About Pre-K Reports and Review Tools
EdReports review tools for pre-Kindergarten (pre-K) are designed to evaluate instructional materials across the following domains: mathematics, language and literacy, science and engineering, social studies, social and emotional learning, fine arts, and physical and motor development.
Some pre-K materials may cover all of these domains, while others may focus on just one or a few. Our educator reviewers evaluate materials based on the domains the publisher identifies—or “claims”—that the materials are intended to address, using the relevant elements of the review tools.
Current Pre-K Review Tools
EdReports released its inaugural pre-K reports in April 2026 using our v1.0 pre-K review criteria and evidence guide.
September 2026 Updates to Pre-K Reports
Following the release of our inaugural pre-K reports in April 2026, we gathered feedback from early childhood education stakeholders and tested a range of usability improvements with website users and pre-K experts. In September 2026, we integrated those learnings to make two focused updates to how review evidence is scored and presented.
What stayed the same: There were no changes to the review criteria, underlying evidence, or educator-led review process.
How the updates were applied: The updates were applied consistently across all three inaugural reports using the existing review evidence.
Update 1: We replaced gateway ratings with a criterion-level overview.
- Pre-K gateway ratings were intended to provide a high-level summary of performance across broad areas of the review.
- Through feedback from early childhood education stakeholders, we learned that gateway ratings could be interpreted as overall ratings of a program, which could obscure important differences in performance across individual criteria and indicators.
- The updated report experience instead emphasizes criterion- and indicator-level findings, giving users a more detailed picture of a program’s strengths and gaps.
Update 2: We updated how curriculum design and content ratings relate.
- The pre-K review tools were designed to examine content and curriculum design as distinct aspects of quality, including how learning is intentionally organized and sequenced over time.
- Through field feedback, we learned that many users wanted a clearer connection between these two aspects of quality and that the purpose of the distinction was not always clear.
- The domain-specific indicator ratings in Criterion 2.1, Curriculum Approach and Design, now determine the maximum rating the corresponding domain-specific criterion (2.2-2.7) can receive.
- This better reflects the principle that strong content and strong curriculum design work together to create high-quality learning experiences.
- For more details on this scoring rule, see the Review Criteria document linked above.
Following these targeted refinements, we are also undertaking more in-depth work in late 2026 and early 2027 to explore further refinements to our pre-K review criteria and evidence guide.
Read more about what we heard from the field in Why We’re Improving Our Pre-K Reports.
Explore frequently asked questions about EdReports pre-K reviews.