NAEYC Early Childhood Program Standards

The following charts present the 10 NAEYC Early Childhood Program Standards and related Accreditation Criteria. Each standard describes an essential element that together with the other nine standards provide a definition of quality for child care, preschools, and kindergarten program. Standards are numbered 1 to 10.

Click on a standard to link to the Topic Areas and Accreditation Criteria related to that Standard.

• Standard 1: Relationships
• Standard 2: Curriculum
• Standard 3: Teaching
• Standard 4: Assessment of Child Progress
• Standard 5: Health
• Standard 6: Teachers
• Standard 7: Families
• Standard 8: Community Relationships
• Standard 9: Physical Environment
• Standard 10: Leadership and Management

These lists of topic areas and criteria are provided here as a reference. Early childhood programs and educators who are considering NAEYC Accreditation should consider purchasing NAEYC Early Childhood Program Standards and Accreditation Criteria: The Mark of Quality in Early Childhood Education, which provides all of the standards and criteria, and an introduction to the NAEYC Accreditation system.

Support Documents:

• Emerging Practice Criteria
• Required Criteria
• Additional Guidance on NAEYC Criteria
• Cleaning and Sanitation Frequency Table
• Teacher-Child Ratios within Group Size
• Teaching Staff Definitions
• Timeline for Meeting Teacher Qualifications
• Program Administrator Definition and Competencies
• Alternative Pathways to Achieve Educational Qualifications of a Program Administrator
• NAEYC-Approved State Director/Administrator Credentials