Why measuring learning in the early years matters

In Australia, we place enormous importance on measuring learning once children enter school. We track literacy and numeracy. We monitor progress. We debate results.

But by the time children arrive at school, much of their learning trajectory has already taken shape.

The early years, from birth to age five, are among the most influential in a child’s life. This is when foundational skills are formed including how children communicate, regulate emotions, concentrate, problem‑solve and engage with others. These are the building blocks not only for success at school, but for well-being across a lifetime.

Yet until recently, this critical stage of learning has largely been invisible in international data.

Across the world, education systems invest heavily in early childhood education and care. Governments recognise its importance for equity, productivity and social outcomes.

What has been missing is robust, internationally comparable evidence about how children are developing before they start school, and whether early learning systems are delivering on their significant promise to improve learning outcomes and close gaps we attribute to relative disadvantage.

Most large‑scale international assessments begin years later. By then, gaps are harder to close and policy responses are more expensive and less effective.

This is the gap the OECD International Early Learning and Child Well-being Study (IELS) was designed to address.

IELS is the first internationally comparable study to directly measure children’s learning and development at age five, around the time they enter formal schooling. It provides system‑level insight into how early learning is functioning, by strengthening the evidence base for policy and practice.

One of the most important questions in early childhood assessment is not whether to measure learning, but how.

Traditional test formats are neither appropriate nor informative at this age. That is why IELS uses a direct assessment design that has been developed specifically for young children.

Children participate in short, story‑based or game-like activities delivered on a tablet, featuring visual and audio cues and administered one‑to‑one by trained assessors. The activities do not involve reading or rely on formal instruction.

IELS measures ten domains that underpin lifelong learning, including emergent literacy, emergent numeracy, executive function, and social and emotional skills.

Together, these domains provide a more holistic picture of early learning, one that reflects how children actually grow, learn and interact with the world.

The results provide new internationally comparable evidence on children’s early learning and well-being at age five. They help highlight where children are being well supported, where gaps persist, and how early learning environments shape developmental trajectories with long‑term consequences for learning and participation in society.

The real value of early learning measurement lies in what it enables.

When systems have access to reliable evidence on early childhood outcomes, they are better positioned to identify emerging inequities early, understand where children are being well supported and where more support is needed. Robust data helps to target investment where it can make the greatest difference.

Put simply, early investment in learning and development is more effective, more equitable and more efficient than waiting until problems are entrenched.

IELS complements existing international assessments by completing the picture. It allows jurisdictions to connect early learning outcomes with later schooling data and build a clearer understanding of how early experiences shape long‑term trajectories.

In Australia, this conversation is particularly timely.

The Better and Fairer Schools Agreement places equity, early intervention and evidence‑informed reform at the centre of national schooling policy. Its ambition is clear: lift outcomes for all students while closing persistent gaps for those who have historically been left behind.

But equity does not begin on the first day of school.

Many of the learning differences we see in later years, in literacy, numeracy, engagement and well-being, have their roots well before children walk into a classroom. If we are serious about building a better and fairer school system, we need to understand what is happening before school begins.

In Australia, the preschool reform agreement locks in Australian Government funding for preschool to deliver at least 600 hours of a preschool program for all children in the year before full‑time school. The purpose is to increase participation and attendance, especially for children experiencing disadvantage and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. Ultimately, the intent is to improve children’s outcomes.

This is where early learning measurement matters.

International evidence from studies like IELS strengthens system‑level understanding of early learning and development at age five. Beyond averages, it helps policymakers see how outcomes differ across groups, where equity gaps are emerging, how large they are, and which features of early learning environments may help to mitigate them.

Australia has also been building capability closer to the classroom through initiatives like the Preschool Outcomes Measure (POM), led by ACER on behalf of the Australian Government. POM supports educators to understand and respond to individual children’s learning and development in the year before school, providing a shared language for learning and helping teachers act on the wide variation they see across their classrooms. Used alongside system‑level evidence, it helps translate national reform priorities into everyday educational practice.

This alignment matters because reform is strongest when system‑level insight and classroom practice are working from the same evidence base, spanning the full learning journey, from the early years through to school and beyond.

As global attention on early childhood continues to grow, strengthening how we measure learning before school will be critical. Not to label children or rank systems, but to ensure every child arrives at school with the strongest possible foundations.

Because by the time learning becomes visible in formal assessments, the most important years have already passed.

Read the OECD International Early Learning and Child Well-being Study.