Arkansas’s Arkansas CDELS: The official early learning standards framework
Arkansas’s early learning standards are organized under the Arkansas Child Development and Early Learning Standards: Birth through 60 Months (CDELS), administered by the Arkansas Department of Education’s (DESE) Office of Early Childhood. CDELS applies to licensed childcare centers, family childcare homes, Arkansas Better Chance (ABC) pre-K programs, and Head Start programs serving children from birth through 60 months.
CDELS defines developmental expectations across all 8 domains and guides curriculum planning, developmental assessment, and program quality in Arkansas’s licensed early care and education programs. Programs can view current guidance at the DESE Office of Early Childhood page.
Arkansas’s QRIS is called Better Beginnings, administered by the Arkansas Department of Education’s Office of Early Childhood. Better Beginnings is a six-level system evaluating programs on Administration, Staff Qualifications and Professional Development, Learning Environment, and Child Health and Development. Using a research-based curriculum aligned to Arkansas’s CDELS supports higher Better Beginnings ratings.
Explore by developmental domain
Arkansas’s Arkansas CDELS domains and Experience Curriculum alignment
Select a developmental domain below to see how Arkansas’s Arkansas CDELS defines that domain, the key milestones by age group, and exactly how Experience Curriculum activities and skills map to each Arkansas CDELS indicator.
Social-Emotional Development
Self-regulation, peer relationships, identity, empathy, and emotional expression
Explore Arkansas Social-Emotional Development standards →Language & Literacy
Receptive and expressive language, phonological awareness, early reading and writing
Explore Arkansas Language & Literacy standards →Mathematics & Reasoning
Number sense, patterns, measurement, spatial reasoning, and early problem-solving
Explore Arkansas Mathematics & Reasoning standards →Science
Observation, inquiry, cause-and-effect, and exploration of the natural world
Explore Arkansas Science standards →Social Studies
Community, family, cultural identity, roles, and civic understanding
Explore Arkansas Social Studies standards →Creative Arts
Visual arts, music, movement, dramatic play, and creative expression
Explore Arkansas Creative Arts standards →Physical Development
Gross and fine motor skills, body awareness, health, and self-care
Explore Arkansas Physical Development standards →Approaches to Learning
Curiosity, persistence, initiative, flexibility, and attention
Explore Arkansas Approaches to Learning standards →Curriculum alignment
How Experience Curriculum aligns to Arkansas’s Arkansas CDELS
Experience Curriculum is formally aligned to Arkansas’s CDELS across all three age bands — Baby (birth to 18 months), Toddler (18 to 36 months), and Preschool (3 to 5 years) — and all 8 developmental domains. The Arkansas Alignment PDF documents how every Experience Curriculum activity and skill maps to a specific CDELS indicator.
For Arkansas programs using brightwheel, developmental observations can be logged directly in the app during or after activities, automatically building each child’s portfolio and supporting Better Beginnings curriculum documentation requirements.
The Arkansas CDELS Alignment PDF is a free resource documenting how every Experience Curriculum activity maps to Arkansas’s Arkansas CDELS indicators — suitable for QRIS review submissions and licensing documentation.
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