National Association for the Education of Young Children

The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is dedicated to improving the well-being of all young children, with particular focus on the quality of educational and developmental services for all children from birth through age 8. NAEYC is committed to becoming an increasingly high-performing and inclusive organization.

Founded in 1926, NAEYC is the world's largest organization working on behalf of young children with nearly 100,000 members, a national network of over 300 local, state, and regional Affiliates, and a growing global alliance of like-minded organizations.

Membership is open to all individuals who share a desire to serve and act on behalf of the needs and rights of all young children.

To learn more about NAEYC, go to www.naeyc.org.
Position statements: http://www.naeyc.org/about/positions.asp
NAEYC journals and publications: http://www.naeyc.org/pubs/
NAEYC resources: http://sales.naeyc.org/default.aspx
NAEYC conferences: http://www.naeyc.org/conferences/
Public policy information: http://www.naeyc.org/policy/

Recognition and Response Activities
NAEYC has recently approved 10 Early Childhood Program Standards that represent a framework for ongoing improvement of program quality.  Each standard is linked to multiple research-based performance criteria that comprise the NAEYC Accreditation system. Program Standard # 4 pertains to the "Assessment of Child Progress."  The performance criteria associated with this Standard are very challenging for programs to implement. 
 
The "Recognizing and Responding to the Developmental Needs and Learning Challenges of Young Children" project will help NAEYC improve the field's understanding of and capacity for developmental screening and assessment, allowing professionals and programs to systematically recognize and respond appropriately to the developmental needs and learning challenges of young children. NAEYC is developing a training-of-trainers program model to assist early childhood specialists in conducting professional development activities focused on screening and assessment. Such a model reflects great potential for sustaining long-term systemic change regarding attitudes toward and practice related to screening and assessment of young children.