Reload images Reload Images Understanding the AEDI results

The AEDI results provide important information about the development of Australia’s children as they start school.

Teachers complete a Checklist for children in their first year of formal full-time school. The checklist measures five key areas, or domains, of child development: physical health and wellbeing social competence emotional maturity language and cognitive skills (school-based) communication skills and general knowledge. For a full description of the AEDI visit How is the information collected?

An AEDI score (0 – 10) is allotted for each domain which will place each child in the following categories relative to other children in Australia in 2012: Developmentally ‘on track’ Developmentally ‘at risk’ Developmentally ‘vulnerable’ For this reason the AEDI is a relative measure How are AEDI results calculated?

On track Developmentally Vulnerable Developmentally at risk AEDI domain percentile th percentile 10 th percentile The AEDI is a relative measure In 2009, children who scored above the 25 th percentile were classified as ‘developmentally on track’. In 2009, children who scored between the 10th and 25th percentile were classified as ‘developmentally at risk’. In 2009, children who scored below the 10 th percentile were classified as ‘developmentally vulnerable’. 50

The AEDI is a relative measure AEDI results are reported at a: AEDI Local Community AEDI community State/territory and National level.

The AEDI results pinpoint where communities are doing well and where they can improve to better support children

Understanding the AEDI: numbers and proportions Numbers: the actual number of children developmentally vulnerable (e.g. 10 children) Proportion: a percentage of children developmentally vulnerable (e.g. 10 children out of 20 = 50%) Why is it important to consider both the proportion of children developmentally vulnerable and the number of children this represents? A high proportion does not necessarily mean a large number of children. Similarly, a low proportion in a large community may still equate to a large number of children.

Understanding the 2012 AEDI results The best way to understand the 2012 AEDI results is to compare how well children in a community are doing relative to other children both within their community and across Australia.

Understanding the 2009 and 2012 AEDI results With each successive AEDI data collection ( ) there is an opportunity to track how Australian children are progressing over time

2009 – 2012 comparative results If children are doing better... On track Developmentally Vulnerable Developmentally at risk On track Vulnerable Developmentally at risk Cut off same as Larger proportion of children are on track Smaller proportion of children are developmentally vulnerable AEDI domain score

The AEDI results help communities understand where their strengths and vulnerabilities lie. This enables communities to work together, learn how to strengthen their community and give their children the best start in life.

The AEDI results can be used with other sociodemographic and community indicators

Where can I find the results? AEDI results are publicly reported via: National report Online maps Community Profiles School Profiles

AEDI maps and tables: green shading The proportions and numbers of children developmentally vulnerable are shown as follows: Areas shaded in lighter greens have lower proportions of developmentally vulnerable children Areas shaded in darker greens have higher proportions of developmentally vulnerable children. Highest proportion Lowest proportion No data

Australian Early Development Index For further information, please visit…