Authors:
Diane Bricker, Juliann Cripe, Kristine Slentz

Publisher:
Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.
1-800-638-3775
www.brookespublishing.com

Initial Material Cost:
AEPS™ Birth to Three set (Administration Guide, Test, Curriculum for Birth to Three Years): $150

Representativeness of Norming Sample: No norming sample.

Languages:
English1

Type of Assessment:
Observation, direct assessment (to elicit a behavior), and parent, caregiver, or therapist report

Age Range and Administration Interval: Children whose developmental age is 3 years or less. May be used for children whose chronological age is 6 years or less. Readministered at 3- or 4-month intervals.

Personnel, Training, Administration, and Scoring Requirements:
The AEPS can be used by both direct service personnel and specialists. Administration time may range from 1 to 2 hours for the initial assessment and 15 to 30 minutes for subsequent assessments, depending on the child’s level of functioning and the user’s familiarity with the AESP and the child.. Quarterly or yearly followups generally take half the time of the initial assessment.

Summary
Initial Material Cost: 2 ($100 to $200)
Reliability: 3 (.65 or higher).
Validity: 3 (.5 or higher for content validity) Norming Sample Characteristics: 1 (none described)
Ease of Administration and Scoring: 2 (administered and scored by someone with basic clerical skills)

Description: The Assessment, Evaluation, and Programming System (AEPS) Measurement for Birth to Three Years is a criterion-referenced assessment tool that is designed to help early interventionists improve their assessments of the abilities and needs of young children who have disabilities or are at risk for developmental delays. The AEPS test was designed to be used in conjunction with the AEPS Curriculum for Birth to Three Years or other similar curricula. It covers the developmental progress of children's functional skills in six key domains (fine motor, gross motor, adaptive, cognitive, social-communication, and social development). Each domain is divided into strands, which consist of related groups of behavior divided into common categories. Each strand has a series of goals and discrete objectives that lead up to the goal. The strands, goals, and objectives are developmentally sequenced. Objectives and goals are either observed, elicited, or recorded based on parent, caregiver, or therapist report.

The AEPS encourages family participation in the assessment through the use of family-focused materials, such as the family report, planning guide, child progress record, and family interest survey.

Uses of Information: The AEPS is an assessment/evaluation tool that is used to create individual evaluation programs and intervention plans, known as Individualized Educational Program/Individualized Family Service Plans (IEP/IFSP). The test is used to provide a baseline on the child’s functioning to help develop the intervention curriculum and to measure the child’s developmental progress over time.

Reliability: Several research samples were drawn from children ages 2 months to 6 years in early intervention programs in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Arkansas, and 48 interventionists in Vermont, Iowa, Oregon, and British Columbia. (1) Inter-rater reliability: Pearson product moment correlations for individual domains ranged from .71 for the Social Domain to .96 for the Gross Motor Domain. Mean correlation for all domains was .88. Total test score correlation was .97. (2) Test-retest reliability (1-2 week interval): Pearson Product Moment correlation for domains ranged from .77 for the Social Domain to .95 for the Gross Motor Domain, with a correlation of .88 for all domains. Total test agreement was .95.

Validity: (1) Congruent Validity: Pearson Product Moment correlations with the Bayley Scales of Infant Development Mental Age and Motor Age were .93 and .88, respectively. Correlation with the Gesell Developmental Scale Maturity Age scores was .51.

Method of Scoring: Each of the six domains has a specific recording form. Items are marked as “pass consistently” (2), “inconsistent performance” (1), and “does not pass” (0). Specific criteria are provided for each goal and objective. In addition to scoring each of the items, a qualifying note is attached to each item goal and objective. Items are marked as “assistance provided” (A), “behavior interfered” (B), “reported assessment” (R), “modification/adaptation” (M), and “direct test” (D).

Scoring can be done two ways: (1) a total score is computed for domains by counting the number of goals and objectives scored with a “2” in each domain. For the total frequency, the domain scores are added together. The number of “1” scores are computed in the same way. (2) The percentage of items scored with a “2” or “1” can also be calculated by dividing the total “2” scores by the total number of items in the domain and the total “1” scores by the total number of items in the domain. For an overall percent score, the total number of items scored with a “2” across the domains is multiplied by 2 and divided by 456 (total number possible).

The AEPS Family Interest Survey and AEPS Family Report, which are family-centered materials that can be used in conjunction with the AEPS Test, are completed by families and have separate scoring guidelines.

Interpretability: No instructions provided. However, the scoring of the instrument will inform the interventionist how well the child is performing the observed skill. The test results expand the quantity and quality of developmental information and help professionals develop IFSP or IEP goals and objectives.

Training Support: “Brookes on Location” professional development seminar, AEPS™: A Linked System of Assessment, Intervention, and Evaluation, is available through the publisher (www.brookespublishing.com).

Adaptations/Special Instructions for Individuals with Disabilities: The AEPS was designed for use with populations of children who are at risk and who have disabilities. For children who have severe impairments, general modifications are required. For children with severe disabilities, the AEPS test objectives should be used more as goals, and the associated curricular programming steps as objectives. General adaptation guidelines are provided for children with visual, hearing, and motor impairments.

Report Preparation Support: Data Recording Forms are provided for scoring tests, graphing results, tracking scores, and recording comments. A Child Progress Record is available to track progress on strand objectives.

References:

Cripe, Juliann, Kristine Slentz, and Diane Bricker. AEPS Curriculum for Birth to Three Years, Volume 2. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., Inc., 1993.