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The Minnesota Departments of Education (MDE) and Human Services recently revised the Early Childhood Indicators of Progress: Minnesota’s Early Learning Standards to include the most recent information on early learning and bring pre-K standards in line with Minnesota’s Academic Standards for K-12 education. The 2005 edition builds on groundbreaking work five years ago that won high praise from national early education advocates.

“Minnesota’s early childhood educators now have an even better tool to guide their efforts and assess their students’ readiness for school,” said MDE commissioner Alice Seagren. “We hope our new standards will give parents a clearer picture of the knowledge and skills to expect of their preschool children as they approach kindergarten age and improve the quality of the early childhood education and care in Minnesota. They should also help focus our efforts with those children who need more assistance as they get ready for kindergarten.”

Parents can use these standards to guide their everyday interactions with their children in recognition of their role as their children’s first and most important teachers. Educators, caregivers, and others who work to teach young Minnesotans can use these standards to provide more focused curriculum, individualized instruction and assess the progress young children make as they prepare to enter school, recognizing that children grow in different ways and enter school at different levels of development. Minnesota’s early education standards work with the kind of multiple assessments that are best for early learners. They form the basis for MDE studies that show most of Minnesota’s youngest students can succeed in schools that provide solid academic programs.

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http://education.state.mn.us/html/086867.htm