February 18, 2026
Rockville, MD
Child Trends launched a new data dashboard today that offers a national and state-level view of 3-year-olds’ developmental well-being and school readiness in the United States. Known as the “Healthy and Ready to Learn” measure, this marks the first time data on 3-year-olds’ developmental well-being have been available on a national scale.
The Healthy and Ready to Learn (HRTL) measure captures development across five key domains—early learning skills (e.g., language), social-emotional development (e.g., understanding emotions), self-regulation (e.g., managing transitions), physical health (e.g., presence of health conditions), and motor skills (e.g., grasping)—that, combined, indicate whether young children are developmentally “on track.”
“Never before have we had such a comprehensive picture of the developmental well-being of 3-year-olds in the United States, a critical developmental period that sets the stage for success in school and life,” said Katherine Paschall, PhD, senior research scientist at Child Trends and lead researcher on HRTL. “Before now, researchers, program leaders, and decision makers have relied on proxy measures of development and more distal outcomes—such as kindergarten readiness or third grade reading—to understand how children are doing and how conditions and investments in early childhood impact their development.”
HRTL data can help researchers, policymakers, and other decision makers better understand national well-being within this age group on an annual basis. Data on 3-year-olds can inform how well prenatal-to-three investments are working and guide decisions regarding how best to support preschoolers and a successful start to school. The HRTL data can also be used to understand how family, community, and policy contexts influence developmental well-being.
“When it comes to ensuring that our young children are thriving, federal, state, and local officials, as well as community-based organizations, need data and evidence that illustrate how we can promote 3-year-olds’ developmental well-being and how their well-being has changed over time,” said Dr. Paschall. “The Healthy and Ready to Learn data dashboard and forthcoming resources can guide programmatic and policy decisions by highlighting which aspects of 3-year-olds’ development require the most attention in a state or nationally, and what factors explain differences in developmental well-being.”
Data for the HRTL measure come from the National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH), an annual survey completed by U.S. parents of children from birth to age 18. HRTL data are available starting with 2022, and additional data will become available each year. Child Trends plans to release state-level factsheets and analyses on state policy differences in the coming months. You can access the data dashboard and related materials here: https://www.childtrends.org/publications/healthy-ready-learn-national-state-data-3-4-5-year-olds
Subscribe to this newsletter for the latest updates on the HRTL measure: https://www.childtrends.org/publications/healthy-ready-learn-national-state-data-3-4-5-year-olds
About Child Trends
Child Trends is a nonprofit research organization dedicated to improving the lives of children and youth by providing accurate data, rigorous analysis, and evidence-based insights. With a focus on informing policies, programs, and practices, Child Trends works toward advancing the well-being of all children and ensuring they have the opportunity to reach their full potential. For more information, please visit www.childtrends.org.