 3-5 and The Developmental Continuum^® for Infants, Toddlers & Twos. These assessment tools are used by teachers to assess child progress and guide them in their program planning.

The Reliability and Validity of The Creative Curriculum Developmental Continuum for Ages 3-5

In order for an assessment instrument to properly document children's developmental progress and accurately report child outcomes, it must be both reliable and valid. Reliability is a measure of the extent to which different assessors of the same child reach the same conclusions about the child when using the instrument. Validity is a measure of the extent to which the assessment items actually measure what they are intended to measure. Dr. Richard Lambert, of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, conducted reliability and validity tests of the Developmental Continuum for Ages 3-5 on a sample of over 1,500 low-income children. He concluded that the Developmental Continuum for Ages 3-5 has adequate assessment properties. Click here to review Dr. Lambert's technical report.

The Reliability and Validity of The Creative Curriculum Developmental Continuum for Infants, Toddlers & Twos

The Creative Curriculum Developmental Continuum for Infants, Toddlers & Twos underwent an extensive content-validation process, with more than forty experts reviewing the scope and content of the objectives, steps, and examples. A field test was conducted to determine the reliability and validity by using a sample of hundreds of children from across the country, including dual language learners and children with disabilities. Dr. Lambert also analyzed the psychometric properties of this assessment tool and concluded the tool has adequate assessment properties. Click here to review Dr. Lambert's technical report on The Creative Curriculum Developmental Continuum for Infants, Toddlers, and Twos.

Independent Studies of The Creative Curriculum^® for Preschool and The Creative Curriculum for Preschool Developmental Continuum for Ages 3-5

The Creative Curriculum is based on the latest research on how children learn best and has been shown through experimental and quasi-experimental studies to improve classroom quality and promote the school readiness of preschool children. The studies that have been conducted on the effectiveness of The Creative Curriculum for Preschool have found positive effects that range from improved classroom quality to stronger academic and social skills. Most recently, the Preschool Curriculum Evaluation Research, published in July of 2008, found that: 

• The Creative Curriculum had a large positive effect on overall classroom quality as measured by the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (ECERS).
• Teachers in Creative Curriculum classrooms had more positive interactions with their children and were less detached compared to teachers in the control classrooms. 
• Teachers' instructional practices in Creative Curriculum classrooms were more likely to focus on written expression and oral language skills than teachers in control classrooms.

View additional evidence on the effectiveness of The Creative Curriculum.

For more information, please contact us at 800-289-9126.

Research Overview of CreativeCurriculum.net

CreativeCurriculum.net is an online curriculum-based system that integrates ongoing assessment of children's development with reporting, program planning, and parent communication tools. It is linked with The Creative Curriculum for Preschool, a comprehensive early childhood educational system that has been shown to promote the cognitive, language, social/emotional, and physical development of young children. The assessment system is based on a valid and reliable instrument, The Creative Curriculum Developmental Continuum for Ages 3-5. The instrument meets all of the assessment standards of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and the National Association of State Early Childhood Specialists in State Departments of Education (NASECS/SDE) and has adequate assessment properties. It is an excellent tool for program planning and for analyzing and documenting child progress. It also meets federal and state reporting requirements, such as those of Head Start and the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP).

CreativeCurriculum.net also includes children from 2 to 36 months. For these younger children, the system is based on The Creative Curriculum Developmental Continuum for Infants, Toddlers & Twos, which is linked to The Creative Curriculum for Infants, Toddlers & Twos^®.