What are the basic skills that 2-year olds have developed?

Cognitive skills of 2-year olds are directly related to socioeconomic status (SES).

Cognitive skills of 2-year-olds vary by race.

• 2-year-olds in the lowest SES category score below those in the middle and highest categories for all five cognitive skills measured.
• The largest difference in cognitive skills between 2-year-olds in the lowest and highest SES categories is in expressive vocabulary (24 percentage points).

• Smaller percentages of black, Hispanic, and American Indian/Alaska Native 2-year-olds demonstrated proficiency in all five cognitive skills compared to white or Asian 2-year-olds.
• American Indian 2-year-olds consistently score lower than 2-year-olds from other groups on all cognitive tests.