Creating the Conditions for Success with Early Learning Standards: Results from a National Study of State-Level Standards for Children's Learning Prior to Kindergarten

Author: Scott-Little, C., Kagan, S.L., Frelow, V.S.
Publisher: Early Childhood and Parenting (ECAP) Collaborative at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Publication Date: 2003, Fall
Retrieve Date: 04/22/2005
Journal: Early Childhood Research and Practice
Journal Volume: 5(2)
Full text available online at: http://ecrp.uiuc.edu/v5n2/little.html

Abstract (written by WestEd)

In 2002, the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and NAECS/SDE co-authored the position statement Early Learning Standards: Creating Conditions for Success. The researchers in this qualitative study first identified that 27 states had any early learning standards in place and then analyzed how well these states' standards aligned with the recommendations in the position statement.

Specifically, they analyzed the content of the standards according to five domains (physical health, cognition, approaches to learning, social-emotional, and language), the degree of linkage to K-12 standards, and the ages covered in the standards. They also analyzed the process of developing the standards and how the standards are being used (including their intended purposes and dissemination strategies). The article closes with a concise summary of the findings and recommendations for future standards development and implementation.