A veteran early childhood educator argues that screen-based testing undermines how children truly learn and grow

Ray Jaramillo, Las Cruces

As an early childhood educator with more than 30 years of experience, and as the owner and director of Alpha School in Las Cruces, I know this to be true: The earliest years of a child’s life shape everything that follows. How we teach matters. But how we assess young children — how we see them, support them and understand their growth — matters just as much.

This fall, the New Mexico Early Childhood Education and Care Department (ECECD) is requiring all PreK programs — whether public or community-based — to administer the Minnesota Executive Function Scale (MEFS), a digital assessment delivered via iPad. The test measures executive function skills like working memory, self-regulation and cognitive flexibility.

Let me be clear: This is not the path forward for our children.

The MEFS may have been designed with good intentions, but its implementation with 3- and 4-year-olds is fundamentally misguided. It reduces complex developmental processes into isolated, screen-based tasks and disregards what decades of research and real-world experience tell us about how young children grow and thrive.

At Alpha School, we believe in developmentally appropriate practice. That means children learn through play, exploration and, most of all, meaningful relationships. A child’s ability to manage emotions or stay focused doesn’t emerge from swiping an iPad. It emerges through real-life challenges and social interaction in the context of a nurturing adult-child bond.

And that’s not just philosophy — it’s backed by science. The Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University has shown that executive function skills develop most effectively through warm, responsive relationships and hands-on experiences. The American Academy of Pediatrics urges limited screen time for young children, warning that technology cannot replace human connection in early learning.

So we must ask: Why are we handing iPads to toddlers and asking them to “prove” they can self-regulate in isolation? Why are we allowing a digital tool to define readiness for children who haven’t yet outgrown naps and finger painting?

This is more than a disconnect between policy and practice — it’s a disservice to children, families and educators who have committed themselves to honoring childhood as it should be.

At Alpha School, we carefully reviewed the MEFS, raised concerns and worked with the state to find a better path. But when it became clear that those concerns were not being heard, we did what we had to do: We gave our families the choice to opt out.

Ninety-nine percent did. That number speaks louder than any test score ever could.

I encourage other educators, providers and families across New Mexico to take a stand. Speak up. Push back. Not in protest, but in protection — of our children’s rights, their development and their joy in learning.

There are better alternatives. Observational assessments like Teaching Strategies GOLD or DRDP allow educators to document growth in context — over time, through real interactions, with nuance and care. These methods reflect what early learning should be: rich, personal and rooted in relationships.

This is a moment that calls for courage and clarity. We must reject the false promise that more data means better outcomes if it comes at the cost of our children’s well-being.

Let’s stop forcing our youngest learners to adapt to systems that were never designed for them and instead build systems that respect their unique characteristics.

Let’s keep early learning in human hands — not in the hands of a device.

Ray Jaramillo, M.S. in Early Childhood Education, is the owner and director of Alpha School in Las Cruces, an adjunct professor at Western New Mexico University’s College of Education, a children’s book author, a former Las Cruces Public Schools Board of Education member, and the vice chair of the New Mexico Child Care Association.