Assessing Misidentification Potential When Using Percent Developmental Delay as an Early Intervention Eligibility...

Area of Science:

• Child Development
• Developmental Pediatrics
• Educational Psychology

Background:

• Several states utilize age-equivalent (AE) scores for early intervention (EI) eligibility.
• AE scores do not account for typical score variability in the general population.
• This lack of empirical support raises concerns about accurate EI eligibility determination.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the reliability of AE scores in determining EI eligibility.
• To compare AE score-based eligibility with standard score-based eligibility.
• To quantify the potential for misidentification of developmental delays.

Main Methods:

• Digitally converted scoring tables from six common EI assessments.
• Utilized Python code to analyze score combinations (standard, AE, raw) and chronological ages (0-36 months).
• Calculated the likelihood of misidentification using AE-based criteria.

Main Results:

• Misidentification potential was present across all analyzed tests.
• 2,445 score combinations could incorrectly deny services to children with delays.
• 3,037 score combinations could inappropriately include children within typical development.

Conclusions:

• EI eligibility determination using AE scores is highly problematic.
• Thousands of score combinations can lead to significant misidentification.
• EI eligibility criteria must be revised to ensure equitable access to services.