PRESCHOOL EVALUATION
SCALE-SECOND EDITION
(PES-2)
by Stephen B. McCarney, Ed.D.
Tamara J. Athaud, PhD.
Copyright © 2010

The Preschool Evaluation Scale-Second Edition (PES-2) was developed to provide educators, diagnosticians, pediatricians, and psychologists with a measure of child development from 0 through 72 months of age. The PES-2 may be used to contribute to the early identification of students with developmental delays for the purpose of implementing an intervention plan for remediation. The PES-2 is based on the most commonly recognized domains of child development identified in the federal definition of developmental delays (PL 99-457). Each subscale is associated with one of the developmental domains: Large Muscle Skills, Small Muscle Skills, Cognitive Thinking, Expressive Language Skills, Social/Emotional, and Self-Help Skills.
Internal consistency, test-retest, and inter-rater reliability; item analysis; and content, criterion-related, diagnostic, and construct validity are documented and reported for the scale.
The PES-2 is completed by a child-care professional in the child’s home or while other screening activities are taking place. The PES-2 can be completed without requiring additional time on the part of screening or diagnostic personnel. For early and efficiently gained developmental information, the PES-2 is a must for all preschool screening. Converting raw scores to standard scores is a clerical activity and involves no more than a few minutes per subscale.