Early Childhood Outcomes - Indicator 7

The federal Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) requires local school districts to report outcomes data for every child ages three through five who receives special education services. Early childhood outcomes data is collected when a child begins to receive special education services and again when the child exits from preschool special education services. Additional information about early childhood outcomes reporting can be found on this parent information sheet.

Early childhood outcomes for preschool children receiving special education services are reported annually to OSPI. The Child Outcomes Summary Form (COSF) is the tool used in Washington to measure early childhood outcomes.

Child Outcomes Step By Step (Video, 2011). This 9-minute video is an introduction to the early childhood outcomes for young children ages birth through five. Produced by the Early Childhood Outcomes Center.

Introduction to Child Outcomes Summary Form (COSF) (OSPI, 1/09, PDF)
This Power Point describes the requirement for reporting COSF data and outlines the basic process of collecting COSF data.

Child Outcomes Summary Form (COSF) Refresher Training (OSPI, Fall 2009, PDF)
This Power Point provides advanced information for special education staff and administrators responsible for collecting COSF data.

Washington State webinar with ECO Center (OSPI and ECO, 07/13/11, PDF)
This webinar was conducted with the national Early Childhood Outcomes (ECO) Center and the Early Childhood Coordinators at Washington's nine educational service districts. The topic of the webinar is using COSF data for program improvement.

Early Childhood Outcomes (ECO) Center Web site
This is the national technical assistance center funded by the Office of Special Education Programs. The website offers a comprehensive set of resources for state and local administrators, teachers, and families related to implementation of a high-quality outcomes system for early childhood special education programs.

Child Outcome Summary Form (COSF) Resources

• Instructions for Completing the COSF Form (ECO, PDF)
  Instructions for completing the Child Outcomes Summary Form
• Child Outcomes Summary Form (COSF) (OSPI, Excel)
  Form used for annual submission of district-wide entry and exit data to OSPI
• COSF - The Child Outcomes Summary Form (ECO, PDF)
  Also available in DOC (NOT TO BE submitted to OSPI)
  This worksheet is used to determine individual child ratings. Separate worksheets should be used to collect entry and exit data
• Information for Parents (OSPI, 2009, PDF)
  A brief one page description of the Child Outcomes Summary Form process for parents.
• Frequently Asked Questions (OSPI, 2010, PDF)
  This document provides information on early childhood outcomes reporting based on questions from Washington school districts.
• Washington State Early Learning and Development Benchmarks (PDF, 2005)
  A reference for normal development and typical approaches to learning.
• A Guide to Assessment in Early Childhood: Infancy to Age Eight (PDF, 2008)
  Washington State’s guide to early childhood assessment practices and instruments. This resource contains detailed information on 28 screening tools and 78 diagnostic assessments.

COSF Data Quality Assurance

Resources from the Early Childhood Outcomes (ECO) Center:

• Updated Definitions of Outcome Ratings (PDF)
  This updated document contains definitions for each outcomes rating. The form was updated per request from the field to align rating definitions more closely with the decision tree.
• Documentation Key for Outcome Ratings (PDF)
  This document was adapted by a preschool program in North Carolina. It combines the rating definitions with instructions for writing evidence to support COSF ratings.
• Updated Decision Tree (PDF)
  The decision tree is a flow chart used by teams when discussing COSF ratings.
• Guidance for Reviewing Completed COSFs (PDF)
  This document offers guidelines for reviewing completed COSFs.
• Pattern Checking Table (PDF)
  This table describes strategies for looking at data and recognizing red flags for quality assurance purposes.
• Looking at Data (ECO, PPT)
  This Power Point presentation provides background information on how to examine data for quality assurance purposes.

COSF Professional Development: Team Training Activities

Resources from the Early Childhood Outcomes (ECO) Center:

• COSF Team Discussion Quality Review (PDF)
  This worksheet is used in conjunction with the COSF training DVD to rate team discussions.
• Including Families in the COSF Discussion (PDF) is a similar worksheet used to rate the level of family involvement in the COSF process.
• COSF Supporting Evidence Activity Documentation (PDF)
  This activity assists teams in writing evidence to support the COSF rating.
• COSF Factors Data Quality (PDF)
  This worksheet helps teams identify and discuss factors that influence data quality.
• Guidance for Reviewing Completed COSFs (PDF)
  This document offers guidelines for reviewing completed COSFs.
• Pop Quiz: Early Childhood Outcomes (Word), Answers and Explanations (Word)
  Twenty multiple-choice questions and answers related to collecting child outcomes data
• Additional COSF Professional Development Training Activities from the ECO Center
  The Early Childhood Outcomes (ECO) website contains a variety of professional development resources.