Assessing State Standards and Assessments

The National Educational Goals Panel defined five inter-related dimensions of readiness for young children: health and physical development; emotional well-being and social competence; approaches to learning; communicative skills; and cognition and general knowledge. Building upon this work, researchers at the Center collaborated with the Regional Educational Laboratory at SERVE and the National Association for the Education of Young Children to learn how each state has developed and defined early learning standards for its children. Detailed interviews with state-level early care and education experts shed light on the degree to which the framework developed by the Goals Panel has been implemented and identified other theoretical and/or philosophical paradigms that have influenced state standards. The final report derived from this survey was the most comprehensive source of information available on early learning standards in the country.

Funding Source: A.L. Mailman Family Foundation.

Contact: Sharon Lynn Kagan, Ed.D.