The just released OECD International Early Learning and Child Wellbeing Study (IELS) 2025 has shown differences in children’s learning and wellbeing are already evident by age five, including associations with gender and socio-economic background. The report also highlights the important role of home learning environments and strong partnerships between families and early learning settings, alongside access to high-quality early childhood education and care, in supporting children’s development in the early years. The 2025 study represented the second cycle of IELS after the first cycle was undertaken in 2018.
The study, designed to measure how children are developing and learning at the age of five, provides the first internationally comparable, system-level view of how children are learning and developing at age five, making early learning visible at a critical point. Understanding how children learn and develop in the early years is central to supporting strong educational outcomes and lifelong wellbeing.
The study examines children’s development across a set of domains that reflect a holistic view of early learning. These include foundational learning, executive function and social and emotional skills. Together, these areas capture academic foundations and the cognitive and social capabilities that support learning and engagement over the lifecycle.
A defining feature of IELS is its direct assessment approach, developed specifically for young children. Children participate in short, story-based and game-like activities delivered on a tablet. The assessment is administered one-to-one with the child by trained assessors. This innovative design allows children to demonstrate their learning in ways that are well aligned with children’s capabilities.
IELS was delivered by an international consortium under OECD leadership, with the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) serving as lead contractor.
“Measuring learning in the early years requires approaches that are both responsive to children and technically robust,” said Dan Cloney, Lead Researcher for IELS at ACER.
“ACER led the development of the assessment framework, instruments and delivery platform and undertook the psychometric modelling that underpin the study. This work reflects ACER’s deep expertise in early childhood assessment and international large-scale assessments.”
“What makes IELS 2025 so powerful is that it does not just look at one piece of the puzzle. It brings together direct assessments of the cognitive, social and emotional foundations of
children with insights from parents and teachers,” said Andreas Schleicher, Director for Education and Skills, OECD.
“It looks across multiple domains of development at once. In doing so, it gives us something we have long been missing: a clear and comparable picture of how children are really doing at the very start of their learning journeys.”
On the report, Dr. Priyanka Sharma, CEO – ACER India, added, “ACER India works closely with states, policymakers, educators, development partners, and schools to strengthen foundational learning, assessment systems, and teacher capacity. By supporting the goals of NEP 2020 especially competency-based learning, assessment, and foundational literacy and numeracy, we ensure global insights are contextualized to India’s education priorities.”
The OECD International Early Learning and Child Wellbeing Study provides the first internationally comparable, system-level view of how children are learning and developing at age five, making early learning visible at a critical point. By strengthening the evidence base on what supports children’s learning and wellbeing in the early years, IELS helps policymakers, educators, and systems ensure more children start school with strong foundations for life. The 2025 study represented the second cycle of IELS after the first cycle was undertaken in 2018.
You can find the OECD study here: Building Strong Foundations for Life – Results from the 2025 Early Learning and Child Well-being Study
