The best childhood predictor of later adult adaptation is the adequacy with which a child gets along with other children. Because social development begins in the early years, it is appropriate that early childhood programs include regular formal and informal assessment of children's acquisition of social competence. This digest presents the Social Attributes Checklist, which teachers may use to measure children's social behavior. The digest explains the rationale for and the use of the checklist. The checklist contains 8 items that measure children's individual attributes, such as mood, coping, and empathy; 14 items that measure social skill attributes, such as assertion of rights, participation in discussions, and interest in others; and 2 items that measure the peer relationship attributes of peer acceptance and participation in activities with other children. In order to use the checklist effectively, teachers should: (1) sample children's social functioning over a period of about a month; (2) recognize that the quality of children's relationships is a more important index of social functioning than the quantity of relationships; (3) recognize that the attributes listed should usually, and not necessarily always, characterize a child's behavior; (4) implement strategies to help children outgrow social difficulties; and (5) understand that what constitutes appropriate or effective social behavior may differ in different cultural and family backgrounds. (BC)