New Visions for the Developmental Assessment of Infants and Young Children
New Visions editors: Samuel J. Meisels, Ed.D., and Emily Fenichel, M.S.W.

Written in collaboration with parents, New Visions promotes a comprehensive approach to assessment that builds on young children's strengths and capabilities, not deficits. It also encourages a more accurate understanding of how children manage the challenges of everyday life in relation to their families, communities and culture.

New Visions recommends the following to ensure a more accurate assessment Young children should never be separated during the assessment from their parents or caregivers.    Children should not be expected to perform tests well when they are anxious about being separated from their parents.   Young children should never be assessed by a strange examiner.    Formal tests or tools should not be the cornerstone of the assessment of an infant or young child. Most standardized tests are not designed to bring out the unique abilities of children with atypical or challenging developmental patterns. Misleading scores from these tests can lead to inappropriate services. Structured tests should be only one piece of an integrated approach.   Assessments limited to areas that are easily measurable should not be considered complete. Measures of motor or cognitive skills are not an accurate picture of the child's total developmental capabilities.    A complete assessment should reflect a parent's experience with a child and include independent observations of a child's interaction with the parent.