The purpose of this book is to operationalize--that is, make meaningful--the Guidelines for Appropriate Curriculum Content and Assessment, developed jointly by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and the National Association of Early Childhood Specialists in State Departments of Education (NAESC/SDE) in 1991. The guidelines were designed to address two basic problems: the "early childhood error" (inadequate attention to the content of the curriculum) and the "elementary error" (overattention to curriculum objectives, with less attention to the individual child). The document focuses on ways in which children, teachers, and administrators, as well as curriculum and assessment tools, can reach or be used to their full potential. The first section, on reaching potentials through appropriate curriculum and assessment, includes four chapters: (1) "Reaching Potentials: Introduction," by S. Bredekamp and T. Rosegrant; (2) "Guidelines for Appropriate Curriculum Content and Assessment in Programs Serving Children Ages 3 through 8," a position statement of the NAEYC/NAECS/SDE; (3) "Reaching Potentials through Appropriate Curriculum: Conceptual Frameworks for Applying the Guidelines," by S. Bredekamp and T. Rosegrant; and (4) "Reaching Potentials through Appropriate Assessment," by T. W. Hills. The next section, on reaching individual potentials, includes: "Reaching Individual Potentials through Transformational Curriculum," by T. Rosegrant and S. Bredekamp; "Planning and Implementing Transformational Curriculum," by T. Rosegrant and S. Bredekamp; and "Reaching Potentials of Children with Special Needs," by M. Wolery, P. S. Strain, and D. B. Bailey, Jr. The third section, on reaching potentials of all children, includes: "Reaching Potentials through Antibias, Multicultural Curriculum," by L. Derman-Sparks; "Reaching Potentials of Minority Children through Developmentally and Culturally Appropriate Programs," by B. T. Bowman; "Reaching Potentials Through Bilingual Education," by Liz Wolfe; and "Reaching Potentials in a Multilingual Classroom: Opportunities and Challenges," by T. Rosegrant. The final section, on reaching the potentials of teachers and administrators, includes: "Two Primary Teachers Learn and Discover through a Process of Change," by D. W. Burchfield and B. C. Burchfield; and "The Process of Change: The Redwood City Story," by L. Espinosa. A 105-item bibliography is included. (SLD)