Pearson - Clinical and Talent Assessment - Australia and New Zealand

Features and Benefits

• Norm-based standard scores that are useful in determining eligibility for services

• Expanded age range — up to 12 years, 11 months

• A Parent/Caregiver Checklist, which can be used when an interview is not possible

• Updated item content reflecting recent cultural and technological changes

• Improved interpretation guidelines

• Suggested intervention activities for each skill measured

• A General Development score for those who require an overall index of development

• An unlimited-use scoring and interpretation program

This fully revised third edition of the Developmental Profile strengthens and updates an instrument already considered the best of its kind. Like previous versions, the DP-3 evaluates children’s functioning in five key areas, in just 20 to 40 minutes. However, this edition adds norm-based standard scores, an expanded age range, updated item content, clearer interpretive guidelines, a nationally representative standardisation sample, new empirical studies demonstrating its reliability and validity, and unlimited computer scoring and interpretation.

Comprehensive Yet Quick 

Designed to evaluate children from birth through age 12 years, 11 months, the DP-3 includes 180 items, each describing a particular skill. The respondent simply indicates whether or not the child has mastered the skill in question.

The DP-3 provides a General Development score as well as the following scale scores:

• Physical:  Large- and small-muscle coordination, strength, stamina, flexibility, and sequential motor skills

• Adaptive Behaviour: Ability to cope independently with the environment - to eat, dress, work, use modern technology, and take care of self and others

• Social-Emotional: Interpersonal abilities, social and emotional understanding, functional performance in social situations, and manner in which the child relates to friends, relatives, and adults

• Cognitive: Intellectual abilities and skills prerequisite to academic achievement

• Communication - Expressive and receptive communication skills, incl. written, spoken, and gestural language

Basals and ceilings are used for each Scale so there is no need to administer all 180 items. Since each Scale has its own norms, you don’t have to use all five scales if you’re only interested in one.

Ideal for Routine Screening or Focused Assessment

Because the DP-3 is comprehensive yet quick and cost-effective, it makes routine screening feasible. You can administer the test to large groups of children knowing that it will alert you to any significant problems that may be present. You can also use the DP-3 when you have a specific question about a particular child. It’s an effective way to investigate puzzling behaviour, respond to parental concerns, or follow up on teacher observations.

A Convenient New Administration Option

While a parent interview is the preferred method of administration, the DP-3 offers an alternative that’s useful when a face-to-face meeting is not possible. The Parent/Caregiver Checklist contains the same item content as the Interview Form (though language has been altered slightly). Written at a sixth-grade reading level, the Checklist can be completed, without your supervision, by the child’s parent or other caregiver who is familiar with the child’s functioning.

Five Score Formats

DP-3 scores are available in five formats: standard scores, percentile ranks, stanines, age equivalents, and descriptive ranges. This gives you flexibility in using, reporting, and explaining test results. For example, you might choose standard scores for eligibility determination or progress monitoring; age equivalents for parent conferences; and stanines or percentiles for school records. Norms are based on a sample of 2,216 typically developing children representative of the U.S. population in regard to ethnicity, geography, and socioeconomic status.

Unlimited Computer Scoring and Interpretation

Provided on an unlimited-use CD, the DP-3 computer program saves time, reduces the chance of error, and provides both scoring and interpretation. It provides you with comprehensive reports, including the following features:

• Graphical Representation of Scores: You can easily spot advanced or delayed development across the five scales by using the General Development score.

• Scale Pattern Analysis and Scale-by-Scale Item Analysis: These calculations reveal statistical significance in the pattern of strengths and weaknesses and pinpoint skills not mastered that fall below the child’s ability level on each Scale.

• Individualised Intervention Activities: For each scale, the program suggests teaching activities that address the child’s specific weaknesses.

• Clinician and Parent Reports: The CD generates a thorough clinical report for professionals and an easy-to-understand summary for parents. Both can be easily customised.

The DP-3 assists with the identification of children presenting with developmental difficulties, it’s useful in helping determine eligibility for special education, planning IEPs, and implementing periodic screening programs. In addition, the DP-3’s interview format and provision of a parent report allow parents to be involved in their child’s assessment.

The DP-3 is an excellent way to identify developmental strengths and weaknesses early in a child’s life. Its norm-based standard scores allow you to compare children’s functioning with that of their peers, design interventions that meet their particular needs, and monitor their progress over time.