November 30 - December 1, 2007

With increased public attention on the importance of the early childhood years and the No Child Left Behind Legislation comes the need for screening and diagnosis, assessment for curriculum planning, intervention, and program evaluation. This conference focuses on developing meaningful intervention by using the outcomes of assessment to inform intervention planning, both at home and in school. Some of the topics to be addressed are: Social/emotional factors to handle school preparedness at the pre-school and kindergarten levels; cognitive and early literacy skills expected of young children; recent tests used for screening and intervention planning; and the relationship of the law to the assessment of preschoolers. Participants will receive reviews of recent assessment measures. They will engage in smaller group sessions to explore intervention activities. Issues regarding traditional assessment and alternatives to testing will be raised and discussed as well as concerns for equity at the early childhood levels. The Friday conference includes formal discussions and presentations by regional experts. Saturday offers participants the opportunity to engage in dialogue on “hot-topic” issues through roundtable discussions moderated by Professors Ann Boehm and Barbara Sandberg.