View program learning outcomes, completion rates and other reported measures for the A.A.S. Early Childhood Development Program.
The A.A.S. Early Childhood Development degree program at Ozarks Technical Community College is accredited by the Commission on the Accreditation of Early Childhood Higher Education Programs of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). The current accreditation term runs from May 28, 2021 through March 2027.
As part of the A.A.S. Early Childhood Education program at Ozarks Technical Community College is achieving and maintaining the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) accreditation, Ozarks Tech Early Childhood Development Department reports on the following measures. Our program uses the NAEYC Professional Preparation Standards and Competencies 2021.
Outcome Measure #1: The Number of Program Completers
The chart below indicates the number and percentage of program completers for the three most recent academic years.
| Academic Year | Number of Program Completers | Percentage of program completers who were attending full-time (at the time of completion) | Percentage of program completers who were attending part-time[1] (at the time of completion) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-2025 | 40 | 37% | 63% |
| 2023-2024 | 41 | 56% | 44% |
| 2022-2023 | 45 | 53% | 47% |
Outcome Measure #2: The Program Completion Rate
The published timeframe for full-time candidates to complete the early childhood program(s) is two years.
The following chart indicates the percentage of full-time candidates completing the program within the program’s published timeframe. The program must complete the information for the 150% indicator and choose to report on either the 100%, 200%, or 300% indicator.
| Academic Year in which a Fall cohort of full-time candidates enrolled in the program (select three sequential years) | Percentage of those candidates who completed the program within 150 5 of the published timeframe | Percentage of those candidates who completed the program within 100% (exactly the published timeframe) |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-2025 | 34% | 24% |
| 2023-2024 | 50% | 44% |
| 2022-2023 | 45% | 43% |
Outcome Measure #3: Institutional Selected Data
The fall-to-fall retention rate in the program for each of the three most recently completed academic years.
| Academic Year | Number of Graduates | Percentage of Graduates employed in the early childhood profession within one year of graduation* | Percentage of Graduates pursuing further education in the early childhood profession within one year of graduation* |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-2025 | 49 | 22% | 0% |
| 2023-2024 | 42 | 38% | 0% |
| 2022-2023 | 45 | 29% | 0% |
Student Program Learning Outcomes and Achievement Measures
The following is the aggregate achievement measures for the A.A.S. Early Childhood Development (ECD) Program at Ozarks Tech for its six ECD Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs). PLOs can be thought of as competencies of acquired early childhood knowledge, understanding, and skills that are learned and then practiced in early learning settings with young children.
The goal is to provide you and our accreditor with evidence that students gained the ability to be competent ECD teachers and caregivers. Student achievement is measured by six standardized key assessments. Each student is assessed twice on the same PLO competencies in five different 200 level courses with different instructors at the request of NAEYC the National Association for the Education of Young Children whose Commission accredits this program.
Program Learning Outcomes
- PLO 1: Child Development and Learning in Context.
- PLO 2: Family-Teaching Partnerships and Community Connections.
- PLO 3: Child Observation, Documentation, and Assessment.
- PLO 4: Developmentally, Culturally, and Linguistically Appropriate Teaching Practices.
- PLO 5: Knowledge, Application, and Integration of Academic Content in Early Childhood Curriculum.
- PLO 6: Professionalism as an Early Childhood Educator.
The PLOs are derived from the NAEYC Professional Standards and Competencies for Early Childhood Educators.
All Ozarks Tech A.A.S. ECD students have the opportunity to be assessed twice for the following NAEYC Professional Preparation Standards and Competencies.
- Competency 1a: Understand the developmental period of early childhood from birth to age 8.
- Competency 1b: Understand and value each child as an individual with unique developmental variations, experiences, strengths, interests, abilities, challenges, and approaches to learning with the capacity to make choices.
- Competency 1c: Understand the ways that child development and the learning process occur in multiple contexts, including family, culture, language, community, and early learning settings, as well as in a larger societal context that includes structural inequities.
- Competency 1d: Use this multidimensional knowledge—that is, knowledge about the developmental period of early childhood, about individual children, and about development and learning in cultural contexts—to make evidence-based decisions that support each child.
Percentage of students who met the achievement measure
- Performance data levels averaged across all competencies in the PLO
- NAEYC accreditation requires aggregate performance data levels of 80% or above
- Achievement percentages are from Ozarks Tech ECD Longitudinal Key Assessment Data
- Achievement Measure Rubric – Met = 70-100%, Partially Met = 69-60, Unmet = 0-59%. N = Count of students assessed in any of the relevant courses.
| 2025 Fall | 2026 Spring |
|---|---|
| 1a – 80% – N=10 1b – 90% – N=10 1c – 90% – N=10 1d – 92% – N=12 | 1a – 97 – N=35 1b – 97 – N=35 1c – 97 – N=35 1d – 100 – N=35 |
All Ozarks Tech A.A.S. ECD students have the opportunity to be assessed twice for the following NAEYC Professional Preparation Standards and Competencies.
- Competency 2a: Know about, understand, and value the diversity of families.
- Competency 2b: Collaborate as partners with families in young children’s development and learning through respectful, reciprocal relationships and engagement.
- Competency 2c: Use community resources to support young children’s learning and development and to support families, and build partnerships between early learning settings, schools, and community organizations and agencies.
Percentage of students who met the achievement measure
- Performance data levels averaged across all competencies in the PLO
- NAEYC accreditation requires aggregate performance data levels of 80% or above
- Achievement percentages are from Ozarks Tech ECD Longitudinal Key Assessment Data
- Achievement Measure Rubric – Met = 70-100%, Partially Met = 69-60, Unmet = 0-59%. N = Count of students assessed in any of the relevant courses.
| 2025 Fall | 2026 Spring |
|---|---|
| 2a – 100% – N=12 2b – 100% – N=12 2c – 92% – N=12 | 2a – 95% – N=21 2b – 100% – N=21 2c – NA (only assessed in fall semesters) |
All Ozarks Tech A.A.S. ECD students have the opportunity to be assessed twice for the following NAEYC Professional Preparation Standards and Competencies.
- Competency 3a: Understand that assessments (formal and informal, formative, and summative) are conducted to make informed choices about instruction and planning in early learning settings.
- Competency 3b: Know a wide range of types of assessments, their purposes, and their associated methods and tools.
- Competency 3c: Use screening and assessment tools in ways that are ethically grounded and developmentally, ability, culturally, and linguistically appropriate to document developmental progress and promote positive outcomes for each child.
- Competency 3d: Build assessment partnerships with families and professional colleagues.
Percentage of students who met the achievement measure
- Performance data levels averaged across all competencies in the PLO
- NAEYC accreditation requires aggregate performance data levels of 80% or above
- Achievement percentages are from Ozarks Tech ECD Longitudinal Key Assessment Data
- Achievement Measure Rubric – Met = 70-100%, Partially Met = 69-60, Unmet = 0-59%. N = Count of students assessed in any of the relevant courses.
| 2025 Fall | 2026 Spring |
|---|---|
| 3a – 87% – N=23 3b – 90% – N=10 3c – 92% – N=12 3d – 100% – N=12 | 3a – 96% – N=24 3b – 97% – N=35 3c – 95% – N=21 3d – 100% – N=21 |
All Ozarks Tech A.A.S. ECD students have the opportunity to be assessed twice for the following NAEYC Professional Preparation Standards and Competencies.
- Competency 4a: Understand and demonstrate positive, caring, supportive relationships and interactions as the foundation of early childhood educators work with young children
- Competency 4b: Understand and use teaching skills that are responsive to the learning trajectories of young children and to the needs of each child, recognizing that differentiating instruction, incorporating play as a core teaching practice, and supporting the development of executive function skills are critical for young children.
- Competency 4c: Use a broad repertoire of developmentally appropriate, culturally and linguistically relevant, antibias, evidence-based teaching skills and strategies that reflect the principles of universal design for learning
Percentage of students who met the achievement measure
- Performance data levels averaged across all competencies in the PLO
- NAEYC accreditation requires aggregate performance data levels of 80% or above
- Achievement percentages are from Ozarks Tech ECD Longitudinal Key Assessment Data
- Achievement Measure Rubric – Met = 70-100%, Partially Met = 69-60, Unmet = 0-59%. N = Count of students assessed in any of the relevant courses.
| 2025 Fall | 2026 Spring |
|---|---|
| 4a – 88% – N=25 4b – 92% – N=25 4c – 92% – N=12 | 4a – 90% – N=10 4b – 90% – N=10 4c – 100% – N=21 |
All Ozarks Tech A.A.S. ECD students have the opportunity to be assessed twice for the following NAEYC Professional Preparation Standards and Competencies.
- Competency 5a: Understand content knowledge—the central concepts, methods, tools of inquiry, and structure— and resources for the academic disciplines in an early childhood curriculum.
- Competency 5b: Understand pedagogical content knowledge—how young children learn in each discipline—and how to use the teacher knowledge and practices described in Standards 1 through 4 to support young children’s learning in each content area.
- Competency 5c: Modify teaching practices by applying, expanding, integrating, and updating their content knowledge in the disciplines, their knowledge of curriculum content resources, and their pedagogical content knowledge.
Percentage of students who met the achievement measure
- Performance data levels averaged across all competencies in the PLO
- NAEYC accreditation requires aggregate performance data levels of 80% or above
- Achievement percentages are from Ozarks Tech ECD Longitudinal Key Assessment Data
- Achievement Measure Rubric – Met = 70-100%, Partially Met = 69-60, Unmet = 0-59%. N = Count of students assessed in any of the relevant courses.
| 2025 Fall | 2026 Spring |
|---|---|
| 5a – 92% – N=25 5b – 92% – N=13 5c – 92% – N=12 | 5a – 100% – N=10 5b – 90% – N=21 5c – 100% – N=21 |