Ohio’s Ohio ELDS: The official early learning standards framework
Ohio’s early learning standards are organized under Ohio’s Early Learning and Development Standards (ELDS), jointly administered by the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce (DEW) and the Ohio Department of Children and Youth (DCY). Ohio’s ELDS applies to all licensed childcare centers, family childcare homes, publicly funded child care (PFCC) programs, and Head Start programs serving children from birth through kindergarten entry.
Ohio’s ELDS defines developmental expectations across all 8 domains and guides curriculum planning, developmental assessment, and program quality statewide. Programs can view current guidance at the Ohio DEW Early Learning Content Standards page.
Ohio’s QRIS is called Step Up To Quality (SUTQ), a five-star quality rating and improvement system administered by Ohio DEW and DCY. SUTQ evaluates programs across a single inclusive quality framework for all program types. Programs licensed to serve publicly funded children are required to participate. Using a research-based curriculum aligned to Ohio’s ELDS supports higher SUTQ ratings.
Explore by developmental domain
Ohio’s Ohio ELDS domains and Experience Curriculum alignment
Select a developmental domain below to see how Ohio’s Ohio ELDS defines that domain, the key milestones by age group, and exactly how Experience Curriculum activities and skills map to each Ohio ELDS indicator.
Social-Emotional Development
Self-regulation, peer relationships, identity, empathy, and emotional expression
Explore Ohio Social-Emotional Development standards →Language & Literacy
Receptive and expressive language, phonological awareness, early reading and writing
Explore Ohio Language & Literacy standards →Mathematics & Reasoning
Number sense, patterns, measurement, spatial reasoning, and early problem-solving
Explore Ohio Mathematics & Reasoning standards →Science
Observation, inquiry, cause-and-effect, and exploration of the natural world
Explore Ohio Science standards →Social Studies
Community, family, cultural identity, roles, and civic understanding
Explore Ohio Social Studies standards →Creative Arts
Visual arts, music, movement, dramatic play, and creative expression
Explore Ohio Creative Arts standards →Physical Development
Gross and fine motor skills, body awareness, health, and self-care
Explore Ohio Physical Development standards →Approaches to Learning
Curiosity, persistence, initiative, flexibility, and attention
Explore Ohio Approaches to Learning standards →Curriculum alignment
How Experience Curriculum aligns to Ohio’s Ohio ELDS
Experience Curriculum is formally aligned to Ohio’s Ohio ELDS 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 Ohio ELDS Alignment PDF documents how every Experience Curriculum activity and skill maps to a specific Ohio ELDS indicator.
For Ohio programs using brightwheel, developmental observations can be logged directly in the app during or after activities, automatically building each child’s portfolio and supporting Step Up To Quality (SUTQ) curriculum documentation requirements.
The Ohio ELDS Alignment PDF is a free resource documenting how every Experience Curriculum activity maps to Ohio’s Ohio ELDS indicators — suitable for QRIS review submissions and licensing documentation.
Frequently asked questions