Inside the content: The breadth and depth of early learning standards

Standards-based education has become the norm in America’s K-12 education system. Virtually every state in the nation, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, has developed standards to outline expectations for student learning in kindergarten and later grades. Development of standards has been at the heart of the accountability movements in elementary and secondary education. Standards define what teachers should teach, what students should learn, and what should be assessed to determine the degree to which schools have been effective in helping students learn the content articulated in the standards.

The purpose of this study is to provide a picture of what states emphasized in their early learning standards documents and to extract themes or patterns that can provide useful information for those currently engaged in the process of developing or revising standards documents. The process of developing early learning standards is new for the field, and, like any new initiative, there is a need for self-assessment and reflection on what has been done.