%0 Journal Article %J Journal of Outcomes Measurement %D 1999 %T Competency gradient for child-parent centers %A Bezruczko, N. %K *Models, Statistical %K Activities of Daily Living/classification/psychology %K Adolescent %K Chicago %K Child %K Child, Preschool %K Early Intervention (Education)/*statistics & numerical data %K Female %K Follow-Up Studies %K Humans %K Male %K Outcome and Process Assessment (Health Care)/*statistics & numerical data %X This report describes an implementation of the Rasch model during the longitudinal evaluation of a federally-funded early childhood preschool intervention program. An item bank is described for operationally defining a psychosocial construct called community life-skills competency, an expected teenage outcome of the preschool intervention. This analysis examined the position of teenage students on this scale structure, and investigated a pattern of cognitive operations necessary for students to pass community life-skills test items. Then this scale structure was correlated with nationally standardized reading and math achievement scores, teacher ratings, and school records to assess its validity as a measure of the community-related outcome goal for this intervention. The results show a functional relationship between years of early intervention and magnitude of effect on the life-skills competency variable. %B Journal of Outcomes Measurement %V 3 %P 35-52 %G eng %M 10063771