Arkansas Research Center
Module 1: What is the Early Development Instrument?

By the end of this module you will be able to

  • Describe what the EDI is and how it is collected
  • Explain why the EDI is a community-level tool, not an individual assessment
  • Connect EDI data to your own role and community context

Definition

The Early Development Instrument (EDI) is a population-level tool that gives district leaders, policymakers, and community stakeholders a holistic view of how well neighborhoods are supporting child development in the years before kindergarten.

Midway through the school year, kindergarten teachers complete a 103-question survey for every child in their class. The questionnaires cover five domains: physical health and well-being, emotional maturity, social competence, language and cognitive skills, and communication and general knowledge. Students are not present and do not take a test. Teachers complete the EDI based on their knowledge of their students, and the data is reported by census tract, never by individual student. Collected once every three years, it tracks how child well-being changes over time across entire neighborhoods.

Think of it like early childhood weather radar. It does not track any single raindrop. What it shows is the conditions across an entire community, where children arrive at kindergarten well supported, and where the forecast suggests they may need more support. In other words, where in your community is it sunny and where is it cloudy in terms of childhood well-being? We make decisions based on weather radar all the time, now we have a similar resource for childhood development decision making.

One thing worth naming clearly: the EDI is not a screener, not a diagnostic, and not an evaluation of teachers or schools.

History and Context

The EDI is used internationally, and has been implemented nationwide in Canada since 1998, where it originated. A 2021 review of EDI studies reports that the EDI has been adapted and validated in many countries, including Australia, Ireland, Scotland, Sweden, Brazil, Chile, Estonia, Peru, Jordan, Mexico, and the United States (Janus, M.; Reid-Westoby, C.).

The Offord Centre for Child Studies at McMaster University leads the EDI implementation in Canada, helping provinces and local communities develop plans to improve child outcomes.

In the United States, the Center for Healthier Children, Families, and Communities at UCLA has partnered with organizations to administer the EDI across the nation since 2009.

What is it, and what is it not?

Tap any card to flip it.

Which of these correctly describes how the EDI is completed?

Correct. Teachers complete the EDI based on their knowledge of each student. No student is ever present or tested.

Not quite. Students are never present for the EDI. Teachers complete it on their own based on their observations of each child.

Not quite. Principals do not complete the EDI. It is completed by kindergarten teachers for every child in their class.

Why It Matters

Unlike many school readiness assessments, the EDI reports on groups of children instead of on individual students. This population-level assessment takes the onus of school-readiness off teachers and schools by measuring how children are doing at the neighborhood level, never at the classroom or individual level. Communities can use this information to support school readiness in the early childhood community as well as how to react to the specific needs of incoming classes of students. This community-level information helps early childhood partners coordinate to promote healthy development for all young children.

Spark Question

Spark Question

What patterns might we notice if we shift from looking at individual children to looking at how groups of children are developing across a community?

One perspective

When we shift to a population-level view, patterns that are invisible at the individual level begin to emerge. We may notice that children in certain neighborhoods consistently arrive at kindergarten with challenges in emotional development, even when academic skills appear strong. The question shifts from what is wrong with this child to what conditions in this community are shaping these outcomes. That is where the EDI becomes a planning tool, not just a measurement.

Dive into the Dashboard

EDI results are brought to life through interactive dashboards that map how children are doing across neighborhoods in your community. Rather than rows of numbers, you are looking at a geographic picture, one that makes it immediately visible where children are thriving and where patterns of vulnerability are concentrated. The map does not tell you why things look the way they do, but it tells you where to start asking questions.

What you are looking for

Geographic Clusters Where do similar percentages group together?
Contrast Zones Which neighboring census tracts look unexpectedly different?
Strong Areas Where are children consistently on track across neighborhoods?
Uneven Patterns Where does the map suggest developmental variation across place?

Role-Specific Lens

The EDI means something a little different depending on where you sit. A principal thinks about how to communicate it to staff and families. A superintendent sees it as a district planning tool. A community lead uses it to build the case for early childhood investment with partners. Same data, different entry points.

What everyone shares, regardless of role, is a responsibility to communicate about the EDI accurately. How this tool gets described, in hallways, at board meetings, in community presentations, shapes whether it gets used well or if it is misunderstood. The goal is not just to know what the EDI is, but to be someone who helps others understand it too.

Your entry point

Principals are key thought leaders for the EDI. How this tool gets described in hallways, at parent nights, and in newsletters shapes how it is used and understood.

  • Reflect on how your role connects to children's early experiences and development.
  • Consider what population-level data can show that individual stories alone cannot.
  • Begin thinking about what conditions in your community may be shaping child development outcomes.

Your entry point

The EDI helps districts form upstream investment decisions by connecting education gaps to neighborhood conditions.

  • Reflect on how your role connects to children's early experiences and development.
  • Consider what population-level data can show that individual stories alone cannot.
  • Begin thinking about what conditions in your community may be shaping child development outcomes.

Your entry point

You use population-level data to build the case for early childhood investment with funders, city agencies, and nonprofit partners. EDI gives you a common language that crosses sector boundaries.

  • Reflect on how your role connects to children's early experiences and development.
  • Consider what population-level data can show that individual stories alone cannot.
  • Begin thinking about what conditions in your community may be shaping child development outcomes.

Success Story

A community used EDI data to move from general concern about school readiness to a more specific understanding of how development patterns differed across neighborhoods. This helped partners align around a shared picture of need and begin asking what local conditions and supports might be influencing those outcomes.

Arkansas — Excel by Eight

Founded in 2011 with a holistic vision for child development, Excel by Eight and their more than 30 partner organizations saw the EDI as a natural fit for understanding how communities were supporting young children. Beginning in 2018, they piloted the EDI across six counties. The results did not sit on a shelf. They directly shaped the goals of local communities and informed the services provided by Community School Coordinators on the ground.

That early work laid the foundation for what is now a statewide effort, led by the Arkansas Research Center with funding from The ADE Office of Early Childhood, to bring the EDI to every county in Arkansas.

Check for Understanding

A parent approaches you after a school meeting and says: "I heard the school is testing my child for the EDI, what is that about?" You have 30 seconds. What do you say?

"I heard the school is testing my child for the EDI. What is that about?"

Which of the following best describes the EDI?

Correct. The EDI measures development at the neighborhood level and is never used to assess individual children or evaluate teachers.

Not quite. The EDI is never administered to students. It measures community-level development patterns.