Early Childhood Indicators of Progress : Minnesota’s Early Learning Standards Ages Three to Five

These early learning standards provide a framework for understanding and communicating a common set of developmentally appropriate expectations for children, presented within a context of shared responsibility and accountability for helping children meet these expectations. The guidelines express shared expectations for young children’s learning and provide a common language for measuring progress toward achieving the goals. The guidelines are written to include children developing at different rates and with different patterns of behavior. The document is divided into six domains that reflect the full range of child development as recommended by national guidelines: (1) Social and Emotional Development, (2) Approaches to Learning, (3) Language and Literacy Development, (4) Creativity and the Arts, (5) Cognitive Development, and (6) Physical and Motor Development. The domains are further divided into 3–5 components that designate important areas of children’s development within each domain. Indicators of children’s progress in gaining concepts, knowledge, and skills are then specified within each component.