Center of Excellence for Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation, part of Georgetown University’s Thrive Center

Outcome Measures for IECMHC

States, tribes, and communities are building the evidence that IECMHC works in early care and education. A common question is which tools to use to measure impact.

Use this Choose and Use tool to plan how you'll measure IECMHC outcomes. It summarizes 22 measures used in two or more IECMHC program evaluations, covering impact on children, teachers, teacher-child relationships, and classrooms or programs.

Child measures

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Showing 5 measures

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Child · Assessment Tool

Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and Child Teacher Report Form (CTRF)

TeacherParent12 languagesDetailsClose
Level
Child Level
Type of Tool
Assessment Tool
Construct
Challenging behaviors
Respondent
Teacher; Parent
Language(s)
English; Spanish; Chinese; Japanese; Hindi; German; Tagalog; Portuguese; Polish; Korean; Dutch; Other
Length
20 to 30 minutes; 99 items
Description
A widely used measure of a broad range of challenging behaviors at home and at school, with scores that show the type of concern and possible diagnostic categories.
Subscales
Overall Scores: Externalizing, Internalizing, and Total Problem scores Syndrome Scales: Emotionally Reactive, Anxious/Depressed, Somatic Complaints, Withdrawn, Attention Problems, Aggressive Behavior, and Sleep Problems. DSM-oriented scales: Affective Problems, Anxiety Problems, Pervasive Developmental Problems, Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Problems, Stress Problems, Autism Spectrum Problems, and Oppositional Defiant Problems.
Published Psychometrics?
Yes See for example: Ivanova, M. Y., Achenbach, T. M., Rescorla, L. A., Harder, V. S., Ang, R. P., Bilenberg, N., ... & Dobrean, A. (2010). Preschool psychopathology reported by parents in 23 societies: testing the seven-syndrome model of the child behavior checklist for ages 1.5–5. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 49(12), 1215-1224.
Citation for Tool
Achenbach, T.M., & Rescorla, L.A. (2001). Manual for the ASEBA School-Age Forms & Profiles. Burlington, VT: University of Vermont, Research Center for Children, Youth, & Families.
In the Public Domain?
No - Available for purchase on the ASEBA.org website
Norms
Has norms
Child · Assessment Tool

Preschool-Kindergarten Behavior Scales

TeacherParent2 languagesDetailsClose
Level
Child Level
Type of Tool
Assessment Tool
Construct
Challenging behaviors; Child's social-emotional competence
Respondent
Teacher; Parent
Language(s)
English; Spanish
Length
10 to 15 minutes; 76 items
Description
A rating scale that provides functional appraisal of problem behaviors and social skills in children ages 3 to 6 from the perspectives of teachers, parents, and other caregivers.
Subscales
The Social Skills scale has three subscales: Social Cooperation, Social Interaction, and Social Independence. The Problem Behaviors scale has two subscales: Internalizing Behaviors and Externalizing Behaviors
Published Psychometrics?
Yes Merrell, K. W. (2002). PKBS-2: Preschool and Kindergarten Behavior Scales: Examiner’s Manual (2nd ed.). Austin, TX: PRO-ED.
Citation for Tool
Merrell, K. W. (2002). PKBS-2: Preschool and Kindergarten Behavior Scales: Examiner’s Manual (2nd ed.). Austin, TX: PRO-ED.
In the Public Domain?
No - Available for purchase through Pro-Ed, Inc.
Norms
Has norms
Child · Assessment Tool

Social Skills Rating System (SSRS) (now called Social Skills Improvement System [SSIS])

TeacherParent2 languagesDetailsClose
Level
Child Level
Type of Tool
Assessment Tool
Construct
Challenging behaviors; Child's social-emotional competence
Respondent
Teacher; Parent
Language(s)
English; Spanish
Length
15 to 20 minutes; 40 to 57 items
Description
A rating scale that measures behavior problems, social skills, and academic competence intended for universal screening, intervention planning, and/or progress monitoring.
Subscales
Problem Behaviors scale (Externalizing, Internalizing, Hyperactivity) Social Skills scale (Cooperation, Empathy. Assertion, Responsibility, and Self-Control) Academic Competence Scale
Published Psychometrics?
Yes Gresham, FM, Elliott, SN (2008) Social skills improvement system: Rating scales. Pearson Assessments, Bloomington, MN
Citation for Tool
Gresham, F. M., & Elliott, S. N. (1990). The Social Skills Rating System. Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance Service. Gresham, F. M., Elliott, S. N. (2008). Social skills improvement system: Rating scales. Pearson Assessments., Bloomington, MN.
In the Public Domain?
No - Available for purchase through Pearson Assessments
Norms
Has norms
Child · Assessment Tool

Sutter-Eyberg Student Behavior Inventory-Revised

Teacher2 languagesDetailsClose
Level
Child Level
Type of Tool
Assessment Tool
Construct
Challenging behaviors
Respondent
Teacher
Language(s)
English; Spanish
Length
5-10 minutes; 38 items
Description
A teacher-report measure used to assess conduct problems in youth ages 2 to 16. Teachers are able to indicate the current frequency of behavior problems and to indicate whether they find the behaviors to be problematic.
Subscales
Problem Scale Intensity Scale
Published Psychometrics?
Yes See for example: Querido, J. G., & Eyberg, S. M. (2003). Psychometric properties of the sutter-eyberg student behavior inventory-revised with preschool children. Behavior Therapy, 34(1), 1-15.
Citation for Tool
Eyberg, S., & Pincus, D. (1999). Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory & Sutter-Eyberg Student Behavior Inventory-Revised: Professional Manual. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.
In the Public Domain?
No - Available for purchase from Psychology Assessment Resources, Inc.
Norms
Has norms
Child · Assessment Tool

The Behavior Assessment System for Children, Third Edition (BASC-3)

TeacherParent2 languagesDetailsClose
Level
Child Level
Type of Tool
Assessment Tool
Construct
Child's social-emotional competence; Challenging behaviors
Respondent
Teacher; Parent
Language(s)
English; Spanish
Length
10 to 20 minutes for Teacher Rating Scale (TRS) and Parent Rating Scales (PRS); 105-165 items
Description
A tool that describes children’s observed adaptive and problem behaviors, including internalizing and externalizing problems. Subscales include a wide range of commonly occurring behavioral and emotional difficulties among young children.
Subscales
4 Composite scales: Adaptive Skills, Behavioral Symptoms Index, Externalizing Problems, Internalizing Problems 11 Clinical and Adaptive Scales (e.g., Anxiety, Adaptability) 6 Content scales (e.g., Anger Control, Developmental Social Disorders) 2 Clinical Index scales (e.g., Functional Impairment Index) 4 Executive Functioning Index Scales (e.g., Emotional Control Index)
Published Psychometrics?
Yes See for example: Reynolds, C. R., & Kamphaus, R. W. (2015). Behaviour Assessment System for Children– Third Edition Manual. Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance Service.
Citation for Tool
Reynolds, C. R., Kamphaus, R. W., & Vannest, K. J. (2015). BASC3: Behavior assessment system for children. PsychCorp.
In the Public Domain?
No - Available for purchase through Pearson Assessments; scoring for purchase on Q-Global
Norms
Has norms

Disclaimers

Don't limit your data collection to these measures. They are outcome measures: they show how IECMHC affects children, classrooms, and programs. Also collect implementation data (how IECMHC is delivered) and process data (the near-term changes that lead to those outcomes).

Many families who use IECMHC face wide racial and ethnic disparities in access to opportunity. Programs and systems leaders should always collect demographic data, and always break down outcome, process, and implementation data by race/ethnicity, income, language, and disability status.

Make evaluation decisions in light of your program's theory of change, setting, and the people you serve. Where you can, choose measures normed on the populations you serve and available in a language families understand.

In addition to using the Choose and Use Guide, we recommend you also contact the CoE to request technical assistance to refine your decisions about which tools to select.

Need help choosing?

Request technical assistance from the Center of Excellence to help you decide which tools to use.

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Outcome Measures for IECMHC | Center of Excellence for IECMHC