Screens III: A Summary of Technical Information
This booklet outlines the three most common uses of the Screens III and illustrates its research base with clear infographics.
Head Start and Early Head Start are federally funded programs that promote school readiness of children ages birth to five from low-income families by supporting their early developmental and academic skills.
With BRIGANCE Head Start, program specialists are equipped to meet federal mandates for developmental screening and to administer ongoing testing aligned to the program’s key learning domains, outcomes, and requirements.
Our tools evaluate children’s early development and kindergarten readiness and assist educators with identifying potential delays or giftedness, supporting referrals for services, and planning individualized instruction.
Developmental screening provides a useful snapshot of a child’s development at a particular point in time. Quick, accurate screens that measure mastery of early development and academic skills can serve as the first step in assessing a child’s school readiness. Educators also use screening to readily identify potential developmental delays and giftedness and to plan for interventions.
The Head Start Screens III, available in two age-specific volumes, evaluate the key predictors of school success and align to the Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework. These screening tools equip program professionals to meet the federal Head Start screening requirements; namely, children be screened within 45 days of entering the program. Each screen takes approximately 10–15 minutes per child, assists with identifying potential developmental delays and giftedness, and allows for comparison of a child’s performance to an at-risk cutoff score to reduce the chance of over-referrals. Examiners use one Data Sheet per child per screening. Our Head Start screening tools address the domains of Physical Development, Language Development, Academic Skills/Cognitive Development, and Self-help and Social-Emotional Skills.
Assessments in the Early Head Start Screen III as well as those in the Head Start Screen III have been correlated to the Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework: Ages Birth to Five.
Intended for examiners evaluating Spanish-speaking children, these resources provide a Spanish translation of the directions for administering the screens. Select the version that corresponds to the age of children being screened. Included with the directions are Data Sheets, parent feedback forms, and parent reports in Spanish.
The Screens III OMS is an online system for managing children’s screening data. An easy-to-use graphical interface allows educators to access and review reports for individuals, classes, schools, and districts. The OMS generates a Screening Summary Report for each child that compares his or her raw score to the cutoff scores for delays and giftedness and provides normative scores for each domain assessed. The Group Screening Summary Report aggregates this information for analyzing data across groups.
The Screens III Technical Manual provides technical documentation for the Screens III. It includes information about administration procedures, interpretation of results, screening children at risk, monitoring progress and informing instruction, standardization methodology, the reliability and validity, and the sensitivity and specificity of the measure. Scoring tables are found in the Appendices.
The Readiness Activities instructional resource consists of more than 300 fun lesson ideas tied to skills assessed within the Head Start Screens III and the Inventory of Early Development III. Lessons target essential kindergarten readiness skills, use multiple modalities and manipulatives, and often include modifications or extensions. Educators use this resource to link screening and ongoing assessment to developmentally appropriate instruction for each child.
Educators send these 10 short booklets home to give families a chance to partner in their child’s learning. Each booklet explains what the child is currently learning and includes ideas for at-home practice of early mathematics and literacy skills. Read-aloud book suggestions are also listed.
Whereas screens take a snapshot, criterion-referenced assessment measures a child’s performance on a specified set of skills over time. Educators use criterion-referenced assessment when progress is to be evaluated solely by comparing a child’s own present and past performance. It is commonly used when normative, or standardized, scores are not necessary.
The Inventory of Early Development III—Head Start Edition consists of more than 100 assessments that cover a broad array of skills and behaviors aligned to the Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework. Assessments are commonly used following screening to get a more in-depth understanding of a child’s skill mastery in these domains:
The IED III assists Head Start professionals with identifying strengths and needs, evaluating school readiness, planning for individualized instruction, and writing instructional objectives. Examiners use one IED III Record Book per child for recording assessment data. Assessments in the Inventory of Early Development III have been correlated to the Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework: Ages Birth to Five.
The Readiness Activities instructional resource consists of more than 300 fun lesson ideas tied to skills assessed within the Head Start Screens III and the Inventory of Early Development III. Lessons target essential kindergarten readiness skills, use multiple modalities and manipulatives, and often include modifications or extensions. Educators use this resource to link screening and ongoing assessment to developmentally appropriate instruction for each child.
Educators send these 10 short booklets home to give families a chance to partner in their child’s learning. Each booklet explains what the child is currently learning and includes ideas for at-home practice of early mathematics and literacy skills. Read-aloud book suggestions are also listed.
Norm-referenced, or standardized, assessment measures a child’s performance on a specific set of skills relative to that of same-age children. Such assessments have been standardized and validated on a normative sample. Educators use standardized assessment when they need to derive normative scores, such as composite scores, percentile ranks, and age equivalents.
The Inventory of Early Development III Standardized consists of 55 norm-referenced assessments that allow educators to compare a child’s performance to that of same-age children in the nationally representative sample. Assessments cover a broad array of skills and behaviors in these key early learning and development domains:
The IED III Standardized is intended for use with children ages 0–7 and provides normative scores such as standard scores, percentile ranks, and age equivalents for children of these ages. Educators commonly use these normative scores, when indicated, to endorse a child’s eligibility for services. Examiners use one IED III Standardized Record Book per child for recording assessment results.
The IED III Standardization and Validation Manual gives the history and a technical explanation of the IED III Standardized. It includes information about test administration procedures, interpretation of results, standardization methodology, and the reliability and validity of the measure. Score conversion instructions, tables, and worksheets for the derivation of normed scores are found in the Appendices.
The Readiness Activities instructional resource consists of more than 300 fun lesson ideas tied to skills assessed within the Head Start Screens III and the Inventory of Early Development III. Lessons target essential kindergarten readiness skills, use multiple modalities and manipulatives, and often include modifications or extensions. Educators use this resource to link screening and ongoing assessment to developmentally appropriate instruction for each child.
Educators send these 10 short booklets home to give families a chance to partner in their child’s learning. Each booklet explains what the child is currently learning and includes ideas for at-home practice of early mathematics and literacy skills. Read-aloud book suggestions are also listed.
The BRIGANCE Head Start family consists of up-to-date tools based on the most current research.
This booklet outlines the three most common uses of the Screens III and illustrates its research base with clear infographics.
This infographic illustrates the impressive research behind these up-to-date developmental screening tools.
This infographic illustrates the impressive research behind this new norm-referenced assessment.
