Children’s mean mental scale score at about 9 months of age and the percentage possessing specific cognitive abilities, by child and family characteristics: 2001

Contexts of Elementary and Secondary Education: Tables

Early Development of Children

Table 35-3. Children’s mean mental scale score at about 9 months of age and the percentage possessing specific cognitive abilities, by child and family characteristics: 2001–02

		Percent
Child and family characteristic	Mean mental scale score	Explores objects in play	Explores purposefully	Babbles	Early problem solving	Uses words

Total	77	99	91	55	9	3
Age
Less than 10 months	74	99	88	47	3	1
11–13 months	83	100	98	72	17	5
14–22 months	93	100	99	89	46	27
Sex
Male	77	99	90	54	9	3
Female	78	99	91	55	9	3
Race/ethnicity¹
American Indian	80	99	92	61	14	5
Asian/Pacific Islander	77	99	90	54	8	2
Black	77	99	90	54	9	3
White	78	99	91	55	9	3
Hispanic	77	99	90	54	9	3
Birth weight²
Normal	77	99	91	55	9	3
Low	76	99	88	51	7	3
Very low	73	98	81	45	5	1
Poverty status
Poor	77	99	89	53	9	3
Nonpoor	77	99	91	55	9	3
Mother’s education
Less than high school	77	99	90	54	9	3
High school diploma or equivalent	77	99	90	55	9	3
Some college	78	99	91	56	10	4
Bachelor’s degree or higher	77	99	91	54	9	3
Family type
Two parents, with other siblings	77	99	90	54	8	3
Two parents, without other siblings	78	99	92	56	10	3
One parent, with other siblings	77	99	89	54	9	3
One parent, without other siblings	78	99	92	56	10	3
Primary language spoken in the home
English	77	99	91	55	9	3
Language other than English	77	99	89	53	8	3
Number of family risk factors³
Zero	77	99	91	55	9	3
One	78	99	91	55	9	3
Two or more	77	99	89	53	9	3

¹American Indian includes Alaska Native, Black includes African American, Pacific Islander includes Native Hawaiian, and Hispanic includes Latino. Race catagories exclude Hispanic origin unless specified.
²Normal birth weight is more than 5.5 pounds; low birthweight is more than 3.3 to 5.5 pounds; and very low birthweight is 3.3 pounds or less.
³Family risk factors include living below the poverty level, living in a household where the primary language was not English, having a mother whose highest education was less than a high school diploma or equivalent, and living in a single-parent household. See supplemental note 1 for more information on mother’s education and poverty.
NOTE: While the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort (ECLS–B) was designed to collect information on children about 9 months of age (i.e., 8 to 10 months), children were assessed as young as 6 months and as old as 22 months. Seventy-two percent of the children were between 8 and 10 months at the time of the assessment, and 84 percent were between 8 and 11 months. The assessment included here is the Bayley Short Form–Research Edition (BSF–R). For more information on the BSF–R and ECLS–B, see supplemental note 3.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort (ECLS–B), Restricted-Use File (NCES 2004–093), previously unpublished tabulation (January 2005).

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