AEPS was aligned with OSEP Indicators #3 and #7 in the fall of 2005, and the crosswalk was expertly validated in January 2006. Download the crosswalk (PDF)

One of the biggest strengths of AEPS is its highly sensitive test. AEPS Test items measure small increments of development, which results in a more accurate assessment of the child's performance across six comprehensive developmental areas. This makes a crucial difference for children with delays, whose progress can go unnoticed by less sensitive instruments.

The AEPS Test not only accurately measures child performance but also helps you ensure that children make real progress. AEPS Test items are seamlessly linked to interventions designed to address the precise skills uncovered by the test results to be next on a child's developmental path. AEPS interventions are proven by extensive research to improve children's skills, including skills that align with the three OSEP child outcomes.

Finally, you can be confident that child outcomes data reported with AEPS and AEPSinteractive™ (AEPSi™) is accurate. The research behind the expertly validated crosswalk (PDF) of the AEPS Test with OSEP Indicator #3 (Part C) and Indicator #7 (Part B Section 619) ensures that the AEPS Test truly measures the outcomes specified by the OSEP indicators.

AEPS uses empirically derived "same-aged peer benchmarks" that function like cutoff scores to help you determine if a child is typically developing or has a delay. If a child's AEPS score is at or above the benchmark, the child is determined as not having delayed development and is performing at the level of same-aged peers. With AEPSi's one-click OSEP Report, children's AEPS scores are automatically compared with the benchmarks, allowing teams to systematically report those children who are performing as same-aged peers in the three OSEP outcome areas.

AEPSi's one-click OSEP Report automatically gathers scores for children on the specific items of the AEPS Test that align with the three OSEP child outcomes, calculates for each child whether he or she is performing at the level of same-aged peers, compares the child's near-entry and near-exit test data, and then sorts the results into the five OSEP Reporting Categories:

1. % of children who did not improve functioning
2. % of children who improved functioning but not sufficient to move nearer to functioning comparable to same-aged peers
3. % of children who improved functioning to a level nearer to same-aged peers but did not reach comparable level (improved developmental trajectory)
4. % of children who improved functioning to reach a level comparable to same-aged peers (gap closers)
5. % of children who maintained functioning at a level comparable to same-aged peers

Administrators with AEPSi enterprise accounts can easily aggregate this data by program or district and state and print or export the data to meet their state's data submission requirements.

AEPSi features one-click reports that automatically gather scores for children on the specific items of the AEPS Test that align with the three OSEP child outcomes, calculates for each child whether he or she is performing at the level of same-aged peers, and then provides recommended 1 through 7 ratings for each child on the ECO COSF based on the child's performance on the AEPS Test. At near-exit, the reports also indicate whether the child has made progress (a requirement of the COSF).