Essential Question 3

About this Essential Question

This question examines children’s growth and development across key domains of early learning: language and literacy, cognition, social-emotional development, approaches to learning, and perceptual, motor, and physical development. Developmental progress is also sometimes referred to as “school readiness” or “kindergarten readiness.” Various system practices can either support or hinder children’s progress in these areas. For example, inconsistent assessment practices or lack of developmentally appropriate learning activities could impede development of these crucial skills. State and local leaders, early childhood educators, and program administrators can use this question to understand whether children are meeting developmental milestones, identify areas where additional support may be needed, and support progress for all children. Early childhood leaders might also consider implementing evidence-based developmental screening tools and observation practices to better track and support growth across all five domains.  

Probing Questions

Use these probing questions to dive deeper on the essential question or approach it through a different lens. Feel free to adapt these questions further or come up with your own.  

• How do families define and understand developmental progress (in each or any domain)?  
• If applicable, how well do any state developmental benchmarks align with what families value? How well do they align with research-based standards?  
• How do patterns in developmental progress (in each or any domain) vary based on where families live? How do patterns vary by student race and ethnicity, gender, home language, family income level, and/or disability status?
• How do system-level decisions and actions—such as funding formulas, resource allocation policies, and curriculum and instructional practices—support or hinder developmental progress for all children?
• How might we better promote children’s developmental progress? What system-level practices and conditions could be strengthened or improved? Who needs to be involved?