7 Ideas for Using Your ASQ Data

If you’re like the thousands of early educators worldwide who use ASQ, you’ll be administering ASQ-3 and ASQ:SE-2 questionnaires in 2026 to check young children’s development. Keep in mind that the data you collect via ASQ screenings can be used all year to support young children and their families!
In this article, learn about 7 important ways ASQ data can help you promote healthy development year-round and set the stage for the long-term success of young children. (These tips were suggested by ASQ co-developers Jane Squires and Elizabeth Twombly.)

Deepen your knowledge of the children in your classroom. ASQ data can expand your knowledge of each child and help you determine their strongest skill areas. The data also shows where a child’s development is age-appropriate and pinpoints domains where the child might benefit from support. (A great place to start would be the ASQ-3 Screening Results, by Child and ASQ:SE-2 Screening Results, by Child reports, which give you a quick snapshot of each child’s development.) At the beginning of each school year, you can use this data to better understand the new children in your classroom.

Weave targeted supports into your daily instruction. For example, if your ASQ data shows that several children would benefit from additional support with fine motor skills, you might place various items of clothing with large buttons in your classroom’s play area so children can build dexterity in their hands and wrists by buttoning and unbuttoning.

Group children according to their strengths and needs. Using ASQ data as a guide, you might try organizing children into groups to more efficiently boost different skills for the entire class. For instance, one small group can explore building with blocks and Legos, while another group can play in the dress-up corner with costumes and acting out stories.

Help families understand their child’s strengths. Take time to discuss ASQ after it has been completed and help family members understand the data. Give families a chance to contribute their concerns as well as pride in their child’s strengths. Understanding what the ASQ data says will often help families feel they know their child better, which will help them celebrate and advocate for their child.

Find learning activities to support progress. ASQ data can help you pinpoint appropriate follow-up learning activities that will allow the child to practice specific skills throughout their daily schedule. Find dozens of simple, fun, and low-cost activity ideas in the ASQ-3 and ASQ:SE-2 Learning Activities. (The ASQ Online management system makes it easy to email these activities to families!)

Plan topics for family nights. Reviewing ASQ reports will allow you to see any areas of development where multiple children might need more focused intervention. For example, if several children in your class could benefit from additional support with communication skills, you could hold an information night for families where you share tips and resources for supporting communication development.

Adjust your classroom’s physical layout. For example, if ASQ data reveals that multiple children would benefit from additional support with their gross motor skills, consider rearranging classroom elements to create a space where children can play catch with a soft, medium-sized ball, or toss beanbags into a small box. For children who would benefit from additional support with fine motor skills, you might increase the size of your writing center and add additional materials.

When you harness the power of ASQ data, you maximize every child’s potential by getting to know each of your learners, fine-tuning your classroom, and building mutually supportive relationships with parents and families. Use the guidelines in this article to support a successful new year and give every young learner the best possible start in life!

See what ASQ Online reports can do for you

How can you make sense of a large volume of ASQ data when you’re tasked with managing and monitoring screening results for an entire classroom or school? With more than a dozen different reporting options to choose from, the ASQ Online data management system can help you track child development trends and shape decision-making for children across classrooms and programs. See how in this ASQ Online Reports Guide.

See the guide

To learn more about developmental and social-emotional screening with the most trusted screeners, check out the ASQ website and visit our Resource Library for hundreds of free ASQ resources!