How the progress report is made
You answer a short questionnaire about what you've seen your child do, day to day. Nothing is asked of your child, ever.
The method
- Every question is tied to the age when that skill is typical: its benchmark. The benchmarks come from the published sources below, the same ones schools and pediatricians use.
- You answer each question with “Easily”, “Getting there”, “Not yet”, or “Not sure”, or you skip it. “Easily” on something typical of an older child counts as months ahead, and “Getting there” counts partway. “Not sure” and skips are never held against a child. They mean less certainty, and the report says so.
- A high number takes several confirmations. Each harder question appears only after an “Easily”, so a strong result comes from a run of yes answers, never from one lucky answer.
- Each subject's number compares the typical age of the strongest skill you've confirmed with your child's age today. Where research gives a typical age range for a skill, we count from the early end of that range, so the number stays conservative.
- The number is capped at 24 months ahead, and for younger kids at about a third of their age (for a 2-year-old, that's 8 months at most). A short questionnaire has limits, and we would rather understate than overclaim.
- When a skill hasn't arrived yet, the report says so: that subject is marked “growing right now”, and the specific next step is named. You will always know where to begin; we never write it as a verdict on a child.
- The scoring is plain arithmetic, written and reviewed by people. The same answers always produce the same numbers. Homa writes the words around your numbers, and every sentence is checked against our safety rules (never “behind”, never a diagnosis, never a number that is not in your answers) before you see it.
What the report is not
Not a test. Not a medical or developmental evaluation. Not advice. It is your own observations, organized and compared with national benchmarks. Every child grows in their own order. A first report is an estimate, and it improves as you answer more. If something ever worries you, your pediatrician is the right person to ask.
Sources
- CDC, Learn the Signs. Act Early. milestone checklists (2022 revision)
- Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework (ELOF), ages 3 to 5
- Common Core State Standards, English Language Arts (incl. Reading Foundational Skills)
- Common Core State Standards, Mathematics
- Next Generation Science Standards, K to 2 performance expectations
- NCSS C3 Framework for Social Studies + Core Knowledge Sequence (PreK to 2)
- National Core Arts Standards (incl. NAfME music standards)
- SHAPE America national PE standards + pediatric motor milestone references
- CASEL five social-emotional competencies + state SEL standards
- ACTFL proficiency guidelines, novice range
- Harvard Center on the Developing Child, executive function milestones
- Clements & Sarama, early mathematics learning trajectories
- Handwriting Without Tears / Zaner-Bloser handwriting + keyboarding progressions
- Dawson & Guare, Smart but Scattered executive skills progressions
- American Academy of Pediatrics (HealthyChildren.org) chores + independence guidance
- ASHA school-age speech and language milestones
- Hustad et al. 2021 (JSLHR), objective intelligibility growth, ages 30 to 119 months
- Crowe & McLeod 2020 (AJSLP), US English consonant acquisition review
- Wellman, Cross & Watson 2001, theory-of-mind (false belief) meta-analysis
- Lowenfeld, Creative and Mental Growth, drawing development stages
- UFLI Foundations scope and sequence (University of Florida Literacy Institute)
- Council for Economic Education + Jump$tart national economics and personal finance standards
- Hoff & Core 2015, bilingual development in early childhood
- CSTA K-12 Computer Science Standards (2017 revision; 2026 update tracked)
- Applebee, The Child's Concept of Story, narrative development stages
Coverage today
The questionnaire covers ages 2 to 16 across 16 subjects (Math, Literacy, Phonics, Writing, Language, Science, Social studies, Art & creative, Music, Gross motor, Fine motor, Social-emotional, Self-care, Executive function, Coding & computers, Second language). Early ages use developmental milestones; school ages use national grade standards. Every question is asked as something a parent has seen (work on the table, habits around the house), never as a quiz question for the child. Under 2, we save what you share and email you when they turn 2.
If we ever correct a benchmark, your existing report stays exactly as it was scored; nothing changes until you answer again. (Each report records the question-bank version that scored it, currently 2026.07.5.)