The Knowledge of Child Development Inventory

The need for an instrument that measures knowledge of child development and is comprehensible to lay populations and young adolescents has led to the development of the Knowledge of Child Development Inventory (KCDI). The KCDI is a 56-item multiple-choice test of knowledge of child development from birth to age three in the areas of emotional, cognitive, physical, and social development. Normative data were obtained on the KCDI from a sample population of 434 adolescent and adult females from varying racial backgrounds. The instrument has a reading level of 8.0 (Fry Reading Index), a minimum of technical terminology, reliability of .93 (Cronback's alpha coefficient of internal consistency), and criterion validity of .83. The KCDI would be relevant in educational settings where pre- and post-assessment of knowledge of child development is desired, i.e., high school courses in child development, prenatal classes, Head Start parent-training programs, and early childhood/special education parent-training programs. In addition, the KCDI would be relevant in clinical settings where the assessment of a person's concepts of child development are of importance i.e., adoption agencies, abuse centers, and teenage pregnancy centers.