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Search for measures by title, subject, or keyword on the Measures page. Then, compare and access your favorite measures. Not ready to search yet? Learn more about measurement on this page, or learn about our scoring system, or our team.

The search feature can help you find the measures available in our online database. You can enter any measure name, keyword, or search query on the search bar, and the results will be sorted according to your preferences. Learn more about the search feature.

Finding the right measure for your needs is complex. The compare feature allows you to get a quick snapshot of the similarities and differences between two or three measures.

You can easily compare measures from the search results by selecting the ‘Compare’ button for each individual measure. You will be directed to a new page that shows you the most relevant details of each measure, side by side for easy comparison. 

The scoring diamond is a visual representation of how well a measure scores in each of the four key categories: cost, usability, cultural relevance, and technical merit.

Learn more about the scoring diamond.

You can find information on how to access a measure on the individual measure’s detailed page. For most readily available free measures, you can easily download a copy of the complete measure from our website. For other measures (such as at-cost measures), you will be directed to the publisher or authors’ website for further information on accessing the measure.

The IMPACT Measures Tool® is designed to be accessible to individuals and organizations working in the early childhood ecosystem. This includes community-based organizations, academic institutions, healthcare systems, philanthropic and policy-based organizations, child care systems, and more.

Yes! It is important to us that we provide this tool as an open-access resource for the public. Anyone interested in learning more about measurement and evaluation of early childhood development and parenting is encouraged to use the IMPACT Measures Tool®.

Our goal is to educate and empower our users on measurement and evaluation in the field of early childhood. 

We provide educational content on different measure types, administering a measure, psychometric properties of a measure, and different domains of early childhood development. 

Our website also allows you to create an account and connect with a community dedicated to early childhood and parenting measures. You can also get in touch with our team by emailing us or reaching out over social media. You can also fill out an application for a free consultation call to discuss how we can further support your organization.

The IMPACT Measures Tool® is not a publisher or distributor of the measures listed on this site. IMPACT provides review of and basic information about available measures and provides a link (via the “Access Measure” button) directly to the publisher or developer for measure access and further information.

Measurement is the process of translating a characteristic to a number. This includes translating the size of a paper into its length in centimeters or a child’s early math skills into a score on a kindergarten readiness assessment. In psychology or education, a measure is a tool used to gather specific information about an individual or group. Early childhood measures gather information about children, their caregivers, and parent-child interactions to understand more about how children develop early in life. For example, a caregiver may complete a survey on their child’s interpersonal skills. The survey — the measure — would translate these skills into a score.

Read more about understanding psychological measurement.

Each measure available on the website is categorized into five different measure types: direct assessment, survey, observation, screening tool, and interview.

• Direct Assessments are measures that directly assess an individual’s skill in a specific area (e.g., receptive vocabulary or executive function). Direct assessments may be administered via paper-pencil or electronically, and usually require an administrator. Results from direct assessments should never be used as an indicator of clinical referrals since they are not designed with that purpose in mind.
• Surveys or questionnaires are self-report measures with questions regarding characteristics, behaviors, or opinions of individuals at single or multiple time points. Surveys are one of the most common methods of measurement, but often need to be mindful of overgeneralization and potential biases. Results from surveys should never be used as an indicator of clinical referrals since they are not designed with that purpose in mind.
• Observational measures require direct observation (in person or via video) of individuals or a group to administer and score. These measures require multiple coders to score the observations. Scoring of observation measures are conducted in real-time or after administration, and rely on several factors such as the length and frequency of observations as well as the researcher’s interpretation. In addition, observational measures need to consider participant privacy and confidentiality concerns (e.g., in healthcare). 
• Screening tools are measures intended to detect specific indicators of risk (e.g., food insecurity or autism spectrum disorders) and identify whether further evaluation is needed. Screening tools are a first indication of whether an individual may be at risk for developmental or clinical issues, but do NOT constitute a clinical diagnosis. In addition, the accuracy of the score cutoffs used for screening tools depends on the comparison measure used in development. Screening tools are NOT intended to be used to measure a program’s impact.
• Interviews involve an administrator asking the individual questions directly, rather than respondents/participants recording their own responses. Interviews can be structured, semi-structured, or unstructured. Interviews can also be administered individually or in a group, for example, in a focus group setting.

There is no one size fits all when it comes to choosing a measure. When developing a measurement plan, it is crucial to choose measures that have been thoroughly researched and offer data to support their reliability and validity (concepts covered in our Scoring page), as well as making sure that they match your program’s purposes and identified outcomes (cost, usability, cultural relevance, and technical merit). While a measure might be thoroughly researched, it might not be appropriate for your context and price range. The IMPACT Measures Tool® allows you to easily compare different measures based on your preferences and needs. 

Learn more about how we score each measure on our Scoring page.

Measures can be administered in various ways, depending on the topic, measure type, the individual taking the assessment, and the environment they are taking the assessment in. Measures can be administered electronically (on a computer, phone, or tablet), over the phone, and/or in-person. While some measures require extensive training for administration and may even require a licensed administrator, other measures might only need written instructions. The administration of a measure is a crucial factor in the decision-making process for choosing a measure.

Learn about how the IMPACT Measures Tool® accounts for how measures are administered in the Scoring page.

The IMPACT Measures Tool® database currently houses over 200 measures that are scored and categorized for easy search and comparison. We will be regularly updating our online database to provide information on additional measures.

There are two ways we share information about measures offered in different languages:

1. As a specific measure scored individually.
2. As a descriptive category listing the languages that the measure has been translated into.

The deciding factor between whether a language is listed descriptively versus considered as an independent measure that is scored is related to validity. If the measure has established validity evidence in a specific language rather than simply being translated, it is considered an independent measure and scored accordingly. If a measure has only been translated into a different language but has not been validated, that language is only listed descriptively in the measure detail page.

Note: There may be measures validated in languages that are not yet included in the database simply because they have not yet been included or scored.

The IMPACT Measures Tool® includes measures in the areas of: caregiver health and well-being, child mental health, overall child development, social-emotional development, language development, executive function, academic skills, family/home environment, classroom/childcare quality, caregiver-child interaction, cultural competency, and healthcare/human services quality.

Executive function is a set of everyday mental skills that allow us to set and achieve goals, remember instructions, and pay attention to multiple tasks successfully. These skills are important for learning and development during early childhood and adolescence. Factors such as toxic stress and early adversity can negatively affect the development of executive function skills.

The three main areas of executive function are: working memory, mental flexibility, and inhibitory control. Working memory is the brain’s ability to remember new information, use that information over short periods of time, and organize it for long-term storage.

Mental flexibility, also called cognitive flexibility, allows us to maintain and/or shift attention in response to different instructions and settings. It is a key skill for problem solving.

Inhibitory control enables us to set different levels of priorities and resist impulsive actions, including regulating behaviors and self-monitoring those behaviors.

Self-regulation is the ability to control oneself, including our behaviors and emotions. It allows us to focus on the task at hand by identifying an impulse, reducing the intensity of the impulse, and gaining control over these impulses. For children, self-regulation is a skill that is gained through a trial-and-error practice, requiring guidance and feedback from their caregivers.

While self-regulation and executive function are sometimes used interchangeably, as they both are integrated with goal-setting, attention-shifting, and problem-solving, it is important to understand that these are different processes. While executive function is a component required to achieve successful self-regulation, other factors (standards of desirable behavior/emotions, temperament, motivation) also influence successful self-regulation. Often, executive function measures are used as a predictor or moderator of self-regulatory outcomes.

While there is no single definition of kindergarten readiness, it often refers to a set of developmental milestones assessing children’s behavior, skills, and attitudes upon kindergarten entry. Domains under kindergarten readiness include children’s academic and cognitive skills, social-emotional development, and physical development.

Schools, policymakers, and early childhood researchers use kindergarten readiness to gain an understanding of the skills of the student, informing their choices about instructional goals and curriculums required to meet their students’ needs.

Although kindergarten readiness is often a predictor of later school success, it is often poorly/vaguely/inconsistently defined and therefore difficult to measure. Many states in the United States vary on both their definition and assessment of kindergarten readiness. This multidimensional concept is measured typically with a mix of direct assessment and observation and is often a set of multiple data points rather than a single score in an assessment.

The IMPACT Measures Tool® uses a research-driven scoring method to examine each measure’s cost, usability, cultural relevance, and technical merit. This scoring system allows for easy comparison to assist you in informed decision-making.

Learn how each measure is scored by our team of measurement and evaluation experts on the Scoring page.

The scores for each measure are intended to help you in your decision-making to choose a measure that is the best fit for your needs. 

Measures have different strengths and weaknesses across the four categories (cost, usability, cultural relevance, and technical merit), and the choice of use depends on the context and purpose. You can also set your preferences for a desired minimum score of measures for each category. 

For example, a user who is interested in a language measure but wants low costs and electronic administration can compare scores across measures to find the language measure that is most appropriate for their needs.  

All measures included in the IMPACT Measures Tool® database are selected based on the following three main criteria: relevance to particular domains, availability of measure information, and membership to a measure family.

Domains include: caregiver health and well-being, child mental health, overall child development, social-emotional development, language development, executive function, academic skills, family/home environment, classroom/childcare quality, and caregiver-child interaction.

Given our team’s expertise in early childhood as well as the lack of high quality standardized measures in the field, we specifically focus on measures relevant to families with children ages zero to five.

The availability of measure information is also a deciding factor in the measure selection process. Specifically, published measures with publicly accessible evidence (e.g., descriptive characteristics, psychometric information) are included in the database.

Measures from the same measure family (collection of individual measures which share the same core elements) are also included in the database.

In order for measures in additional languages to be scored as individual measures in a measure family, technical merit evidence must be available. Translations are included in the Measures Detail page.

Our team of measurement and evaluation experts is made up of mission-oriented researchers with extensive experience in early childhood development, education, and public health. 

Our experts have an educational background (PhD, master’s, and bachelor’s level) in educational psychology, developmental psychology, prevention science, and more. Additionally, the IMPACT Measures Tool® team refers to an advisory team composed of measurement experts for ongoing input and review.