Nevada’s Nevada Pre-Kindergarten Standards: The official early learning standards framework
Nevada’s early learning standards are organized under the Nevada Pre-Kindergarten Standards (Revised 2023) for preschool-age children and the Nevada Infant and Toddler Early Learning Guidelines for children birth through age three — both administered by the Nevada Department of Education (NDE). Together they apply to licensed childcare centers, family childcare homes, and Head Start programs serving children from birth through kindergarten entry.
Nevada’s standards define developmental expectations across all 8 domains and guide curriculum planning, developmental assessment, and program quality statewide. Programs can view current guidance at the Nevada DOE Pre-K Standards page.
Nevada’s QRIS is called Nevada Silver State Stars, administered by the Nevada Division of Social Services. Silver State Stars is a voluntary five-level system for licensed childcare centers, rating programs on required quality criteria at each level plus an in-person Environment Rating Scale (ERS) assessment. Using a research-based curriculum aligned to Nevada’s Pre-Kindergarten Standards supports higher Silver State Stars ratings.
Explore by developmental domain
Nevada’s Nevada Pre-Kindergarten Standards domains and Experience Curriculum alignment
Select a developmental domain below to see how Nevada’s Nevada Pre-Kindergarten Standards defines that domain, the key milestones by age group, and exactly how Experience Curriculum activities and skills map to each Nevada Pre-Kindergarten Standards indicator.
Social-Emotional Development
Self-regulation, peer relationships, identity, empathy, and emotional expression
Explore Nevada Social-Emotional Development standards →Language & Literacy
Receptive and expressive language, phonological awareness, early reading and writing
Explore Nevada Language & Literacy standards →Mathematics & Reasoning
Number sense, patterns, measurement, spatial reasoning, and early problem-solving
Explore Nevada Mathematics & Reasoning standards →Science
Observation, inquiry, cause-and-effect, and exploration of the natural world
Explore Nevada Science standards →Social Studies
Community, family, cultural identity, roles, and civic understanding
Explore Nevada Social Studies standards →Creative Arts
Visual arts, music, movement, dramatic play, and creative expression
Explore Nevada Creative Arts standards →Physical Development
Gross and fine motor skills, body awareness, health, and self-care
Explore Nevada Physical Development standards →Approaches to Learning
Curiosity, persistence, initiative, flexibility, and attention
Explore Nevada Approaches to Learning standards →Curriculum alignment
How Experience Curriculum aligns to Nevada’s Nevada Pre-Kindergarten Standards
Experience Curriculum is formally aligned to Nevada’s Nevada Pre-Kindergarten Standards 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 Nevada Pre-Kindergarten Standards Alignment PDF documents how every Experience Curriculum activity and skill maps to a specific Nevada Pre-Kindergarten Standards indicator.
For Nevada programs using brightwheel, developmental observations can be logged directly in the app during or after activities, automatically building each child’s portfolio and supporting Nevada Silver State Stars QRIS curriculum documentation requirements.
The Nevada Pre-Kindergarten Standards Alignment PDF is a free resource documenting how every Experience Curriculum activity maps to Nevada’s Nevada Pre-Kindergarten Standards indicators — suitable for QRIS review submissions and licensing documentation.
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