tracking children’s development longitudinally, stimulating educa-
tion policy and action, and enhancing equity of opportunity within
and across communities.
Longitudinal Tracking
Having a capability to interpret information about children’s early
development at school entry both forward (prospectively) and back-
ward (retrospectively) is an important feature in measuring out-
comes. With retrospective tracking, researchers could assess and un-
derstand the qualities of early development for children, from birth
until entry into kindergarten or primary school, within and across
geographic areas or socioeconomic classes. With prospective tracking,
researchers could help communities and/or government monitor and
support children’s continued development in the school system,
from entry into kindergarten and beyond, as linked with the stu-
dents’ actual performance in school.
The tracking of progress and changes longitudinally is essential for
monitoring the effect of ECD programs and the accountability of re-
sources spent on programs. The trends in early child development
over time are useful evidence for development of ECD initiatives and
programs and for relating policies to action (e.g., monitoring the ef-
fect of ECD policies). All of these data are useful not only to ECD re-
searchers and practitioners, but also—and most importantly—to
communities and policymakers who can take corrective action to im-
prove the development of young children.
Policy and Action
Data on the status of children when they enter school are informa-
tive for a nation’s overall education policy and practice and for efforts
targeted to meet the needs of diverse population groups. For exam-
ple, a number of investigators have measured child development at
the time of school entry, specifically to examine the relationship be-
tween early child development and performance in school.
The results provide the rationale for change. Two informative find-
ings in the United States, for example, are that:
270 J. Fraser Mustard and Mary Eming Young