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Early Childhood Assessment: Information for Districts and Programs

Intro

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.

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Preschool teacher showing number cards to children during circle time

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What is assessment?

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.

How are assessments used?

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. One version for learners from birth through kindergarten	$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 Infant Toddler (IT) for learners from birth to 3 years old Preschool (PS) for learners in the two years prior to kindergarten entry	$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 One version for learners from birth through third grade	$12.45 per child	$25.00 per child	nate.schleicher@teachingstrategies.com 763-333-4398
WSS, published by Pearson Preschool 3 (P3) for learners two years prior to kindergarten entry Preschool 4 (P4) for learners in the year prior to kindergarten entry	$13.35 per child	$21.75 per child	sarah.kruse@pearson.com 319-400-5479

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.

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Early Childhood Assessment: Information for Districts and Programs

Approved assessments

Purchasing assessments at a discounted rate

Implementing state-approved assessments

Alignment with standards

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