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Guide to Using the DRDP Instruments for Preschool Special Education

Developed by the Desired Results access Project – A Special Project of the Napa County Office of Education. Funded by the Special Education Division, California Department of Education. January 2008

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• The Desired Results Developmental Profile Instruments
• The Components of the DRDP Instruments
• Similarities and Differences between the PS DRDP-R and the DRDP access
• Building Your Capacity to Use the DRDP Instruments
• Eligible Children and Responsible Assessors
• IEP Team Responsibilities: Determining the DRDP Instrument and Identifying Adaptations
• Steps in Completing the DRDP Instruments
  • Step A: Collect Documentation
    • Considerations When Observing Children
    • Strategies for Effective Observation
    • Documentation Strategies
    • Using Adaptations
    • Additional Sources of Information
    • Strategies for Collaborating with Others in Completing the Assessment
    • Including Families in the DRDP Assessment System
  • Step B: Rate the Measures
    • Overview of the DRDP Instrument Materials
    • Process for Rating Each Measure on the DRDP Instruments
    • Special Notes About Rating
  • Step C: Finalize the Assessment
• Reporting Data
• Additional Resources

 

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Introduction

Welcome to the Guide to Using the DRDP Instruments for Preschool Special Education. This guide provides essential information on how to use the DRDP instruments to observe, assess, and report on the development of three, four, and five year old children with IEPs who receive preschool special education services.

Background on the Desired Results System

In fall 2000, the Child Development Division (CDD) of the California Department of Education (CDE) introduced the use of Desired Results Developmental Profile (DRDP) into all publicly funded center-based child development programs and family childcare home networks as part of Desired Results for Children and Families, a statewide accountability system. The Desired Results System is comprised of the DRDP assessments, classroom environmental rating scales, a parent interview, and monitoring activities. The DRDP, an observation-based assessment, was designed for three age groups: infants and toddlers, preschoolers, and children in CDD-funded after-school programs. The initial DRDP has since been revised, and the current instrument is known as the Desired Results Developmental Profile-Revised (DRDP-R). All children in preschool programs funded by CDD are now assessed with the Preschool DRDP-R (PS DRDP-R).

The DRDP instruments are based on the four Desired Results that the State of California has identified for all young children who participate in state-funded early care and education services and their families. A Desired Result is a condition of well-being for children and families, each defining a single overall outcome. The Desired Results that have been identified for young children in California who receive services through state-funded programs are:

• DR1: Children are personally and socially competent
• DR2: Children are effective learners
• DR3: Children show physical and motor competence
• DR4: Children are safe and healthy

The DRDP has been developed as a means of measuring the progress of children toward achieving these Desired Results.

Preschool Special Education’s Participation in the Desired Results System

Beginning in spring 2007, all preschool special education programs in California began implementing the assessment component of the Desired Results System by using the PS DRDP-R for Children with IEPs and the DRDP access with all three, four, and five year old children with IEPs who receive preschool services. Special education is not participating in the other components of the Desired Results System.

For the purpose of this guide, the assessment component of the Desired Results System for preschool special education will be referred to as the DRDP Assessment System. This system includes the process of making naturalistic observations, maintaining documentation, rating the DRDP instruments, and reporting data.

Key Points about the DRDP Assessment System for Preschool Special Education

• All three, four, and five-year-old children with an IEP who receive preschool services, regardless of instructional setting, must be assessed using either the PS DRDP-R for Children with IEPs or the DRDP access.
• Special education service providers report DRDP child progress data two times a year, once in the fall and once in the spring.
• The PS DRDP-R for Children with IEPs is the same instrument as the PS DRDP-R except that the manual for the former includes data reporting procedures and adaptations that are unique to preschool special education. The DRDP access is a version of the DRDP-R that covers a birth to five developmental range rather than just a preschool range.
• The DRDP Assessment System is comprised of the Desired Results Developmental Profiles, which are observation-based instruments designed to measure children’s progress.
• The purpose of the DRDP Assessment System is to gather information on child progress for the purpose of program improvement, to provide teachers with information that will be useful for teaching individual children, and to meet reporting requirements.
• The DRDP Assessment System has been designed for ALL of California’s children. Children with disabilities and children without disabilities have the same Desired Results and participate in the same assessment system.
• Information on individual child progress will be provided to teachers and families so that the assessment information can be used to inform program planning.
• The DRDP assessments are authentic assessment tools based on recommended practices for naturalistic observation of young children by familiar adults as they participate in activities and routines in familiar environments.
• The DRDP Assessment System is based on a criterion-referenced measurement model that is designed specifically for measuring child progress toward outcomes.
• California is one of very few states in the nation that has developed its own assessment system designed specifically for measuring child progress toward desired outcomes and uses the data to meet federal reporting requirements.
• Adaptations have been developed so that the assessments will measure children’s abilities rather than disabilities.

 

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The Desired Results Developmental Profile Instruments

The DRDP instruments are observational assessments used to document children’s developmental status and progress in the areas that comprise the Desired Results for Children, such as social-emotional development, language, cognitive development, physical development, and safe and healthy behavior. The instruments are designed to guide program staff in observing and documenting child progress for the purpose of program improvement. Currently, three versions of the DRDP-R are used in CDD programs:

• Infant Toddler (I/T) – Birth to 36 months
• Preschool (PS) – 3 years to Kindergarten
• School Age (SA) – Kindergarten through 12 years

A fourth version is the DRDP access, a birth-to-five instrument. Some preschool children do not yet demonstrate the range of skills that make up the PS DRDP-R. As a result, it was necessary to develop a DRDP instrument that would cover the developmental range of birth to five years. The DRDP access was developed by combining the I/T DRDP-R and the PS DRDP-R. Because these two instruments are not exactly the same, the DRDP access might best be thought of as a hybrid of the two.

Children in SED-funded programs are assessed with the DRDP instruments two times per year. CDE’s Special Education Division (SED) is using both the PS DRDP-R and the DRDP access to meet accountability requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA 2004).

 

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The Components of the DRDP Instruments

Although the PS DRDP-R and the DRDP access have somewhat different page layouts, they are made up of the same basic components. These components are:

These components are described below. Sample pages from the PS DRDP-R and the DRDP access are shown in Figures 1 and 2.

Desired Result		A Desired Result is a condition of well-being for children and families, each defining a single overall outcome. Each of the Indicators in the DRDP instruments represents one of the four Desired Results for children: DR1: Children are personally and socially competent DR2: Children are effective learners DR3: Children show physical and motor competence DR4: Children are safe and healthy
Indicator		An Indicator is a specific measurable developmental dimension within an overall Desired Result. For example, “Language (LANG)—Children show growing abilities in communication and language” for the first Desired Result (DR1: Children are personally and socially competent) is one Indicator in the DRDP access (See Figures 1 and 2). There are multiple Indicators for DR1 and DR2, and one Indicator for each of DR3 and DR4. The DRDP access and the PS DRDP-R have virtually the same Indicators.
Measure		A Measure is the developmental continuum along which a child’s observed behavior is assessed. Measures are the individual assessment “items” in the DRDP instruments. An Indicator is made up of several Measures, each covering one aspect of development within that Indicator. For example, the DRDP access Indicator “Language (LANG)—Children show growing abilities in communication and language” has four Measures: Language Comprehension Responsiveness to Language Expresses Self Through Language Uses Language in Conversation The PS DRDP-R and the DRDP access have different numbers of Measures. The PS DRDP-R has 39 Measures. The DRDP access has 48 Measures, as it covers a wider age span.
Definition		The Definition specifies the developmental achievement (knowledge, skills) of a given Measure. For example, on the DRDP access, the Definition given for the Measure “Expresses Self Through Language” is “Child uses language to communicate with increasingly complex words and sentences.”
Developmental Level		A Developmental Level is one point along the developmental progression defined for a particular Measure. All Measures on the PS DRDP-R have four Developmental Levels that are named: Exploring, Developing, Building, and Integrating. The number of Developmental Levels on the DRDP access, however, varies from five to nine. They are numbered rather than named (See Figures 1 and 2). Eleven of the Measures in the DRDP access have only five levels. Of these eleven Measures, four represent primarily infant-toddler skills and seven represent primarily preschool skills. For example, “Conflict Negotiation” and “Taking Turns” are primarily preschool Measures. “Seeking Other’s Help to Regulate Self” and “Self-Comforting” are primarily infant-toddler Measures.
Descriptor		Each Developmental Level has a Descriptor that defines the behaviors that would be observed if a child were at that level. For example, for the Measure “Expresses Self Through Language”, the Descriptor for Developmental Level 7 on the DRDP access is “Uses simple phrases and sentences, applying simple grammatical rules.”
Example		Each Descriptor is illustrated with several examples of behaviors that are consistent with the Developmental Level. An Example is one way, but not the only way, a child might demonstrate mastery at a particular Developmental Level, as defined by the Descriptor.

Figure 1: Preschool DRDP-R for Children with IEPs Navigational Map

Figure 2: DRDP access Navigational Map

 

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Similarities and Differences between the PS DRDP-R and the DRDP access

Assessors and IEP team members should understand the similarities and differences between the PS DRDP-R and the DRDP access. Table 1 below describes key similarities and differences. However, keep in mind that the determination of which instrument will most accurately reflect a child’s progress should be based on the developmental range represented by the instrument chosen.

Table 1: Similarities and Differences between the PS DRDP-R for Children with IEPs and the DRDP access

Key Similarities
Inclusive as possible of children with disabilities	Both instruments: Feature the use of adaptations and universal design
Assessment of children’s level of mastery	Both instruments assess children’s level of mastery in the same manner: The indicators are identical Ratings are based on child’s highest level of mastery Ratings are observation-based Ratings are based on multiple sources of evidence
Reporting data	Both instruments: Include Information Pages and Rating Records. Data from the Rating Records and Information Pages are entered in one of two web based reporting systems
Support Children’s Progress towards the California Department of Education’s Desired Results	Both instruments: Document the progress made by individual children in achieving the Desired Results Support quality improvement in special education programs and services Document how children across the state are progressing in state-funded programs Provide data to meet state and federal assessment and reporting requirements
Primary differences between the instruments
Feature	PS DRDP-R	DRDP access
Developmental range for assessing preschool children	Three years to kindergarten	Birth to five
Layout of Measures	Landscape	Portrait
Total number of Measures	39	48
Number of Developmental Levels per Measure	4	Varies from 5 - 9
Referencing of Developmental Levels	Named	Numbered
“Not Yet” rating option	On all measures	On 7 preschool-age measures
Space provided to record evidence	Yes	No

 

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Building Your Capacity to Use the DRDP Instruments

The following list describes a variety of steps that you can take to build your capacity to use the DRDP instruments.

• Attend a Training Session: It is important to attend a training session on using the DRDP instruments for special education. Check with your administrator or SELPA office for local training opportunities.
• Visit www.draccess.org: A variety of very useful training resources are available on the Desired Results access Project website.
• Become Familiar with the Instruments: Before you begin your observations, become familiar with the DRDP instruments. Your knowledge of the instruments, what they include, and how sequences of development are described will help guide your observations and documentation.
• Read Understanding the Developmental Sequences of the DRDP access: This document, available at www.draccess.org, will contribute to your knowledge of the DRDP access. It is an important resource to guide you in making your observations and rating the Measures. It provides information from child development research that will facilitate your understanding of the observational sequences. A list of resources for learning more about areas of development covered by each of the Indicators and for exploring ideas for classroom activities to support development is also included. Reviewing the document before you begin gathering observations can refresh and add to your knowledge of early development in the areas covered by the instrument. This document, particularly the descriptions of the developmental sequences for the Measures, will also be a useful reference when you are completing your ratings. A similar document for the PS DRDP-R is planned but not yet available.
• Always Use Naturalistic Assessment Practices: Both instruments are based on naturalistic observation of children in typical settings and activities with familiar people. This means that observations should be documented during the course of the day with minimal interruption in the flow of typical daily activities. Do not set up artificial testing situations. To help ensure that an accurate picture of the child’s capabilities is obtained, you should observe children in a variety of situations, at different times of the day and over time. If you limit the situations and times when you observe children you may not see the full range of children’s skills. Although your ongoing observations are a primary method of informing your rating of the Measures, you are also encouraged to use other means of monitoring children’s progress such as observations from parents and other staff, and portfolio assessments.

 

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Eligible Children and Responsible Assessors

“Which children will be assessed?”

Every three, four, and five year old child with an IEP who receives preschool services (regardless of setting or level of service) must be assessed two times a year using either the PS DRDP-R or the DRDP access. The assessments will be completed in the fall and spring. Dates for submission of data in the fall and spring of each year will be provided by CDE and posted at www.draccess.org.

“Who is responsible for the assessment?”

The person responsible for making sure the assessment is completed is the primary IEP service provider, which includes credentialed classroom special education teachers, speech therapists, and other itinerant staff. The primary IEP service provider is responsible for collecting documentation and reporting data twice a year for each child. When a child receives special education services and is enrolled in an early childhood program, all of the child’s service providers should participate in completing the assessment collaboratively. DRDP results will be reported to both SED and CDD according to the requirements of each Division. In special circumstances, e.g. children served solely by California Children’s Services, Non-Public Schools, and Non-Public Agents, Special Education Administrators will determine the assessor.

 

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IEP Team Responsibilities: Determining the DRDP Instrument and Identifying Adaptations

For each eligible child, the IEP team needs to decide which instrument to use. By law, the IEP team must include the family and a general education preschool teacher, preferably the teacher who works with the child. The IEP team determines if a child should be observed with the PS DRDP-R or the DRDP access. A child will be observed with the PS DRDP-R if it is determined that a preschool-age instrument will measure the child’s progress. The child will be observed with the DRDP access if it is determined that an instrument that covers the developmental range from birth to five is most appropriate for measuring the child’s developmental progress.

Considerations for Determining the Instrument

• A child’s disability does not dictate which instrument is used. Not all children with disabilities will use the DRDP access.
• Family members are members of the IEP team. Families may benefit from discussions prior to the IEP meeting about the DRDP Assessment System and the DRDP instruments. Please refer to www.draccess.org for resources that can be shared with families.

Table 2 may assist IEP teams in determining the most appropriate DRDP instrument for the child. For additional information in determining the most appropriate instrument, please refer to Guidance for IEP Teams: Including Preschool Children with Disabilities in California’s Desired Results Developmental Profile Assessment System, available at www.draccess.org.

Table 2: Selecting the Appropriate DRDP Instrument

Select the Appropriate DRDP Instrument
Criteria	Yes	No	If yes...
1. Child can be adequately assessed with a preschool instrument			Use PS DRDP-R
2. Child will need a birth-to-five instrument			Use DRDP access

Identifying Adaptations

The IEP team is also responsible for identifying appropriate adaptations for the child for use with the DRDP instruments. Table 3 may assist IEP teams in determining the adaptations that will be documented for the DRDP. For descriptions and more information of the adaptations, please refer to the Adaptations section of this Guide.

Table 3: Adaptations Necessary for Observation and Functional Assessment

Identify Adaptations Necessary for Observation and Functional Assessment
Adaptation	Yes	No	If yes, briefly describe
Augmentative or alternative communication
Alternative mode for written language
Visual support
Assistive equipment or device
Functional positioning
Sensory support
Alternative response mode

Please refer to the document, Guidance for IEP Teams: Including Preschool Children with Disabilities in California’s Desired Results Developmental Profile Assessment System, available at www.draccess.org, for additional information and more specific guidelines for IEP teams. This document may be useful for families and other service providers in understanding the IEP team’s role in the Desired Results Developmental Profile Assessment System.

Children who are English Learners

For children who are English Learners, you will need to determine how to observe and document each child’s communication in his or her home language and in English. The DRDP instruments can be scored based on the child’s use of more than one language and more than one language mode. Any means of consistent communication should be considered in rating the Measures, including gestures, eye gaze, and the use of any spoken or written languages or combination of languages.

Assessors may need to include someone in the assessment process who speaks the child’s home language so that the child can be appropriately credited for what he says and knows even if he does not say it or understand it in English. There are several possibilities for recruiting someone for the assessment who speaks the child’s home language:

• The special education/early education team may include an interpreter who is skilled in second language acquisition or someone who can speak and understand the child’s home language.
• Anyone in the program who speaks the child’s home language (para-professional, related service staff, volunteer, etc.) may be involved in observing the child and may be asked to assist in making rating decisions based on his/her experience with the child.
• The family may be asked to participate in a meeting to discuss Measures on the PS DRDP-R or the DRDP access that the team is not able to rate. An interpreter should be available for this meeting with the family; someone with training as an interpreter is preferred.
• An interpreter may be asked to spend some time observing or interacting with the child to provide information that still might be missing after meeting with the family.

For more information, refer to the document Assessing Children with Disabilities who are English Learners: Guidance for the DRDP access and the PS DRDP-R for Children with IEPs at www.draccess.org.

 

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Steps in Completing the DRDP Instruments

This section describes three steps for completing the instruments:

• Step A: Collect Documentation
• Step B: Rate the Measures
• Step C: Finalize the Assessment

Step A: Collect Documentation

Considerations when Observing Children

• Materials or toys that a child can easily see, grasp, and manipulate should be available.
• Observations should take place in a familiar environment, by a familiar adult and with toys or materials that are familiar to and preferred by the child.
• Hearing aid or cochlear implants should be checked to ensure that they are functioning properly.
• Glasses or contacts should be worn, if needed.
• Children should be allowed adequate time to complete any task they are engaged in, even if they require more time than their peers to complete a task.

Strategies for Effective Observation

It is possible, and even advisable, to observe for more than one Measure or more than one child at a time. As you review the Measures of the DRDP instrument, consider specific routines or activities during the day where you would be able to observe more than one Measure or more than one child. You might want to create a schedule for particular days that identifies which Measures and which children you will focus on during specific activities.

It is important to schedule observations and ratings so that six months elapses between each child’s assessments. Initial data from the DRDP assessments indicate that six months is necessary to accurately reflect progress in three, four, and five year old children with IEPs who receive preschool services. Establish your observation, documentation, and rating plan so that the children who may be rated at the end of the fall assessment period are not rated at the beginning of the spring assessment period.

If a child participates in a highly structured educational environment, you may need to plan to observe during less structured activities or to seek input from those who care for the child during unstructured times. You may wish to note the settings of observations in your documentation and the degree of adult assistance provided to the child.

Documentation Strategies

A variety of methods are available for recording information gathered through naturalistic observations, including anecdotal records, brief notes, tallies, logs, checklists, rating scales, portfolios, photographs, audio-recordings, and videos.

• Choose a method that lends itself to your program’s environment and routine.
• Materials such as sticky notes, clipboards, and pre-printed labels with children’s names can be useful for recording observations.
• Document children’s behaviors throughout the day and record your observations as soon as possible. Details may be important and can be easily forgotten.
• Date each piece of evidence so you know how recent it is.
• As you observe and document children’s behavior, consider how your observations provide evidence for rating one or more of the DRDP Measures.
• Collect documentation over time during the course of children’s typical day. Documentation over time strengthens the validity of ratings.
• Organize the documentation that you collect. Keep in mind that information from curriculum-based assessments or teacher-made tools such as journals and checklists might also be useful.
• Collect samples of children’s work or photographs that might correspond to the Measures.
• Keep assessment information confidential. Store the DRDP instrument, including notes, in a secure location to ensure confidentiality for each child.

Using Adaptations

Adaptations are changes in the environment or differences in observed behavior that allow children with disabilities to be accurately assessed in the natural environment. The adaptations identified for the DRDP instruments have been developed so that the assessment will more accurately reflect a child’s abilities rather than an impact of the disability. Adaptations are appropriate to use in all educational settings. If adaptations are in place for the child during the normal course of the day, then they should also be in place during observations for the DRDP assessment. Please note that this applies for both the DRDP access and the PS DRDP-R. Ensuring that appropriate adaptations are in place will allow observers to obtain the most valid measure of a child’s skills.

The IEP team is responsible for identifying appropriate adaptations for the child. Seven adaptations for children with disabilities have been identified for use with the DRDP instruments. The IEP team should consider which of these adaptations would be helpful for the child in the program setting. These should be recorded in the IEP so that they will also be in place when children are observed for the assessment. Any adaptations used should be recorded in the Adaptations section on the instrument Information Page. The IEP team should revisit the adaptations annually to consider if any changes need to be made in the adaptations identified for a child. For more information refer to the document Guidance for IEP Teams: Including Preschool Children with Disabilities in California’s Desired Results Assessment System.

The seven adaptations are described in Table 4. It should be noted that this list does not include strategies that might be used in teaching, such as hand-over-hand guidance, prompting or modeling. Such teaching strategies should not be used when a child is being observed for the purposes of the DRDP assessment.

Table 4: Adaptations Used with the DRDP access and PS DRDP-R

Augmentative or Alternative Communication System Another system of communication may be used when the child cannot use spoken language. Examples include: sign language, picture cards, and electronic communication devices. It is important to use these systems as part of the observation and not just to elicit responses. Assessors should observe the child using language in a natural context rather than contriving an adult-directed situation. The child’s home language, if other than English, is also acceptable.

Alternative Mode for Written Language If a child cannot see or cannot hold a pencil or marker, an adaptation may be used to assist in writing or emerging writing. Examples of this adaptation include using a Braillewriter, keyboard, or computer.

Visual Support A child who does not see well might need visual supports in the environment. Any type of visual support is acceptable, including: adjustments in contrast, adjustments in lighting, distance from objects, increased size of materials, and verbal description of events.

Assistive Equipment or Device Any type of adaptive equipment or assistive device that the child needs for mobility, positioning or manipulating objects is acceptable, including: walkers, splints, special utensils, and switches.

Functional Positioning Functional positioning is important so that the child has the stability needed to control his movements as much as possible. Positioning should enhance the child’s participation in typical routines and activities.

Sensory Support Sensory support may be needed for some children to allow them to focus attention and learn in their typical environments. Sensory support may include: reducing background noise, adjusting tactile stimulation, and adjusting visual stimulation.

Alternative Response Mode Some children demonstrate skills in a manner that look different from their typical peers. For example, the child with autism may look out of the corner of his eye instead of establishing direct eye contact, or the child with a physical impairment may demonstrate atypical movement patterns. The form of a child’s response may differ from that of his peers and still may be considered to demonstrate mastery of a skill.

Additional Sources of Information

Although observation of a child is the primary method used to inform ratings, other sources of evidence should be used to supplement observations. Multi-source (e.g., teachers, parents, other caregivers) and multi-method (e.g., observation, documents, parent report) approaches are helpful in obtaining accurate assessments of a child’s level of mastery. The primary assessor should take the lead in gathering the information that will inform the assessment and should document the sources and methods that were used. The following sources of information can be used to rate the DRDP assessments:

Portfolios: Child portfolios often contain information that could be used to support ratings. Portfolios may consist of one or more of the following: anecdotal notes, children’s work samples, photos of children’s activities, audio or video recordings, and transcripts of children’s language.

Collaboration with Others: A central goal of the DRDP is to obtain measures of the child’s developmental progress based on typical day-to-day behaviors. Therefore, it may be very helpful to seek input from individuals who have ongoing contact with the child and know the child well in order to obtain the most complete and accurate picture of the child’s skills and abilities. Collaborating with others in the assessment process is especially critical in situations where the special educator has limited contact with the child. For example, the child may attend a general education early childhood program and receive only specific special education services, such as speech therapy.

Parent descriptions of child behavior in the home or in community settings will help assessors make more accurate ratings and can add to the assessor’s information about the child’s behaviors across settings, particularly for those skills the child may not demonstrate routinely in the educational setting. For example, a teacher or therapist may not regularly observe the child’s dressing skills. Special education service providers will need to work hand-in-hand with general education teachers and child care providers to complete the observations and DRDP ratings. How this collaboration will take place – who will be involved and what roles each individual will play – will vary, depending on the situation.

Curriculum-Based Measures: A child’s performance on curriculum-based measures might also help inform ratings or validate observations. The same observations of a child’s behavior that informed a recent curriculum-based measure could also be used to inform a rating on the DRDP. It is important to note that the scores on such measures cannot be imported directly into the DRDP. Rather, the child’s behaviors that led to those scores could be used to validate a DRDP rating, if the behavior occurred within the child’s daily routine and was not the result of a contrived testing situation. The curriculum-based measure may indicate the presence of a skill in a different setting or at a different point in time, thus contributing to the evidence of mastery.

Strategies for Collaborating with Others in Completing the Assessment

In order to measure a child’s developmental progress based on typical day-to-day behaviors, individuals who know the child well should inform the assessment. Since the primary IEP service provider is responsible for completing the assessment, he or she should take the lead in partnering with others in this process. How this collaboration occurs will depend on each situation. The following steps can enhance collaboration:

1. Determine who you should collaborate with to complete the assessment.
2. Make an initial plan detailing areas you will observe directly and those areas in which others may have a more thorough knowledge of the child. For example, a speech-language pathologist might inform the Language Indicator, families might be a good source of information for Safety and Health, a physical or occupational therapist might inform the Motor Indicator, and general education teachers might be a good source of information for Literacy or Math Indicators.
3. Contact the individuals you will collaborate with to discuss the mutual goal of completing the assessment and to develop a plan for working together.
4. Develop a timeline that is acceptable to all partners, including identifying deadlines and strategies to meet them.

Including Families in the DRDP Assessment System

Inviting parents to share observations of their children’s development and behavior is considered recommended practice for the DRDP Assessment System. Parents’ observations provide useful data for informing both assessment and intervention decisions. When combined with practitioners’ observations, the perspectives of parents help assessors converge on a more complete picture of children across settings. Research findings suggest that parents’ observations are reliable and valid and should be considered an essential component of a comprehensive assessment process.

The DRDP assessment instruments are based on naturalistic observation. Assessors complete the instruments through ongoing observations of children in typical daily activities and routines by documenting their progress. In addition to direct observation, assessors will also find it useful to invite family members (and other caregivers) to share their observations. This is especially important when the assessor has limited contact with the child. If the child attends a general education early childhood program and receives only related special education services, such as speech therapy, then the primary IEP service provider might find it very useful to ask both the family and the general education teacher for their observations. Asking parents to share their observations is also particularly useful for those skills the child might not demonstrate routinely in the educational setting. For example, a teacher or therapist might not regularly observe some of the child’s self-care skills. Parents have repeated opportunities to observe their child over time and across settings as they interact with toys, other children, and adults. As a result, parents’ descriptions of their child’s behavior in the home or in community settings will help assessors make more accurate ratings and can add to the assessor’s information about the child’s behavior across settings. Gathering parental perspectives about child development and behavior provides important and ecologically valid data, which is useful for making informed assessment and intervention decisions.

In the context of the DRDP Assessment System, professionals should seek parental perspectives about child development and behavior. When parental perspectives vary from the practitioner’s observations, consider the following:

• It is important to make sure that families understand the meaning of the DRDP items. Professionals understand expected sequences of child development and are trained about how items on the DRDP reflect these sequences. Parents might not understand fully the meaning of DRDP items without explanations or examples. It may be useful to provide families with examples of the kinds of behaviors to look for or the routines and activities that might provide a context for an item. For example, rather than ask a parent to describe a child’s grasping pattern, you might inquire about how a child picks up small pieces of cereal during mealtime.
• It may be reasonable for observations of parents and practitioners to differ, given the child’s range of behaviors for the item being rated. For example, parents might have many more opportunities to observe a child’s dressing skills than a practitioner.
• Child behavior may differ across activities and routines that occur in a classroom setting versus home or community settings. We know that children’s behavior is context dependent. It is important to understand how variations in activities and routines that occur in classrooms versus those that occur in home and community settings might influence child behavior and DRDP observations. For example, children’s interactions with familiar adults might vary across school and community settings.

Remember, not all perspectives about children’s behavior based on parent or professional observations need to be congruent. Rather, aim for convergence or the pooling of perspectives from those who know the child best and have repeated opportunities to observe behavior across settings and time.

Resources to assist families in understanding the DRDP Assessment System may be found on the Desired Results access web site, www.draccess.org.

Step B: Rate the Measures

Overview of the DRDP Instrument Materials

Manual		The Manual is the full version of the instrument. It includes a set of detailed instructions, descriptions of the seven adaptations, a demographic Information Page, a Rating Record, and full descriptions of each Measure.
Rating Booklet		The Rating Booklet presents six Measures on a page, divided into two columns. This rating tool option does not provide Examples for the Descriptors. Some assessors use the Rating Booklet as a Portfolio, using one per child for collecting notes. It is not a required tool.
Rating Record		The Rating Record is required. It presents all Measures on one page. For the PS DRDP-R for Children with IEPs, a space is provided after each Measure for you to enter the number that corresponds to the highest level the child has mastered for that Measure (0=Not Yet, 1=Exploring, 2=Developing, 3=Building, 4=Integrating). Note: Unable to Rate (UR) does not have a numerical equivalent. The UR section must be completed. For the DRDP access, a space is provided after each Measure for you to enter the number that corresponds to the highest level the child has mastered for that Measure.

Process for Rating Each Measure on the DRDP Instruments

1. Mark the highest level of mastery

2. Consider if the child is emerging to the next level and mark if appropriate

Special Notes about Rating

• Notes about Scoring: For the PS DRDP-R, remember that 0=Not Yet, 1=Exploring, 2=Developing, 3=Building, 4=Integrating. UR does not have a numerical value.
• Notes about “Not Yet”: Most of the Measures on the DRDP access capture children’s development beginning at birth or in early infancy. However, because of the nature of what is being observed, some Measures describe behaviors that begin later in development. These Measures have a rating option of “Not Yet” to indicate that the child has not yet mastered the behaviors described for the first developmental level. If you determine that the child has not yet mastered the first developmental level that is described, select the “Not Yet” rating. Similarly, for the PS DRDP-R, if the child has not yet mastered the Exploring Level, “Not Yet” should be indicated. This will be a “0” on the Rating Record.
• Notes about “Unable to Rate”: There may be a very rare circumstance in which you are unable to rate a child on a Measure. If you are using the PS DRDP-R for Children with IEPs Rating Booklet or any tool of the DRDP access, mark “Unable to Rate” and circle either “absence” or “other” as the reason you are unable to rate. If you are using the PS DRDP-R Manual, in the space below the Measure, indicate UR and write either “absence” or “other” as the reason you are unable to rate. Please make sure that necessary adaptations are in place before using the “Unable to Rate” option. Changes to the environment, or changes in the manner in which a child demonstrates a skill may allow a rating on the DRDP. On both instruments, if you are unable to rate a Measure make every effort to conduct additional observations and/or collect additional documentation.

Step C: Finalize the Assessment

• Complete the Information Page: The Information Page collects information including the child’s name, student identification number (issued by districts for reporting to CASEMIS), statewide student identifier (contact your district to obtain this number), birth date, gender, home language, language spoken to the child in the service setting, ethnicity, disability, and adaptations. It also collects information about the observer and program: title and name of special education case carrier (i.e., primary service provider responsible for the IEP), general education/preschool teacher, district of residence, district of service and date the DRDP assessment was completed. Be sure to fill out the Information Page accurately and completely including any adaptation(s) that the child uses.
• Rate all Measures: Transfer the ratings to the Rating Record if you have recorded them elsewhere.

 

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Reporting Data

Your SELPA or District Administrator will let you know how and when to report the contents of the Information Page and Rating Record. There are two options:

• Enter the fields from the Information Page and Rating Record into a web-based data entry system such as the Special Education Desired Results System (SEDRS) or a local web-based system such as SEIS.
• Send a paper copy of your Information Page and Rating Record to your District or SELPA office where a data entry clerk will enter the information.

Note: Whichever way you are instructed to report, keep paper copies of the Information Page and Rating Record in the child’s file.

For more information on reporting data, visit the “Reporting Data” section at www.draccess.org.

 

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Additional Resources

The Desired Results access Project website, www.draccess.org, is the official site for resources and information related to the use of the PS DRDP-R and the DRDP access for special education. The documents cited in this Guide, as well as many more resources, can be found on the site and should be very useful.

Thank You!

Thank you for your participation! The DRDP Assessment System is the result of many years of collaboration between CDE’s Child Development and Special Education Divisions. Your use of the instruments will assist the state of California with meeting accountability requirements and supporting program improvement activities. More importantly, it is hoped that the information from the assessment instruments will support your work with children and will enhance your professional practice.

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Updated 01/31/08