Development and Implementation of Quality Rating and Improvement Systems in the Midwest

• In Event: 16.060 - Roundtable Session 3
  In Roundtable Session: 16.060-11 - Early Childhood Education Policy, Program Quality, and Quality Rating and Improvement Systems

Abstract

Recent federal and state policies recognize the benefits of high-quality early childhood education programs and aim to improve the quality of such programs. Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRISs)—systems that assess, communicate, and improve the quality of early childhood education programs—have expanded rapidly across the United States. This report describes common and unique approaches that seven Midwest states adopted in developing and implementing their QRISs. The study examined the ways that Race to the Top–Early Learning Challenge grants shifted the QRIS landscape, documented how states incorporated observations into their QRISs, used alternate pathways to ratings, and incentivized providers to participate in QRISs. The report provides a knowledge-sharing outlet for states that may inform potential QRIS revisions.

Authors

• Ann-Marie Faria, American Institutes for Research

• Ariela C. Greenberg, American Institutes for Research

• Laura Hawkinson, University of Pennsylvania

• Ivan Metzger, United States Department of Education