Children’s Early Mental and Physical Skills

The ECLS-B assessment of young children's mental and motor development relies on a direct measure of children-the Bayley Short Form-Research Edition (BSF-R), which was developed for use in the ECLS-B. The BSF-R is a shortened version of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development-Second Edition (BSID-II) (Bayley 1993)⁶, a standardized assessment of mental and motor developmental status for children from birth to 42 months of age.

This E.D. TAB presents information on young children's specific mental and physical skills (i.e., proficiencies). Proficiency scores provide a means of distinguishing status in specific skills within a content area. Clusters of two to five test questions having similar content and difficulty were included at several points along the score scale of the BSF-R mental and physical assessments. Clusters of items provide a more reliable test of proficiency than do single items.⁷

Below are the five proficiencies for early mental skills.

• Exploring Objects. The child is reaching for and holding objects, he/she may have no specific purpose or goal except to play or discover.
• Exploring Objects With a Purpose. The child is manipulating objects with a purpose (e.g., to see what makes the ringing sound in a bell).
• Babbling. The child is making simple sounds and gestures (e.g., babbling or jabbering).
• Early Problem Solving. The child is using reasoning to interact with objects (e.g., if a toy is out of reach, using another object, like another toy, to bring the desired toy within reach).
• Communicating With Words. The child understands and uses words, both receptively (pointing to named objects) and expressively (saying words).

Below are the five proficiencies for early physical skills.

• Eye-hand Coordination. The child demonstrates eye-hand coordination as he/she reaches for objects.
• Sitting. The child can sit alone, without leaning against something or other assistance.
• Prewalking. The child is taking steps and supporting his/her weight while standing, with assistance (moving along furniture or holding onto someone's hand).
• Independent Walking. The child is walking alone, without assistance (without holding onto something or someone).
• Balance. The child can balance in various positions (e.g., squatting, standing on one foot).

The ECLS-B was designed to collect information from children and their families for the first time when the children were about 9 months of age (i.e., 8 to 10 months). However, information was collected from a few children as young as 6 months and as old as 22 months. Young children's mental and physical skills develop rapidly. Therefore, this E.D. TAB presents information on young children's skills by their age at assessment, in several ways. First, this E.D. TAB presents information on the children in the sample 8 to 10 months of age at the time of assessment. Next, the E.D. TAB presents information on the children in the sample who were 11 to 13 months of age at the time of assessment. Tables 4 and 5 present a breakdown by age (i.e., age at assessment, month by month).⁸

When children were 8 to 10 months old , in terms of their mental skills (table 4, figure 4)

• 99 percent were exploring objects in play;
• 88 percent were exploring objects with a purpose;
• 47 percent were babbling;
• 3 percent were demonstrating early problem solving; and
• less than 1 percent were using words.

When children were 8 to 10 months old, in terms of their physical skills (table 5, figure 5)

• 91 percent demonstrated eye-hand coordination;
• 93 percent were sitting;
• 73 percent were showing prewalking skills;
• 19 percent were walking; and
• 1 percent could balance.

When children were 11 to 13 months old, in terms of their mental skills (table 4, figure 4)

• 100 percent were exploring objects in play;
• 97 percent were exploring objects with a purpose;
• 72 percent were babbling;
• 17 percent were demonstrating early problem solving; and
• 5 percent were using words.

When children were 11 to 13 months old, in terms of their physical skills (table 5, figure 5)

• 96 percent demonstrated good eye-hand coordination;
• 98 percent were sitting;
• 91 percent were showing prewalking skills;
• 55 percent were walking; and
• 10 percent could balance.