Brief Overview of Standard: To ensure that young children’s experiences are developmentally appropriate, programs are expected to incorporate a comprehensive curriculum and child assessment system that are aligned with the Illinois Early Learning Guidelines for Birth to Three and Illinois Early Learning and Development Standards for Age Three to Five. 

Assessment is a continual process of observing, gathering, recording, and interpreting information to answer questions and make developmental and instructional decisions about children. Child assessment differs from screening in the following ways:

  • Assessments can be used to serve several purposes, such as documenting children’s developmental progress or helping early childhood practitioners plan to meet the individual needs of children; whereas screenings are used only to monitor whether children are at risk for delays in their growth and development.
  • Assessment measures young children’s performance over time rather than attempting to measure their skills and abilities at one point in time.
  • Assessment is often a lengthier process than screening and may require collecting information about children from multiple sources in order to create a comprehensive picture of their skills and abilities. 

Many of the tools in this section are available in English, Spanish, and other languages. 

Specific Tools

Below are curriculums in alphabetical order that have been reviewed and are aligned to the Illinois Early Learning Guidelines for Children Birth to Age Three Years (IELG) and the Illinois Early Learning and Development Standards for Preschool 3 years old to Kindergarten Enrollment Age (IELDS). 

The State of Illinois and its administering agencies (ISBE and IDHS) do not "approve" or "endorse" any specific curriculum for implementation in any of its funded and/or regulated early childhood programs. A Curriculum Crosswalk process was used to determine whether the curriculum is aligned with the Illinois Early Learning Guidelines for ages birth–3, and/or the Illinois Early Learning and Development Standards for ages 3–5. If determined aligned, the curriculum is accepted by ExceleRate Illinois as evidence of program compliance with Standard 1B, Curriculum for centers, and Standard 1D, Curriculum for family child care.

Please Note

  • Aligned curricula are generally acceptable for use in both center-based and family child care settings unless the publisher provides a separate and distinct curriculum for family child care.
  • Child Assessment Tools that accompany and align with the curricula on this list are generally acceptable for Child Assessment Standard 1E in centers and Standard 1D in family child care. A separate alignment process is not required unless the child assessment tool is independent of the curriculum.
  • Even though a curriculum is determined to be aligned with the Illinois Early Learning Guidelines and/or the Illinois Early Learning and Development Standards, it may not meet all criteria as set forth by individual early childhood programs, such as Preschool for All and Head Start. Please check with the appropriate administering agency for specific guidelines.
  • If programs use a core curriculum and then layer on additional or supplement curriculum specific to certain program areas (i.e. literacy, math/STEM, social-emotional, inclusion, etc…) only the core curriculum must be on the aligned curriculum list.  

Aligned Curriculum

Proprietary Curriculum – not available for use in other programs

American Montessori Society (proprietary curriculum - only for AMS)
The Empowered Child (ages 3-5, proprietary curriculum  - only for Child Time Schools)
Goddard Schools Wonder of Learning Curriculum (ages birth-5, proprietary curriculum - only for Goddard Schools)
Early Innovators (ages 3-5, proprietary curriculum - only for La Petite Academy schools)
Kids 'R' Kids First Class Curriculum (ages birth-5, proprietary for Kids 'R' Kids)
Knowledge Universe (proprietary curriculum - only for KinderCare)
Learn As We Grow (ages 2-3, proprietary curriculum – only for Learning Care Group)
Learn from the Start  (birth – age 3, proprietary curriculum – only for Learning Care Group Schools)
Life Essentials (proprietary curriculum - only for schools operated by Kiddie Academy)
Life Smart (ages 3-5, proprietary curriculum – only for Tutor Time schools)
L.E.A.P. Curriculum (proprietary curriculum - only for The Learning Experience)

Child assessment instruments must be research-based and appropriate for the ages served. They must be observational and support regular, ongoing observations that reflect children’s involvement in typical daily classroom activities. They must align with a curriculum that meets ExceleRate Illinois standards or align with the Illinois Early Learning and Development Standards for Preschool and/or with the Illinois Early Learning Guidelines for Children Birth to Age Three. A separate application process is not required unless the instrument is independent of the curriculum.

Please note:  Even though an assessment tool is associated with a curriculum that is determined to be aligned with the Illinois Early Learning Guidelines and/or the Illinois Early Learning and Development Standards, it may not meet all criteria as set forth by individual early childhood programs, such as Preschool for All and Head Start. Please check with the appropriate administering agency for specific guidelines.

INFANTS AND TODDLERS

BRIGANCE Inventory of Early Development (0-35 months)
Curriculum Associates: Programs
This assessment tool covers a broad range of readiness skills to help educators identify each child's specific strengths and needs. Key early learning domains include:

  • Physical Development
  • Language Development
  • Literacy
  • Mathematics and Science
  • Daily Living
  • Social-Emotional Development

Teaching Strategies GOLD
Teaching Strategies GOLD is grounded in 38 objectives that guide teachers throughout the assessment cycle.  The objectives are organized into 10 areas of development and learning, including broad developmental areas, content areas, and English language acquisition. Many of the objectives also include dimensions that guide teachers’ thinking about various aspects of that objective, and help clarify what the objective addresses. Teaching Strategies GOLD can be used with children from birth to five years.

Devereux Early Childhood Assessment (DECA) Infant And Toddler Program
Designed for use with children 1 month through 36 months, the screening and assessment tool focuses on identifying key social and emotional strengths. The planning resources provide caregivers and parents with research-based strategies to promote children’s resilience.  The Infant form is appropriate for children 1 to 18 months, and the Toddler form is appropriate for children 18 to 36 months.

Early Learning Accomplishment Profile (E-LAP) - Kit
The Early Learning Accomplishment Profile (E-LAP) provides a systematic method for observing the skill development of children functioning in the birth to 36 month age- range. The purpose of this criterion-referenced assessment is to assist teachers, clinicians, and parents in assessing individual development. The Early LAP contains a hierarchy of 414 developmental skills arranged in chronological sequence in six domains of development: gross motor, fine motor, cognition, language, self-help, and social-emotional.  

Hawaii Early Learning Profile (HELP) 0-3
HELP 0-3 is a comprehensive, on-going, family centered curriculum based assessment process for infants and toddlers and their families.  HELP domains include Cognitive, Language, Gross Motor, Fine Motor, Social-Emotional, and Self-Help.

High Scope Infant Toddler Child Observation Record
The Child Observation Record for Infants and Toddlers (COR) looks at the whole child — highlighting broad areas of development for children from the ages of 6 weeks to 3 years. The Infant /Toddler assessment tool is based on six categories that represent broad domains of child development. These categories are Sense of self, Social relations, Creative representation, Movement, Communication and language, Exploration, and early logic. 

Ounce Scale
The Ounce Scale offers a meaningful way to evaluate and document children’s growth, accomplishments, areas of difficulty, and temperament.  Designed for use with infants and toddlers, The Ounce Scale is organized around six major developmental areas: Personal connections, Feelings about self, Relationships with other children, Understanding and communicating, Exploration and problem solving, Movement and coordination. Parents’ Evaluation of Developmental.

AIM Assessment
The Frog Street AIM Observational Assessment is designed to assist early childhood teachers and administrators in making thoughtful and developmentally-appropriate decisions for guiding young children’s learning and progress from infancy to kindergarten entry.

PRESCHOOL ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENTS (FOR 3, 4 AND 5 YEAR OLDS)

BRIGANCE Inventory of Early Development (3-5 year olds)
Curriculum Associates: Programs
This assessment tool covers a broad range of readiness skills to help educators identify each child's specific strengths and needs. Key early learning domains include:

  • Physical Development
  • Language Development
  • Literacy
  • Mathematics and Science
  • Daily Living
  • Social-Emotional Development

Devereux Early Childhood Assessment (DECA) Preschool Program
Devereux Early Childhood Initiative
This strength-based assessment and planning system is designed to promote resilience in children ages 3 through 5.

Teaching Strategies GOLD
Teaching Strategies GOLD is grounded in 38 objectives that guide teachers throughout the assessment cycle. The objectives are organized into 10 areas of development and learning, including broad developmental areas, content areas, and English language acquisition. Many of the objectives also include dimensions that guide teachers’ thinking about various aspects of that objective and help clarify what the objective addresses. Teaching Strategies GOLD can be used with children from birth to five years.  

AIM Assessment
The Frog Street AIM Observational Assessment is designed to assist early childhood teachers and administrators in making thoughtful and developmentally-appropriate decisions for guiding young children’s learning and progress from infancy to kindergarten entry.https://highscope.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/COR-Advantage-to-KDIs_March-2018-SS.pdf

Early Learning Scale
The Early Learning Scale, ELS, is an authentic, observation-based performance assessment that provides educators with a practical tool for assessing the progress of students ages 3 to 5 toward school readiness. Based on current research, the ELS integrates well with any curriculum and supports the needs of all student populations. The domains covered by the assessment include Math/Science, Social-Emotional/Social Studies and Language & Literacy. A Motor Development supplement is also available as well.

Hawaii Early Learning Profile (HELP): 3-6 years (2nd Ed.) Extends HELP 0-3
HELP 3-6 is a comprehensive, on-going curriculum-based assessment for use with young children and their families. It complements and extends HELP 0-3. HELP 3-6 domains include Cognitive, Language, Gross Motor, Fine Motor, Social-Emotional, and Self-Help and three new Strands (Self Regulation, Dramatic Play, Time), along with 12 new behaviors/skills.

High/Scope Child Observation Record
The Preschool Child Observation Record (COR) is an observation-based instrument providing systematic assessment of young children's knowledge and abilities in all areas of development.  The Preschool COR is used to assess children from the ages of 2½ to 6 years. The Preschool assessment tool is based on six categories that represent broad domains of child development. These categories are Sense of self, Social relations, Creative representation, Movement, Communication and language, Exploration, and early logic.  

Learning Accomplishment Profile-3 (LAP-3)
The Learning Accomplishment Profile-3 (LAP-3) is designed to help teachers, clinicians, and parents assess, children’s skill development in several, domains of development. Domains include Gross motor, Fine motor, Prewriting, Cognitive, Language, Self-help, and Personal/social. For age range: 36-72 months

Work Sampling System
The Work Sampling System is an assessment tool that can be used with children from preschool to third grade. This tool helps collect information on the child’s work and compare it to grade-specific guidelines, identify what children are learning, what they are beginning to master, and what they still need to work on and inform curriculum and instruction planning.

 

Informational Resources

Center for Early Learning Literacy
A major focus of CELL is technical assistance and coaching that is provided to support early literacy practices for young children birth to 6 years of age.

Early Language Development Standards – for English and Spanish
WIDA (World Class Instructional Design and Assessment) has created Early Language Development Standards, for English and Spanish, for use by early childhood practitioners, including child care, Head Start, preschool/prekindergarten educators, and caregivers. The purpose of the ELD standards is to provide a developmentally sound framework for supporting, instructing, and assessing dual language learners (DLLs), ages 2.5-5.5 years. 

Illinois Early Learning Guidelines for Birth to Three
Developmental Milestones, Infant Toddler Guidelines, and Early Learning Standards: Metrics for Young Children | Illinois Early Learning Project
The Illinois Early Learning Guidelines for Children Birth to Age 3 provide early childhood professionals and policy makers a framework for understanding child development by presenting information on what children know and should do and what development looks like in everyday life. The main goal of the Guidelines is to offer early childhood professionals a cohesive analysis of children’s development with common expectations and common language. These Guidelines also provide suggestions and ideas on how to create early experiences that benefit all children’s learning and development.

Illinois Early Learning and Development Standards for Preschool
Illinois Early Learning Guidelines: Standards | Illinois Early Learning Project
The Illinois Early Learning Project has launched a convenient HTML version of the 2013 Illinois Early Learning and Development Standards (IELDS), ages 3 to kindergarten enrollment age, allowing users easy access from a variety of platforms. The HTML version includes a handy drop-down feature that shows the Example Performance Descriptors for most standards.

Infants Have Their Own Curriculum: A Responsive Approach to Curriculum Planning for Infants and Toddlers
Individualizing Care for Infants and Toddlers – Part 1 
Curriculum plans focus on how to best create a social, emotional, and intellectual climate that supports child-initiated and child-pursued learning. Staff can use this information as a basis for selecting or developing curriculum for infants and toddlers in their care.  

Early Childhood Curriculum, Assessment, and Program Evaluation
NAEYC Complete Position Statement with Expanded Resources, 2003. This document begins by summarizing the position of NAEYC and NAECS/SDE about what is needed in an effective system of early childhood education—a system that supports a reciprocal relationship among
curriculum, child assessment, and program evaluation.

Preparing Young Latino Children for School Success: Best Practices in Assessments
Student assessments are a critical component of any early learning program. Assessments are used to inform student instruction and to ensure that children are making significant learning gains based on age-appropriate expectations. For Hispanic English language learner (ELL) children, assessments must be structured in a manner that accurately measures children’s progress in both content knowledge and English language development. Additionally, assessments should provide information about how programs are serving young children with diverse learning needs. This policy brief highlights the importance of developing effective assessments for young ELLs, highlights a best practice in the field, and concludes with policy recommendations that highlight how to bring effective practices to scale.

Understanding and Choosing Assessments & Developmental Screeners for Young Children Ages 3-5: Profiles of Selected Measures
Understanding and Choosing Assessment and Developmental Screeners for Young Children: Profiles of Selected Measures
This compendium reviews technical information provided by developers regarding the reliability and validity of 8 commonly used child assessments and 10 developmental screening tools and translates this information into user-friendly language. The compendium also aims to increase awareness about reliability and validity and how to evaluate whether an instrument is reliable and valid for the population and purpose for which it will be used.
Author: J. Wessel, K. Darling-Churchill, Marty Zaslow, S. Moodie, Tamara Halle
Year: 2011