Monitoring Developmental Progress of Young Exceptional Children: the Curricular Efficiency Index (Cei)

Abstract

Early intervention programs need to monitor not only child progress but also program effectiveness. Efforts in this evaluation area have repeatedly employed traditional norm-based developmental or cognitive measures in summative assessments. However, recent interest has encouraged the use of criterion-based measures as more sensitive monitors of a program's goals. Yet the absence of norm-based comparisons with these instruments limits their full application in early developmental programs. In view of this limitation, the Curricular Efficiency Index (CEI) is offered as a practical method for evaluating monthly the developmental gains of young handicapped children by comparing their progress with that of a comparable group of nonhandicapped peers in attaining developmental objectives of any commercially available developmental curriculum. Progress data on two groups of preschool children support the utility of the CEI concept as a method of monitoring progress and effectiveness within and between programs as well as across teachers, handicap groups, and curricular areas.