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Desired Results For Children And Families

Research

The Desired Results system is a comprehensive approach that facilitates the achievement of the Desired Results identified for children and families. The system is aligned with the state's learning and development foundations for early care and education programs and the content standards for kindergarten.

DRDP Technical Report for Early Infancy Through Kindergarten: Interrater Reliability 

This new technical report presents results from a study investigating the interrater reliability of the three views of the DRDP (2015): infant/toddler, preschool, and kindergarten.

DRDP Technical Report for Early Infancy Through Kindergarten: Validity in Relation to External Assessments of Child Development 

This new technical report presents results from a study investigating the correlations between other assessments of child development and the three views of the DRDP (2015): infant/toddler, preschool, and kindergarten.

DRDP Technical Report for Early Infancy Through Kindergarten: Structural Validity and Reliability Information for the Desired Results Developmental Profile 

This new technical report for the DRDP (2015) describes the process for updating the DRDP measurement scale to facilitate comparisons between domains that span early infancy through kindergarten.

Technical Report for the Desired Results Developmental Profile (2015) 

Technical Report for the Desired Results Developmental Profile (2015) specifies the criteria guiding the development of the DRDP, including a description of the instrument's psychometric properties.

Preschool Quality and Child Development: How Are Learning Gains Related to Program Ratings? 

This study investigates the relationships between preschool quality based on the Quality Counts California system and children’s learning and development (measured with the DRDP).

The following dissertations provide additional perspectives on the DRDP but have not been reviewed or endorsed by the CDE.

  • Mangione, P. L., Osborne, T., & Mendenhall, H. (2019). What’s next? How learning progressions help teachers support children’s development and learning. Young     Children, 74(3), 20–25.
    Focus: DRDP-IT, PS, K | Key finding: Demonstrates how the DRDP’s learning progressions serve as a foundation for formative assessment, helping teachers translate observations into next steps for instruction and program planning
  • Kriener-Althen, K., Newton, E., Draney, K., & Mangione, P. (2020). Measuring readiness for kindergarten using the DRDP. Early Education and Development, 31(5).
    Focus: DRDP-PS | Key finding: Defined “zones” of readiness for 84,000 preschoolers.
    [View Article]
  • Sussman, J., Draney, K., & Wilson, M. (2023). Home language and young children’s language and literacy development: Longitudinal evidence from California’s Desired Results Developmental Profile. Journal of Educational Psychology, 115(5), 883–908. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000791
    Focus:  DRDP-IT, PS, K
    Key Finding:  A longitudinal study of over 500,000 DRDP assessments found that children’s developmental trajectories, though similar, begin to diverge around 30 months, potentially  marking a critical window for early identification and instructional support
  • Sussman, J., Draney, K., & Wilson, M. (2025). Cultural sensitivity of early childhood assessments: A Rasch person fit analysis. Educational Assessment, Evaluation & Accountability, 37.
    Focus: DRDP-PS | Key finding: No racial/ethnic bias found in the DRDP's learning progression
    [View Article]

Alignment of the California Preschool Learning Foundations with Key Early Education Resources

Alignment of the California Preschool Learning Foundations with Key Early Education Resources: California Infant/Toddler Learning and Development Foundations, California Content Standards, the Common Core State Standards, and Head Start Child Development and Early Learning Framework demonstrates how the preschool foundations align with California state Kindergarten content standards, the Common Core State Standards, the Infant-Toddler Foundations, and the Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework. 

DRDP: Developed from the Research Literature and Aligned to the California Infant and Toddler and Preschool Foundations

The DRDP is grounded in the research literature that addresses the range of knowledge and skills that children demonstrate as they develop from birth to kindergarten entry. The relationship between the DRDP domains and relevant foundations varies within and across the learning and development domains. There is a correspondence in the extent to which key skills and concepts addressed by each DRDP measure relate to key skills and concepts in the California Infant and Toddler Learning and Development Foundations or Preschool Learning Foundations. Research Summaries for Each DRDP Domain

DRDP Aligned to the California Infant and Toddler and Preschool Foundations

The DRDP addresses the most salient, representative, and observable knowledge and skills across a range of learning and development domains in the foundations. Correspondence Summaries for Each DRDP Domain

DRDP: Aligned to the Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework

The relationship between the DRDP domains and relevant Head Start outcomes varies within and across the learning and development domains. There is a correspondence in how key skills and concepts addressed by each DRDP measure relate to key skills and concepts in the Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework (HSELOF). Each document below describes the correspondence between the DRDP and the HSELOF for infant-toddler or preschool. Each document includes an opening paragraph that characterizes the nature of the correspondence and a correspondence table for each DRDP domain. The correspondence tables provide detailed information regarding the correspondence between each measure in the DRDP domains to specific outcomes.

DRDP-K (2015): Developed from the Research Literature and Aligned to the California Preschool Foundations and Kindergarten Content Standards

The relationship between the DRDP-K domains and relevant foundations and standards varies within and across the learning and development domains. There is a correspondence in the extent to which key skills and concepts addressed by each DRDP-K measure relate to key skills and concepts in the California Preschool Learning Foundations and the Kindergarten Content Standards.

  • DRDP-K Developed from the Research Literature 
    The DRDP-K is grounded in the research literature that addresses the range of knowledge and skills children demonstrate as they enter and progress through kindergarten. Research summaries are available for each DRDP-K domain.
  • DRDP-K Aligned to the California Preschool Foundations and Kindergarten Content Standards 
    The DRDP-K addresses the most salient, representative, and observable knowledge and skills across various learning and development domains in the foundations and standards. Correspondence summaries are available for each DRDP-K domain.