The Theory and Research Behind Teaching Strategies' Assessment Products
Any assessment tool that is used for documenting children's progress and reporting child outcomes must possess adequate measurement properties. Measurement properties are determined by examining the reliability and validity of the tool. Put simply, a reliable assessment instrument produces the same results, again and again, regardless of circumstance; that is, different people assessing the same child will reach the same conclusions about the child when a reliable assessment tool is used. Validity refers to the extent to which the assessment tool actually measures what it is intended to measure.
Teaching Strategies has evaluated the reliability and validity of our assessment tools, The Creative Curriculum® Developmental Continuum for Ages 3-5 and The Creative Curriculum® Developmental Continuum for Infants, Toddlers & Twos, which are used by teachers to guide their program planning and assess child progress.
Research has shown that The Creative Curriculum Developmental Continuum Assessment Systems are excellent tools for program planning and for analyzing and documenting child progress. Both meet 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). They also meet 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).
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 40 experts reviewing the scope and content of the objectives, steps, and examples. Dr. Richard Lambert, of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, conducted a field test 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. Following his review, Dr. Lambert concluded that the Developmental Continuum for Infants, Toddlers, and Twos has adequate assessment properties. Click here to review Dr. Lambert's full report.
The Reliability and Validity of The Creative Curriculum Developmental Continuum for Ages 3-5
Dr. Lambert also 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 measurement properties. Click here to review Dr. Lambert's technical report.
Research Overview of CreativeCurriculum.net
CreativeCurriculum.net is the online version of The Creative Curriculum Developmental Continuum for Infants, Toddlers & Twos and The Creative Curriculum Developmental Continuum for Ages 3-5. See above for more information about the reliability and validity of The Creative Curriculum Developmental Continuum Assessment Systems.
For more information about CreativeCurriculum.net, please contact us at 800-289-9126.