DCF Behavioral Observation and Screening (BOAS) – Study Guide Exam Questions and Verified Answers (2026/2027)

DCF Behavioral Observation and Screening (BOAS) – Study Guide Exam Questions and Verified Answers (2026/2027) Physical health - ANSWER -Refer to the changes in body shape and proportion. It includes change in weight, height, and etc. Motor development - ANSWER -Refers to a child's ability to make about and control body parts such as grasping, rolling over, hopping, etc. Cognitive development and general knowledge - ANSWER -Refers to a child's intellectual or mental abilities. It involves finding processing and organizing information and using it appropriately. Discovering interpreting, sorting, classifying, and remembering information. Language and communication - ANSWER -Refers to child's ability to express himself verbally and to receive and understand the verbal communication of others. It involves vocabulary, grammar, reading, writing, and ability to understand things around them. Approaches to learning - ANSWER -Refers to how skills and knowledge are acquired through the three qualities eagerness and curiosity, persistence and creativity, and problem solving Social and emotional - ANSWER -Focuses how children feel about themselves and their relationships with others. Refers to individual behavior, responses to play and work activities, attachment to parents and relationships with siblings and friends. Age-level expectancies - ANSWER -Represent a range (rather than an exact point in time) when specific skills will be achieved. Activity: • laughing and show pleasure at interaction - 8 to 18 months • digs through sand to find hidden toys - 24 to 36 months • inspects own hands and feet - birth to 8 months • repeat words over and over - 18 to 24 months Tools for recording observations of children - ANSWER -- check lists - anecdotal records * facts: - record only facts - record every detail, don't leave out anything - take brief notes throughout the day, but fill in the details as soon as possible - use action words that describe but do not judge - record the facts in the order they occur Observation skills - ANSWER -- the observer must be totally objective - do not try to observe more than one child at a time - do not influence the child's responses by your presence - make sure there is adequate space for the observation - make sure that distractions are kept to the minimum - use an area that is familiar to the child - make sure you build a relationship with the child and the parents Observation definition - ANSWER -- participant observation: allows you to one interact with children directly and ask them certain things - overt observation: you do not hide the fact you are observing a child's actions - non-participant observation: the observer is concealed behind a screen or a 2-way mirror and does not interact with the child - convert observation: when the children are not told they are using observed Developmental screening - ANSWER -- the screening process can not confirm a disability - screening helps to identify children that could be benefit from childhood intervention programs - most screening instruments are divided into the categories of physical, cognitive, language, and social/emotional - the social/ emotional developmental domain is more difficult to test The main purpose if any good screening tool - ANSWER -Is to identify children who are in need of further evaluation to determine whether they are candidates for early intervention services • screening program should be: - easily - accurately - affordable Screening programs - ANSWER -- developmental screening instruments: focuses on observation and provides initial information that can facilitate learning - achievement tests: measure knowledge or skills a child has learned - social-emotional/ behavioral screening tests: brief test that target social-emotional issues - readiness test: brief achievement test geared to show whether a child is ready to benefit from a specific program - instructional assessments: based on children's work in the classroom Sound screening tools are - ANSWER -- reliable - valid - free of bias 6 common elements of screening instruments - ANSWER -1. A record keeping system 2. Information sheets 3. Questions 4. Scoring sheets 5. Interpretation scale 6. Decision guide