A child's ability to develop relationships and connections with others, a sense of who he or she is in the world, and an ability to control impulses and emotions are at the core of social-emotional development. In early childhood, parent reports are one of the most common methods for assessing this type of development. However, parents from different cultural and language backgrounds may vary in their: (1) perceptions of the importance of different social-emotional indicators; (2) willingness to discuss particular behaviors; and (3) ability to understand certain words and phrases. This brief presents findings from the Universal Preschool Child Outcomes Study, which examined a diverse group of Los Angeles preschoolers. The study integrated three strategies--card sorts, focus groups, and cognitive interviewing--to look at how children's social-emotional behavior could be reliably and validly assessed through parent reports. Rather than identify one piloting strategy as more valid, the authors stress the importance of examining measures developed by and for clinicians and the implications of using these measures with diverse populations. (Contains 3 figures.) [This report was based from "Los Angeles Universal Preschool Programs, Children Served, and Children's Progress in the Preschool Year: Final Report of the First 5 LA Universal Preschool Child Outcomes Study" by John Love, Sally Atkins-Burnett, Cheri Vogel, Nikki Aikens, Yange Xue, Maricar Mabutas, Barbara Lepidus Carlson, Emily Sama Martin, Nora Paxton, Margaret Caspe, Susan Sprachman, and Kathy Sonnenfeld.]