Introduction
Standards and the Early Learning Guidelines
The Early Learning Guidelines are not standards. Standards are student learning expectations: concepts children should understand and tasks children should be able to do as a result of skilled instruction. The New York State Education Department sets grade level standards for children from pre-kindergarten through grade 12. The Office of Head Start provides a set of standards for children from birth through age five called the Early Learning Outcomes Framework.
In contrast to standards that describe student learning expectations, the NYS Early Learning Guidelines describe how children develop — what educators might observe children doing at each age level. They are a tool to guide educators in understanding and supporting young children’s growth and development. For example, in social and emotional development, the Early Learning Guidelines state that three-year-old children may express strong feelings physically by kicking, hitting, or throwing items. It is not a learning expectation that three-year-old children express their feelings physically. Educators may use the Early Learning Guidelines to understand the development of emotional self-regulation in young children and to find ways to connect with and support children’s growth in this area.
The Early Learning Guidelines are:
- A resource that educators can refer to for information about how children develop
- A resource for ways educators can support children’s development through:
- self-reflection
- family engagement
- environmental design
- activities
- books
The Early Learning Guidelines are not:
- A screening tool to determine a child’s needs or eligibility for special education services
- An assessment system that can provide valid and reliable information about whether children are meeting widely held expectations for their development
- A set of standards that detail what children are expected to learn at each age level
- A curriculum, although you can use them to individualize experiences for children