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SPED 311 Assessment Review Project

Name: Megan Duffard
Date: December 1, 2015
School/Setting: Greens Prairie Elementary/ Life Skills
How does this project contribute to your knowledge about assessment?
This project gave me insight into the various elements of an assessment and why they are
important. Being able to determine problem areas and know that the results are valid is an
extremely important aspect of education, especially when assessing students that need special
attention and instruction. As a future special educator it is important for me to be able to
recognize whether or not the information I am receiving about my students is reliable. It is also
important to be able to apply the knowledge I learn from their scores to better improve their
education. This project also showed me that there are many norm-referenced tests available for
all kinds of areas. Although I only researched one type of assessment it is comforting to know
there are dozens more out there that are thoroughly researched and reliable. I would not know
nearly as much about assessment if I had not taken this course and had the opportunity to do this
project.

On my honor, as an Aggie, I have neither given nor received unauthorized

aid on this academic work.
Signature____________________________________________

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Basic Information
The Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development Third Edition (Bayley-III) is an
assessment published in 2005 by Pearson in conjunction with the Psychological Corporation.
Authored by Nancy Bayley, this tool was designed specifically for infants and toddlers ages one
to forty two months and is used to examine young children's development in the areas of
cognitive, language, motor, social-emotional and adaptive behavior. The results of this
assessment determine whether or not a child has any developmental delays in the hopes that if
caught at a young age, early interventions can be provided to best benefit the child's growth and
future success. To purchase the complete assessment, it costs roughly $1,025.00.
Description of test Manuals
For an assessment with so many components, this test is very straightforward. The
manual is thick and a little daunting at first glance, but upon further inspection it is clear that the
manual is very organized. The table of contents provides a quick and efficient reference guide
and explanations of various content are written in user-friendly language. Each chapter is color
coded on the edges of the page so that it is easy to find desired information.
Within the manual itself, useful information is readily available to the user. There is an
entire chapter devoted to the administration and scoring directions for the assessment and it is
very detailed, leaving no room for uncertainty as to how to determine the scores a child makes.
There are other chapters that address general testing considerations and appropriate stages of
development for the various ages. This is very important to thoroughly understand before
administering the test. In fact, although anyone can administer the exam, those that give it must
be adequately trained in advance due to the nature of the assessment. Information for how to

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receive training can be accessed through www.pearsonclinical.com and it mentions this in the
manual.
There is another whole chapter that addresses the validity and reliability of the
assessment as well as how and why they came up with a third edition. Norms are listed as well,
providing proof of its credibility. At the back of the manual there is a chapter devoted to
interpreting scores and what this could mean developmentally for the child assessed.
Also included is a caregiver report manual that is very helpful for parents and guardians.
It discusses the different aspects of the test and why they are important developmental areas
children. In the back it also has a section listing activities that would be helpful for parents to do
with their children to aid development in each area. The very last page gives the parents or
guardians additional resources to gather information about infant and toddler development.
Description of test materials:
The test materials for this particular assessment are extensive due to the ways in which
development of a child must be examined. There is the manual book that is described in the
above subheading, a stimulus booklet, stimulus cards, a Social-Emotional and Adaptive Behavior
Questionnaire, a caregiver report and a record form or scoring sheet. The stimulus booklet and
cards have various black and white pictures or symbols that are used to track a child's visual
pattern or visual preference. The questionnaire is meant for the parents or guardians of the child
and gives the examiner an idea of what milestones the child has or has not met. It is also
designed to measure different behaviors that the child has shown at home, school and other
settings that are important for various stages of development. The caregiver report is also given
to the parents or guardians of the child and is a resource for information about the assessment
and how well their child performed compared with other children across the United States. Apart

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from these necessary paper products, there is a large 2.5 by 1.5 bag filled with manipulatives
used for viewing how the child interacts with various stimuli.
After reviewing the Bayley-III here at Texas A&M University, it was noted that all of the
materials necessary for testing were included in the test bag except for stairs, several sheets of
blank, white, medium bond paper, facial tissues, three plastic bags and a stopwatch. The lack of
these items limits the setting in which the test can be administered and could be a cause for
concern for those hoping to use the Bayley-III, particularly in regards to the lack of stairs and a
stopwatch. Many of the elements within the exam are timed and therefore a stopwatch is
necessary for accurate scoring and stairs are needed to assess adequate motor development.
The Bayley-III assessment is designed for multiple usages and therefore each element of
the test was manufactured with very durable materials. The manual is bound like an actual
textbook while the scoring sheets and information packets were published on thick paper not
easily bent or wrinkled. These materials could easily hold up for an extended time period.
Overall the test is very appealing to users in that it is easy to understand and easy to
implement. For a toddler, it is very interactive which appeals to their developmental stage. The
only downside is the Bayley-III is a very cumbersome exam with many pieces. As a result it can
be difficult to travel with, a bit of a hassle to store and takes time to set up and administer.
Description of test protocols
The test protocols are lengthy, but very clear, organized and written to where users can
easily understand what it says. Some may believe the methods of administration are timeconsuming, but for the amount of information being evaluated it is reasonable and appropriate.
As long as the user reads all of the directions prior to administering the exam, accounts for all

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needed materials and has received the appropriate required training, the assessment is easy to
administer.
The outline of the test follows a structured sequence that measures each area of
development in turn: cognitive, language, motor, social-emotional and adaptive behavior.
Although each individual area must be administered in one sitting, it is up to the administrator
what order he or she wishes to present the test items to the child. For example, if the
administrator is scoring for motor development, the stairs could be used first to assess gross
motor, then small items used for fine motor or vice versa. It does not matter the order as long as
all items are used, results are documented appropriately and no items are re-administered. This
allows for the testing to be more flexible and adaptive to the child being assessed.
On average the assessment lasts between twenty-five to thirty-five minutes for children
under fifteen months old while children over fifteen months may take up to sixty minutes to
assess. Sometimes, depending on the behavior of the child, the test may have to be broken into
multiple sessions. If this occurs it should be noted on the record form and the sessions should be
given as close together as possible. This secures the accuracy of the child's performance.
As a side note, an interesting component of the Bayley-III is that parent or guardian
involvement is highly encouraged. This helps ensure the child's performance is true to its natural
environmental stimulus. This makes the assessment particularly appealing for both parents or
guardians as well as the child.
Description of test items:
As mentioned above, all test items are included in a large bag. There is a sectioned box
containing smaller manipulatives such as balls, cubes, blocks, pegs and recognizable toys such as
cars, phones, bottles and crayons. Larger items such as a toy ambulance, cups, a baby doll and a

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bell can be found within the bag too. There is a mirror to measure a child's response to their
reflection, a map with roads for a toy car to drive on and a small children's book.
The directions for using each item during the test are clearly noted. There are specific
directions in each section of the test detailing how to present various items and for what time
duration. Responses to items are recorded with the help of the directions too. There is a legend
that clearly details all possible response options and makes scoring very easy for the user. The
child is given credit for various responses that are important for his or her developmental stage
and the test notes what to look for.
For the age range being evaluated, the test items are age appropriate and are necessary for
determining motor and cognitive development of children. For example, the test provides
multiple items that measure how well the child can use their hands and fingers such as the
smaller manipulatives. The test items in general are also necessary for measuring the childs
familiarity of items such as the crayon or toy car, as well as their interest in new things.
Technical Evaluation
Based on the 2000 U.S. census, a stratified sample of 1700 children between the ages of 1
month to 42 months were assessed using the Bayley-III. The test manual provides the norm data
collected from this study in tables and uses it as a comparison average.
The information in the test manual did not indicate a particular demographic or give
reference to specific cities in which this information was gathered. We had to research outside
sources for this information and discovered in a Bayley-III review that those responsible for
collecting the norms data used a sampling plan that ensured equal proportions of representation
with special attention to variables such as parent education, gender, ethnicity and geographic
region (Venn, 2007). Although we still could not find a specific list of cities, it is apparent that

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quality measures took place to ensure the standardization of the data. It is well-represented,
credible information and is applicable to all states in the U.S. because of its national scope. It is
very beneficial for special education because this assessment provides a baseline against which
to measure an individual child's developmental progress. When this assessment is given to a
child today it is a great tool for identifying areas where the child may need special attention as
well as areas where they might excel.
Reliability
The Bayley-III test manual indicates that multiple studies involving internal consistency,
test-retest stability, and inter-rater or inter-scorer agreement were conducted to ensure test
reliability. High internal consistency reliability figures yielded an average range of .83 and .93
for the subtests and composites. For the Social-Emotional scale the scores were in the average
range of .83 and.90 and for the Adaptive Behavior scale the scores were in the average range of .
79 to .92 that were both relatively high (Venn, 2007).
For test-retest stability, the results were determined per age group and were found to be
relatively lower for the younger ages, particularly for two-four month olds at a range of .67 to .
80. This is not uncommon when assessing infants and toddlers however. The oldest age group
was 33-42 month olds and the scores ranged from .83 to .94 (Venn, 2007).
The inter-rater agreement was obtained by comparing the Bayley-III edition to the MDI
Score given to the child by the rater versus the one given by the examiner. The test was
administered in this fashion to fifty-one children aged two to thirty months. The general adaptive
composite score (GAC) was determined to be .82 (Venn, 2007).
Determining the adequacy of this assessment required sifting through multiple resources,
but the results concluded that the Bayley-III is reliable and the information found accounts for

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validity as well. The manual focuses on the content, concurrent, and construct validity of the
assessment. In regards to content validity the manual discusses how the test construction was
backed up with literature searches and expert reviews. Concurrent validity was established by
comparing the Bayley-III to other reliable instruments and construct validity was determined
through special group studies. This was where groups of children with various disabilities such
as cerebral palsy, Down syndrome and children at risk for developmental delay were tested
(Venn, 2007). The results were then compared to the overall sample of 1,700 children used for
the norms. Predictive validity was explored through observations of children over time as well as
through data comparisons with the BSID-II Mental, Motor and Behavior Rating Scales for Ages
1 to 12 months, the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children and other credible assessments
(Scattone, 2011).
Professional Journal Article
Scattone's (2011) article is a comparison of the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scalesecond edition with the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development- third edition. It
discusses the validity of both assessments as well as what both tests were meant to evaluate.
Finally it provides the reader with an overall understanding of the advantages and disadvantages
of each assessment. This article aided in the search for information on the validity and reliability
of the Bayley-III. It discusses how the Bayley-III edition was compared with other credible
assessments and talks about the thorough research behind its development.
MMY Review
Venn's (2007) article was particularly helpful for this project. It gave very detailed
information about the reliability scores that were harder to decipher in the actual manual. Venn
not only gives the scores and discusses how they relate to each other; he discusses how the

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reliability and validity for the assessment were obtained. This article reviewed the benefits of the
Bayley-III in regards to students that may need help in specific areas and how this aids in
identifying them for early interventions.
Resources
Bayley, N. (2006). Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development-- Third Edition Users
Manual. Pearson.
Scattone, D., Raggio, D. J., & May, W. (2011). Comparison of the Vineland Adaptive Behaivor
Scales, second edition and the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, third
edition. Psychological Reports, 109(2), 626-634. doi:10.2466/03.10.PR0.109.5.626-634
Venn, J. (2007). Review of the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development- Third Edition.
Mental Measurement Yearbook. Retrieved from "http://web.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.
library.tamu.edu." November 30, 2015.