"I Wanted a Voice at the Table": Directors' Reflections on Participating in a Quality Rating and Improvement System Pilot

• In Event: Division L Graduate Student Poster Session

Abstract

Quality rating and improvement systems (QRISs) identify benchmarks for quality that can be implemented regardless of a preschool (preK) program’s auspice. However, there is little research on how QRISs are put into practice by directors, who are the gatekeepers of quality in their centers. This small qualitative study uses the pilot of one state’s QRIS to examine how directors navigate their state’s changing accountability landscape. Findings suggest that although incentives offered by the state encouraged directors to participate in the test drive and make changes to their programs, a quality rating may not be enough of an incentive for directors of private programs to participate in the QRIS. This could derail the QRIS’s usefulness as a consumer-based accountability system.

Author

• Kaitlin Northey, Rutgers University