Child Outcomes

One of the main activities of Results Matter is the measurement and reporting of child outcomes to the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). This is the progress that children make during their preschool years from the time they enter special education until they exit preschool special education, usually when they transition to Kindergarten.

Preschool Outcomes

Preschool outcomes are measured through authentic assessment practices through which providers and families observe children in their everyday routines, activities, and places and collect documentation that illustrates what children know and are able to do in areas key to future success. Three early child outcomes are used nationwide to reflect the integrated nature of child learning and development and to make it possible for comparable data from a variety of assessment instruments to be combined for further analyses.

The three child outcomes are:

1. Children have positive social skills including positive social relationships.
2. Children acquire and use knowledge and skills including language and early literacy.
3. Children take appropriate action to meet their needs.

These outcomes are measured by:

1. Percent of children who enter below age expectations who made greater than expected growth.
2. Percent of children who exited within age expectations.

Resources

• Watch the Child Outcomes Step By Step Video
• Breadth of the Three Child Outcomes (PDF) infographic from ECTA and DaSy, August 2021
• Family and Child Outcomes for Early Intervention and Early Childhood Special Education (PDF) from the Early Childhood Outcomes Center (ECO), April 2005
• Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center (ECTA) - Information on building systems and practices to improve outcomes.
• Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) - U.S. Department of Education's Early Learning web site.