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December 2, 2022

OCDEL-Approved Curricula and Developmental Assessment Tools in Keystone STARS

The Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) released Announcement ELRC 22-07, which provides information on the OCDEL-approved curricula and developmental assessments for use by STAR 3 and 4 programs.

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Effective December 1, 2022, only current OCDEL-approved curricula and developmental assessment tools will be accepted in meeting EC 3.4.1 and EC 3.4.2 for STAR 3 and 4 designations.

The list of OCDEL-approved curricula for use by programs can be found on the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s website. The list of OCDEL approved developmental assessment tools can be found on the Early Learning Outcomes Reporting page.

OCDEL is implementing an annual process during which time, a Bureau of Early Learning Policy and Professional Development staff will contact all currently approved vendors to inquire about any updates or revisions that were made to their curricula and/or assessments tools over the last year. This process will occur during the months of January and February when OCDEL will also place a call for any additional vendors to apply to have their curricula and/or developmental assessments tools approved for use.

Keystone STAR 3 and STAR 4 providers who wish to continue to meet EC 3.4.1 and EC 3.4.2 will need to confirm that the curriculum and developmental assessment tool they are using are OCDEL-approved. Such providers will also need to ensure that the curricula and/or developmental assessments tool they are using will not be sunset at the beginning of the following fiscal year. Providers should make this review a regular part of their annual Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) activities and CQI plan update.

For details, please see Announcement ELRC 22-07 OCDEL-Approved Curricula and Developmental Assessment Tools in Keystone STARS.

Image: Two young children show their early learning teacher a stuffed animal. The teacher responds by showing them her stuffed animal.