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.
Quick Links
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.