Ohio's Early Learning Assessment is an observational assessment consisting of skill progressions aligned to Ohio’s Early Learning and Development Standards. The ELA covers seven domains of school readiness: Social Foundations, Language and Literacy, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Physical Well-Being and Motor Development, and Fine Arts.
The ELA is not a test. Teachers do not remove children from the classroom to assess. Teachers use the tool to determine a child's current development level based on observation and use the information they collect to plan activities for the growth of each individual child.
The assessment is designed to aid teachers in determining where children are in their readiness for kindergarten. The Early Learning Assessment will provide information for teachers about children from early preschool to kindergarten.
All programs who serve preschool-age children will have the opportunity to use the Early Learning Assessment to improve and support the growth and development of children.
Ohio’s Early Learning and Development Standards (birth to kindergarten entry) are the basis for the Early Learning Assessment. The assessment focuses on seven areas of a child’s growth and development:
Social Foundations (including social and emotional development, and approaches toward learning)
Mathematics
Science
Social Studies
Language and Literacy
Physical Well-being and Motor Development
Fine Arts
Ohio’s Early Learning Assessment (ELA) is directly aligned to Ohio’s Early Learning and Development Standards (ELDS) and is required to be used for assessment and progress-monitoring twice annually for Preschool Special Education (PSE) and Early Childhood Education (ECE) grant funded children. The Ohio ELA is a comprehensive assessment and may be used in its entirety in any preschool program to meet the Step-up-to-Quality (SUTQ) assessment requirements.
There are four assessment windows for each school year:
Fall: Aug 15 - Nov 14 Required for reporting
Winter: Nov 15 - Feb 14 Ongoing for best practice
Spring: Feb 15 - May 14 Required for reporting
Summer: May 15 - Aug 14 Ongoing for best practice
Each school year, programs that receive ECE or PSE funding must report the Ten Required Learning Progressions during the fall and spring windows. Programs are encouraged to use the assessment during the winter and summer windows.
Please go to the following webpages for more information: