Useful to Parent Centers in learning about or informing families about the Child Outcomes Summary process used by early intervention and early childhood special education staff.

This online learning module from ECTA Center and DaSy provides key information about the child outcomes summary (COS) process and the practices that contribute to consistent and meaningful COS decision-making.

About COS | The COS process is a team process for summarizing information on a child’s functioning in each of the 3 child outcome areas using a 7-point scale. With the COS process, a team of individuals who are familiar with a child (including parents) can consider multiple sources of information about his/her functioning, including parent/provider observation and results from direct assessment. Additionally, the COS process allows early intervention and early childhood special education programs to synthesize information about children across different assessment tools to produce data that can be summarized across programs in the state, as well as across states for a national picture.

Have a look at ECTA’s 1-page overview of the process:
https://ectacenter.org/~pdfs/eco/cos-overview-process.pdf

You’ll need to register for the module, then will be automatically redirected to the module. The module is self-paced, so users may access it as often as desired.

Main page describing this resource:
https://ectacenter.org/eco/pages/cos.asp

Registration page:
https://unc.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8k8MRoa4doTjDHT

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More about the Learning Module | Over the course of multiple sessions, participants will learn about:

  • why child outcomes data are collected;
  • the key features of the COS process;
  • the essential knowledge needed to complete the COS process;
  • how the three child outcomes are measured through the process;
  • how to identify accurate COS ratings using a team-based process;
  • the importance of comparing children’s current functional performance to age-expected functioning;
  • when and how to measure progress in the three child outcome areas; and
  • how to document ratings and evidence to support those ratings in COS documentation.

Links and abstract updated, May 2023