Early Childhood Assessment: Information for Districts and Programs
Developmentally appropriate, state-approved prekindergarten assessments are a critical part of Minnesota's Comprehensive Assessment System. These high-quality, standards-based assessments produce valid and reliable data that can help teachers, administrators and families understand what students know and are able to do, supporting their success in school and beyond.
PreK–3rd Grade (P3) systems are encouraged to adopt one of Minnesota's four state-approved assessments. These assessments can be used with children across ages, grades and programs, such as kindergarten, Voluntary Prekindergarten, School Readiness, Early Childhood Special Education, Head Start and child care programs.
An assessment is a process of gathering evidence of a child’s development and learning and using it to inform decisions about children’s learning experiences and instruction. Assessment is sometimes referred to as a “child assessment” or an “early learning assessment.”
There are two types of assessments:
- Authentic assessment: Authentic assessments are a planned, ongoing method of gathering information during everyday instruction, activities and routines. This can include work samples, videos, photos and notes gathered by educators or a child's family. Authentic assessments help teachers, administrators and families understand where each child is within their progression of learning to support their development.
- Direct assessment: Direct assessments are a planned, one-time test. Students are removed from a familiar environment and asked to answer questions or perform tasks at a single moment in time, solely for the purpose of the assessment and to rate them based on their performance. Observations from families are not considered part of a direct assessment.
Assessments can help educators answer questions about where a child is in their learning progression, including what a child knows and what they are able to do. They provide data (information) that can—and should—be used by providers and educators to take action to support a child's growth and development.
Assessment data can be used in many ways, including but not limited to:
- Providing teachers and other educators with a holistic view of a child’s strengths and areas of growth based on their own unique identities, experiences and development
- Informing practice and program (for example, instruction, lesson plans, resources and supports)
- Building coherence in prekindergarten through grade three (P3) teaching and learning (for example, strengthening transitions to kindergarten)
- Supporting communication with parents, guardians and caregivers
- Identifying topics for a provider’s continuing education and professional development
A teacher using one of the state-approved assessments typically records their observations one to four times a year. Collecting information on a child’s learning at multiple points allows teachers to use data to inform instruction throughout the year.
Data from state-approved kindergarten assessments can also be used to guide continuous program improvement efforts, including:
- Read Well K-3 Data and Plan
- Comprehensive Achievement and Civic Readiness (CACR)
- Child Outcome Summary (COS) reporting
- Assessment requirements for programs with a Parent Aware Three- or Four-Star Rating
A state-approved assessment tool is not meant to be used to produce data that:
- Indicates whether a child is ready or not ready for kindergarten
- Is used to make high-stakes decisions about children, teachers or programs
Approved assessments
Each of the following state-approved assessments underwent a rigorous review to ensure they:
- Are valid and reliable for use with children in prekindergarten and kindergarten
- Are aligned with the Early Childhood Indicators of Progress (ECIPs) and Kindergarten Academic Standards
- Represent a whole-child view of development and education
- Provide real-time formative data that can be used to individualize instruction
- Rely on authentic assessment
The current state-approved assessments are:
- COR Advantage: Produced by Kaymbu, Inc.
- For use with children from birth through kindergarten
- Desired Results Developmental Profile (DRDP): Published by WestEd and the California Department of Education
- DRDP-PS, for use with children up to two years prior to kindergarten entry (3- and 4-year-olds)
- GOLD: Published by Teaching Strategies
- For use with children from birth through third grade
- Work Sampling System (WSS): Published by Pearson
- WSS-P3, for use with children two years prior to kindergarten entry (3-year-olds)
- WSS-PS, for use with children one year prior to kindergarten entry (4-year-olds)
Voluntary Prekindergarten programs have specific assessment requirements. Other early learning programs may benefit from understanding their assessment requirements, especially those that partner with VPK or operate within the same district or school. View the required items for each state-approved assessment (PDF), or view the requirements for the specific assessment your program is using:
Purchasing assessments at a discounted rate
To support Prekindergarten to Third Grade (P3) Comprehensive System, the Division of Early Learning Services—in partnership with the Department of Administration—conducted a Request for Proposals to negotiate discounted prices for the state-approved assessment tools.
These prices are valid through July 2026.
| Assessment | Discounted Price | Regular Price | Sales Contact |
|---|---|---|---|
COR Advantage, published by Kaymbu, Inc.
| $9.95 per child | $18.95 per child | hello@coradvantage.com 857-600-1540 Kaymbu Interest Form |
Desired Results Developmental Profile (DRDP), published by WestEd
| $5.00 per child | $400.00 (up to 50 children); $5.00 per child after 50 children | drdponline@wested.org 800-770-6339 |
GOLD, published by Teaching Strategies
| $12.45 per child | $25.00 per child | nate.schleicher@teachingstrategies.com 763-333-4398 |
WSS, published by Pearson
| $13.35 per child | $21.75 per child | sarah.kruse@pearson.com 319-400-5479 |
Members of the State of Minnesota’s Cooperative Purchasing Venture (CPV), which could include school districts, charter schools, and certain non-profit organizations and other entities who meet our criteria, such as Head Start or child care programs. Visit the Department of Administration website for more information.
Other entities should contact the publisher directly for pricing.
Once you’ve decided on your state-approved assessment tool, reach out to the publisher’s sales contact via phone or email. When talking to the sales representative, mention that you would like to “purchase the assessment at the state-negotiated price.”
While there is an opportunity to extend the contracts at the current pricing, it is possible a vendor may not agree to extend the contract or the pricing could increase.
Implementing state-approved assessments
Districts/programs that participate in Voluntary Prekindergarten (VPK) are required to use the online version of their state-approved assessment tool of choice (COR Advantage, DRDP, TSG or WSS). Districts/programs that participate in School Readiness are strongly encouraged to use one of the state-approved assessments to meet program requirements.
DCYF and MDE sponsor free trainings on COR Advantage, DRDP, TSG and WSS throughout the year. Whenever possible, these trainings are geared towards teachers and administrators across different types of early learning programs, including public, private, center-, home-, or school-based programs.
Upcoming training opportunities are advertised on DCYF's Early Learning Events page as they become available.
If you have questions about implementing one of the state-approved assessments, please email dcyf.els@state.mn.us.
Alignment with standards
One of the most critical components of the state-approved assessments is that they are based on Minnesota's early learning standards, the Early Childhood Indicators of Progress (ECIPs).
These alignment crosswalks demonstrate the overlap between the updated ECIPs, the Minnesota Kindergarten Academic Standards and each state-approved assessment. The crosswalks help to answer the questions of "What does a child know or do?" and "Where is a child in their learning progression?” in relation to Minnesota’s early learning and kindergarten standards. Answering these questions can help guide decisions around instruction and programs, resources, and services.