DAYC
DEVELOPMENTAL ASSESSMENT OF YOUNG
CHILDREN
Who Can Administer?
“Examiners who give and interpret the DAYC should
have formal training in assessment.”
“Training should result in thorough understanding of
testing statistics and general procedures governing
test administration, scoring and interpretation.”
How Long does it take to administer?
 Each subtest can be completed in 10-20 minutes.
 Overall assessment one hour
What Areas Does DAYC test?
 Physical Development (combines fine and gross
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

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motor)
Communication (combines expressive/receptive)
Adaptive
Social-Emotional
Cognitive
Age
Birth to 5 years 11 months
Adjusting for Prematurity
When testing a premature child, use the
child’s chronological age for
determining standard scores. An
adjusted age may provide helpful
clinical information to write an
Informed Clinical Opinion (to qualify or
not).
Administering Procedures
1
Observation
2
Interview
3
Direct Assessment
Observation
The examiner may observe the child at play or
interacting with the caregiver to determine if the
child has specific skills.
Example:
 Tells caregiver of toilet needs in time to get to the
toilet.
 Crosses street safely.
Interview
The examiner may go over test items with caregivers
for skills unable to be observed or assessed at that
time.
Example:
 May ask the caregiver if the child sleeps through the
night.
Direct Assessment
Several items require that the examiner test the child
directly.
Example:
 Matches simple shapes, such as circle, square,
triangle.
Where to Start the Test
Each subtest is broken down into brackets indicating
the starting point.
Scoring
 Items are “Passed” or “Not Passed”
1 point
 Not passed are scored 0
 Passed items earn a
Basal
3 consecutive 1 items
The True Basal is the one closet
to the ceiling
Ceiling
3 out of 5 items are failed
The true ceiling is the one that is
closet to the basal
Raw Score
Example A: 34
How: Last number of Basal is (32) + all “1”
between the basal and the ceiling (2) = 34 (credit
given to 25 because it fell bellow the basal)
Example B: 19
How: Last number of basal (14) + all “1” between
the basal and ceiling (5) = 19
Example C: 15
How: No basal was established (common with
severe kids) All points were summer =19
Example D: 34
How: Examiner should have started at item 30 (due
to age) and stopped when achieved ceiling. Test is
always scored as if the basal and ceiling had been
attained properly. Last number in basal (32) + all
“1” between basal and ceiling (2) = 34
Converting Raw Score to Percentile
Step 1: Take Raw score (example Cognitive for 11
month old: 14) to Appendix A
Converting Raw score to Percentile Cont.
Step 2: Take Standard Score (94) to Appendix C
(percentile conversion chart)
QUESTIONS?