Frequently Asked Questions
- How many foundations publications are there? What domains of development do they cover?
- Which children are addressed by the preschool learning foundations?
- Are the preschool learning foundations appropriate for three- to five-year-olds?
- Why are the foundations organized by age rather than along a continuum across ages three, four, and five?
- Who was involved in the development of the California Preschool Learning Foundations?
- How will teachers and directors obtain training on the foundations?
- When will the preschool learning foundations be required?
- How does the Desired Results Developmental Profile© relate to the foundations?
- Will the preschool learning foundations be part of the Federal Program Monitoring/Contract Monitoring Review process?
- How will the state monitor if children are meeting the foundations?
- What is the role of “play”? Is there balance between child-initiated and teacher-directed practices?
- How do the preschool learning foundations relate to the K-12 system?
- How are foundations aligned to California’s content standards for kindergarten?
- Will foundations be used to keep track of children’s progress?
- What type of programs will be required to use them?
- Will the foundations require that teachers focus on teaching skills so children can pass a test?
- Will the foundations be adopted by the State Board of Education (SBE)?
- Will the state require programs to use one commercial curriculum?
- How do the Preschool Learning Foundations relate to the Prekindergarten Learning and Development Guidelines? Will the Prekindergarten Learning and Development Guidelines be revised?
- How do the English-language development foundations relate to the Preschool EL Resource Guide (Title: Preschool English Learners: Principles and Practices to Promote Language, Literacy, and Learning)?
- How does one determine whether a child is an English learner?
- How does one assess and monitor children's progress on the preschool English-language development foundations?
Return to California Preschool Learning Foundations
The California Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume One covers Social-Emotional Development, Language and Literacy, English-Language Development, and Mathematics. The California Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume 2 covers Visual and Performing Arts, Physical Development, and Health. The California Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume 3 is in development and will cover History-Social Science and Science.
They were developed for all preschool children, including English learners and children with disabilities. The foundations are based on current research and evidence about preschool children’s development. They describe the wide range of knowledge and skills that all preschool children typically attain in high-quality preschool programs, regardless of funding source or format. The preschool learning foundations define age-appropriate expectations about what children should know and be able to do at around 48 and 60 months of age. These ages are meant to describe children at the end of their first and second year of preschool.
Yes, the preschool learning foundations are appropriate for three- to five-year-old children, because they are based on the latest research about how young children learn and develop. As the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) states, “Standards are a valuable part of a comprehensive system of services for young children, contributing to young children’s educational experiences and future successes.”
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Why are the foundations organized by age rather than along a continuum across ages three, four, and five?
The foundations for social-emotional development, language and literacy, and mathematics focus on 48 and 60 months of age because they correspond to the end of the first and second years of enrollment in preschool. It is essential for teachers and parents to understand what children should know and be able to do at specific ages so that they can provide appropriate support. English learners enter preschool with different levels of experience with English, as well as with varying skills with their primary languages. The English-language development foundations describe what children typically demonstrate at three different levels of successive English-language development; beginning, middle, later. Each of the foundations describes the competencies - knowledge and skills - that all preschool children typically attain in high-quality preschool programs. In addition, teachers need to know where each child is on a continuum of learning throughout the child’s time in preschool. The Desired Results Developmental Profile-Revised (DRDP-R) is a child observation tool that is being aligned with the foundations. The DRDP-R gives teachers a means to observe children’s learning on 39 measures, with each having a continuum of four developmental levels: exploring, developing, building, and integrating.
Early childhood education researchers, college faculty, program directors, site supervisors, teachers, and other stakeholders were involved in the process of developing and reviewing each volume of the foundations. Each publication of the foundations was developed over the course of several years using an inclusive and deliberative input process, including many statewide stakeholder meetings, public input sessions, public hearings, and public comment through the California Department of Education's (CDE) Web site. Input from the various review opportunities was considered and incorporated as appropriate. For a complete list of those involved in the development of the foundations, please refer to the Acknowledgments pages in the front of each volume of the foundations.
The California Department of Education’s Child Development Division (CDD) sponsors a variety of training opportunities through the California Preschool Instructional Network (CPIN) and the Faculty Initiative Project. Information sessions and other professional development opportunities are provided to both an overview of what the foundations are and more focused training on specific foundation domains and practical application in early learning settings. For program directors, preschool teachers, and family child care providers, check with the California Preschool Instructional Network (CPIN)
for some of the professional development opportunities in your area. For college faculty, visit the California Faculty Initiative Project
. The Faculty Initiative Project offers opportunities for college faculty to learn about the Preschool Learning Foundations and has created instructional guides that facilitate integration of content on the foundations into unit-bearing coursework.
The preschool learning foundations are not required in the same sense to which K-12 standards are. They have been developed to inform the early childhood field about the knowledge and skills that young children are expected to display with appropriate support. Training opportunities allow educators to consider how knowledge of the foundations will inform their curriculum planning for groups of children and individuals and affect their setting's learning environments. The Desired Results Developmental Profile© Preschool 2010 (DRDP-PS 2010), the child observational assessment tool, is aligned with the California Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume 1. California State Preschool Programs are required to use this foundations-aligned instrument.
The California Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume 1 focuses on four domains: social-emotional development, language and literacy, English-language development, and mathematics. The foundations provide early childhood educators, parents, and the public with a clear understanding of the wide range of knowledge and skills that preschool children typically attain after the first and second year of participation in a high-quality preschool setting. The Desired Results Developmental Profile - Preschool 2010 (DRDP - PS 2010) is a child observational assessment tool that is aligned with the California Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume 1. The DRDP - PS 2010 provides teachers with a means to assess children’s learning along a continuum of four different developmental levels. The foundations and the DRDP - PS 2010 are used together to plan the environment, play, learning activities and instruction to meet the needs of the children and provide a high-quality preschool experience.
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Will the preschool learning foundations and frameworks be part of the Federal Program Monitoring/Contract Monitoring Review process?
The Federal Program Monitoring/Contract Monitoring Review (FPM/CMR) process uses the foundations-aligned DRDP-2010.
The CDD will continue to monitor programs through the use of the FPM/CMR system. Children’s progress towards the foundations and frameworks will be measured by the Desired Results Developmental Profile.
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What is the role of “play”? Is there balance between child-initiated and teacher-directed practices?
Play is integral to all children’s learning and development. Children should continue to be provided with appropriate activities that encourage learning through play. Appropriate early childhood practices suggest a balance between child-initiated and teacher-directed activities that are purposeful and intentional. The social-emotional development foundations provide guidance on the role of play in children’s learning.
All too often, children entering school for the first time as kindergarteners are already lagging behind their classmates. This disadvantage, called the school readiness gap, can affect them socially and academically long past kindergarten. Studies show that closing the school readiness gap will help to close the achievement gap. High-quality preschools, in combination with preschool learning foundations and frameworks, can help achieve that goal. Those preschool programs that strengthen children’s school readiness operate with a depth of understanding about what children need to learn before they start school. The foundations and the aligned DRDP- 2010 will provide the detail and a developmental continuum to assist quality programs prepare children for K-3.
The language and literacy (L&L), English-language development (ELD), and mathematics foundations have been closely aligned to the kindergarten content standards, with a few intentional exceptions. The L&L foundations use similar strand names as the kindergarten content standards (Listening and Speaking, Reading, and Writing). But, due to the importance of language development for preschool children, the strands have been reordered to begin with Listening and Speaking. Both the preschool ELD foundations and the kindergarten ELD standards acknowledge the broad variability in English-language development among children, and thus provide a developmental progression that allows teachers to adapt their instruction for individual differences. The preschool ELD foundations are also organized around strands and substrands similar to those in the kindergarten ELD standards. The preschool mathematics strands are Number Sense, Algebra and Functions (Classification and Patterning), Measurement, Geometry, and Mathematical Reasoning. It was determined that Patterning fit best in the preschool Algebra and Functions strand, rather than in the kindergarten strand of Statistics, Data Analysis, and Probability, since Patterning sets the foundation for later algebraic thinking. The preschool mathematics domain does not include foundations related to Statistics, Data Analysis, and Probability.
The foundations should not be used as a tracking tool, since they are not an assessment. Foundations should be used by teachers and parents to guide expectations, instruction, planning, and professional development so that all children can be ready for K-3.
The foundations will be used by all of the Child Development Division’s state-funded programs for preschool-age children. They are also available for use in any other preschool program. The foundations describe the wide range of knowledge and skills that all preschool children typically attain in high-quality preschool programs.
Programs should provide high-quality, age-appropriate preschool experiences for children. The foundations, as well as the examples, are not provided as discrete skills. They describe knowledge and skills that teachers need to plan for in the design and delivery of comprehensive lessons. Guidance will be provided in the curriculum framework on instructional strategies to ensure that all children achieve at the highest level possible.
The State Board of Education oversees and adopts policies, regulations, and guidance for kindergarten through grade 12. Preschool education is not under the jurisdiction of the SBE, but is by statute and regulation the responsibility of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction. The State Superintendent of Public Instruction has approved the foundations, because he oversees the work of the Child Development Division at the California Department of Education.
The California Department of Education does not approve texts, materials, or particular curriculum for preschool programs. These are all local decisions. The curriculum framework will provide guidance for using the foundations in program planning, instructional strategies and professional development.
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How do the Preschool Learning Foundations relate to the Prekindergarten Learning and Development Guidelines? Will the Prekindergarten Learning and Development Guidelines be revised?
The foundations describe competencies – knowledge and skills – that most children can be expected to exhibit in a high-quality program as they complete their first and second year of preschool. The foundations provide teachers with a view of what children can do at around 48 months of age and at around 60 months of age. The Prekindergarten Learning and Development Guidelines (2000) present a broad picture of high-quality programs that can be implemented to meet the needs of California’s diverse preschool settings. The Prekindergarten Learning and Development Guidelines will continue to provide guidance to programs on how to develop high-quality preschool programs to support children’s achievement. The Prekindergarten Learning and Development Guidelines is currently being revised under a new title, the California Preschool Program Guidelines, and is scheduled to be released in 2013. The revision of this publication will involve an alignment with the preschool learning foundations as well as added chapters on Dual Language Learners and appropriate use of technology with young children.
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How do the English-language development foundations relate to the Preschool EL Resource Guide (Title: Preschool English Learners: Principles and Practices to Promote Language, Literacy, and Learning)?
The English-language development (ELD) foundations describe what children typically demonstrate at three different levels of successive English-language development. The Preschool English Learners Resource Guide reinforces the information in the introduction to the ELD foundations, and includes additional material about family and community language practices, simultaneous second language acquisition, and supporting the English-language learner with special needs. The four stages of successive or sequential second language acquisition found in the EL Resource Guide (home language, observational/listening, telegraphic/formulaic and fluid stages) are approximately “parallel” to the three levels in the ELD foundations: beginning level -home language and observational/listening stage; middle level -observational/listening and telegraphic/formulaic stages; and later level –fluid stage. The guide includes information on creating a supportive classroom environment, strategies to strengthen children's language acquisition, as well as the crucial role of the family in the education of English learners.
The California Department of Education has not adopted or recommended a formal process or instrument to determine who is a preschool English learner. English learners are children whose families use a language other than English at home and whose primary or first language is a language other than English. Families are the best source of information concerning preschool children’s early experiences with language learning. If the family reports that a preschool child’s primary language is other than English, the child is considered an English learner.
English learners enter preschool with different levels of experience with English, as well as with varying skills with their primary languages. For example, a three-year-old English learner may begin preschool after attending a childcare program for twelve months where the adult teachers and some children speak English. This child may already know some English vocabulary and may be able to communicate in English using simple phrases. In contrast, a four-year-old English learner may enter preschool after being cared for only at home by family members who speak a language other than English. This latter child may begin preschool trying to communicate with adults and other children using the primary language. It is important to note that, regardless of children’s prior experience with English, they learn English at different rates from one another. In addition, individual children’s progress in one area of learning may occur at a different rate than in other areas of learning.
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How does one assess and monitor children's progress on the preschool English-language development foundations?
The Desired Results Developmental Profile© - Preschool 2010 (DRDP - PS 2010) is aligned to the California Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume 1. As part of alignment, four measures were developed that focus on the English-language development (ELD) of children whose home language is not English. These measures allow preschool teachers to observe and track children’s progress in reaching the competencies described in the preschool ELD foundations. English learners may demonstrate their competence in any of the DRDP measures using their home language or English.
