Indicator: Developmental progress: perceptual, motor, and physical development

Definition

Children develop and demonstrate progress toward gross and fine motor skills, and an understanding of health, safety, and nutrition.

Recommended Metric(s)

Percentage of children meeting benchmarks on a teacher- or parent-observed developmental assessment

Example Instruments

Not finding an instrument that suits your needs? Visit EdInstruments.org for more measurement tools.

Or, percentage of students meeting benchmarks on direct child assessment administered by teachers, healthcare professionals, or other qualified adults

Example Instruments

Not finding an instrument that suits your needs? Visit EdInstruments.org for more measurement tools.

Type(s) of Data Needed

Assessments

Why it matters

Gross motor skills predict children’s social competencies and physical well-being,1, 2, 3 and are a gateway to engagement in learning and social activities, including sports and games, throughout the school years.4, 5 Fine motor skills are associated more robustly with academic achievement.6, 7 Preschool children from families with low incomes score significantly lower on direct assessments of visual and motor skills compared with children from families with higher incomes.8, 9, 10 As noted under E-W system conditions, there is inequitable access to quality pre-K education that promotes positive outcomes for all children.

Note: This indicator has been updated from ‘kindergarten readiness’ to ‘developmental progress’ to reflect a child’s growth across developmental milestones rather than being ready at a single point in time. This term also aligns with the System Transformation for Equitable Preschools (STEP Forward with Data) Framework (Child Trends, November 2023). Alternate terms for developmental progress may include kindergarten readiness, school readiness, and/or early child development and progress.  

What to know about measurement

Children’s perceptual, motor, and physical development can be measured with direct child assessments. However, they may be burdensome to assess for all children. For example, the Peabody Developmental Motor Scale comprehensively assesses these interrelated motor abilities, but is composed of six subtests that measure reflexes, ability to control one’s body, ability to move from one place to another, ability to manipulate objects such as balls (for example, catching, throwing, kicking), ability to use one’s hands, and visual-motor integration. An increasingly common option to measure this indicator is through developmental assessments that teachers can complete. These teacher-reported assessments, which include domains such as Physical Development – Health on the DRDP, ask teachers to rate children’s awareness of their own physical effort, body awareness, spatial awareness, and directional awareness.

In the System Transformation for Equitable Preschools Framework, Child Trends emphasizes the importance of using multiple forms of evidence to assess a child’s developmental progress. This could include observational or direct child assessments, as well as information from parents, pediatricians, counselors, therapists, or other organizations serving the child. Using multiple forms of evidence can help ensure that preschool systems do not over-rely on a single source that might not be culturally or developmentally appropriate for the child, as well as provide information that is meaningful for families.11

Source frameworks

Developmental progress or a related term, such as kindergarten readiness, appeared in 10 source frameworks reviewed for this report. Our proposed definition and measures align with the five domains of school readiness summarized in the Getting Ready framework, prepared by Rhode Island KIDS COUNT; they also are included in the Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework.

References

    • 11

      Bui Lin, V.-K., Esposito Hackett, S., Richards, D. E., King, C., & Bredeson, M. (2024). About the System Transformation for Equitable Preschools (STEP Forward with Data) framework. Child Trends. https://www.childtrends.org/publications/about-system-transformation-equitable-preschools-framework 

    • 1

      Sattelmair, J., & Ratey, J. J. (2009). Physically active play and cognition: An academic matter. In Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois (Eds.), American Journal of Play (pp. 365–374). University of Illinois.

    • 2

      Wilson, A., Piek, J. P., & Kane, R. (2013). The mediating role of social skills in the relationship between motor ability and internalizing symptoms in pre-primary children. Infant and Child Development, 22(2), 151–164. http://doi.org/10.1002/icd.1773

    • 3

      Harter, S., & Pike, R. (1984). The pictorial scale of perceived competence and social acceptance for young children. Child Development, 55(6), 1969–1982. http://doi.org/10.2307/1129772

    • 4

      Pagani, L. S., & Messier, S. (2012). Links between motor skills and indicators of school readiness at kindergarten entry in urban disadvantaged children. Journal of Educational and Developmental Psychology, 2(1), 95–107. http://doi.org/10.5539/jedp.v2n1p95

    • 5

      Skinner, R. A., & Piek, J. P. (2001). Psychosocial implications of poor motor coordination in children and adolescents. Human Movement Science, 20(1–2), 73–94. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0167-9457(01)00029-x 

    • 6

      Grissmer, D., Grimm, K. J., Aiyer, S. M., Murrah, W. M., & Steele, J. S. (2010). Fine motor skills and early comprehension of the world: Two new school readiness indicators. Developmental Psychology, 46(5), 1008–1017.

    • 7

      Son, S. H., & Meisels, S. J. (2006). The relationship of young children’s motor skills to later reading and math achievement. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 52(4), 755–778. https://www.jstor.org/stable/23096032

    • 8

      Bowman, O. J., & Wallace, B. (1990). The effects of socioeconomic status on hand size and strength, vestibular function, visuomotor integration, and praxis in preschool children. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 44, 610–621. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.44.7.610 

    • 9

      West, J., Denton, K., & Germino-Hausken, E. (2000). America’s kindergartners: Findings from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998–99: Fall 1998 (NCES Publication No. 2000-605). Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education. https://eric.ed.gov/?q=sample&pg=8280&id=ED438089 

    • 10

      McPhillips, M., & Jordan-Black, J. A. (2007). The effect of social disadvantage on motor development in young children: a comparative study. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 48(12), 1214–1222. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.2007.01814.x