The following is a text alternative to Quality Rating Systems (PPT; 430KB; 32 slides). The PowerPoint was a presentation shown on March 23, 2009, at the California Department of Education by Abby Cohen of NCCIC.
Quality Rating Systems:
How States Are Improving the Quality of Early and School-Age Care Programs
Presented and adapted by Abby J. Cohen, J.D., Region IX State TA Specialist
Prepared by NCCIC
March 2009
What is a Quality Rating System (QRS)?
- A method to assess, improve, and communicate the level of quality in early and school-age care settings
- May also be called a quality rating and improvement system (QRIS)
What Does QRS Look Like?
- Builds on foundation of licensing and adds multiple steps between licensing standards and higher quality standards
- Offers supports/incentives for reaching higher levels
- Provides easily recognized symbols for higher levels
Why Develop a QRS?
- The overall goal of QRS is to improve the quality of programs through systemwide improvements
- Opportunity to do the following:
- Increase quality of care for children
- Increase parents’ understanding and demand for higher quality care
- Increase professional development of child care providers
Why Develop a QRS? (cont.)
- Opportunity to do the following:
- Create alignment between licensing, subsidy, and quality and across child care, prekindergarten, and Head Start
- Link support and initiatives to a quality framework
- Provide an accountability measure for funding
Connecting Existing Initiatives
QRS:
- Prekindergarten
- Head Start
- Subsidy
- Infant/Toddler/School-Age
- Scholarships
- Resource and Referral
- Early Learning Guidelines
- Grants to Providers
- Professional Development System
- Licensing
Phases of Development
- No activity
- Exploring/Developing
- Piloting
- Implementing
States and Communities Operating, Piloting, or Exploring or Designing a Quality rating System
- Operating Statewide:
- Montana, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Iowa, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, Washington D.C., Vermont, Maine, and New Hampshire.
- Operating Locally:
- Los Angeles County
- Exploring or Designing:
- Alaska, Washington, Idaho, California, Nevada, Arizona, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, Mississippi, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, New Jersey, New York, Conneticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts.
- Piloting:
- Washington, Idaho, Arizona, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota, Mississippi, Virginia, and Florida.
Scope of Statewide QRS
- All 18 QRS include child care centers and Head Start programs
- 17 include family child care homes
- 17 include school-age programs
- 7 include prekindergarten
- Prekindergarten may or may not be licensed
- Done at the local level
- None include unregulated family, friend, and neighbor care
Administrative Agencies for QRS
- Licensing agency/subsidy agency
- IN, LA, ME, NC, NH, NM, OH, OK, TN
- Subsidy agency
- IA, KY, MD, MT
- Private entity
- DE, CO, VT
- State department of education
- DC
- Contract with child care resource and referral agencies
- PA
Funding Sources for QRS
- All but one use Federal Child Care and Development Fund monies
- Other common sources:
- Other Federal sources (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and the Social Security Block Grant)
- General State dollars
- Private dollars
- Tax revenue
- Tobacco settlement
Common QRS Elements
- Standards
- Accountability nProgram and practitioner outreach and support
- Financing incentives specifically linked to compliance with quality standards
- Parent/Consumer education
Determining Quality Standards
States choose standards that research has shown to have significant impact on quality:
- Classroom structure: Child-staff ratios and group size
- Staff qualifications: Caregivers’ and administrators’ education, training, and experience
- Program dynamics: Curriculum, learning environment, and parent engagement
Common Categories of Standards
| Standard Categories | Number of QRS |
|---|---|
Professional Development/Qualifications/Training |
18 |
Learning Environment/Curriculum |
16 |
Parent/Family Involvement |
15 |
Administrative Policies and Procedures |
12 |
Licensing Status/Compliance |
9 |
Staff Compensation |
7 |
Program Evaluation |
7 |
Ratios/Group Size |
7 |
Personnel/Staffing |
4 |
Care of Children With Special Needs |
1 |
Health and Safety |
1 |
Care of Infants and Toddlers |
1 |
Accreditation and QRS
- Accreditation is included in 16 of the 18 statewide QRS
- How accreditation is included varies:
- At the highest rating (or level) of the QRS
- Separate category of quality standards
- One of the criteria for reaching the highest “step” within the standards
- Criterion for which points are awarded
Rating Assignment
- Building blocks
- All standards in a level must be met to move to the next level
- DC, DE, IN, KY, MD, ME, MT, NH, NM, OH, OK, PA, TN
- All standards in a level must be met to move to the next level
- Points systems
- Standards are assigned a point value, which are calculated to determine ratings
- CO, NC, VT
- Standards are assigned a point value, which are calculated to determine ratings
- Combination
- A combination of building blocks and points used to determine ratings
- IA, LA
Classroom Assessments
14 of the 18 statewide QRS are using an environment rating scale (ERS)*
Variations in using ERS with QRS:
- •Frequency of assessment
- Percent/Number of classrooms observed
- How scores are used
- Averaged
- Required score for a particular level within the quality standards
Use of ERS Assessments
- ERS scores are used to determine rating levels
- DC, DE, KY, MD, NM, PA, TN
- Programs can earn rating points for ERS scores
- CO, IA, LA, NC
- Programs must be assessed with ERS, but do not tie particular scores to ratings
- NH, OK
- In OH, self-assessments are required, but programs can use an ERS or Early Language and Literacy Classroom Observation Tool, and scores are not tied to ratings
Accountability
Accountability of compliance with quality standards, through assessment and monitoring does the following:
- Creates benchmarks for measuring improvement
- Provides accountability for funding
- Guides the alignment of program and practitioner support (i.e., matching quality improvement plans with technical assistance resources)
- Builds the case for additional funding
Agencies That Monitor QRS
Type of Agency |
State |
|---|---|
Licensing Agency |
IA, NC, NH, OH, OK, TN |
Licensing Agency and Subsidy Office |
KY, LA, ME, MT |
Private Entity |
CO, DE, IN |
Licensing Agency and Private Entity |
NM, VT |
Other |
DC, PA |
No Onsite Monitoring |
MD |
Program and Practitioner Outreach and Support
- Outreach for participation in the QRS
- Orientation sessions and outreach staff
- Technical assistance
- Mentoring and coaching
- Help with accreditation
- Professional development and training
- College courses leading to degrees and distance learning
- Financial incentives
- Compensation awards, quality bonuses, and tiered reimbursement
Financing Incentives Linked to Compliance With Quality Standards
- Tiered reimbursement rates
- Quality bonus payments and incentives
- Contracts
- Quality grants
- Scholarships
- Wage supplements
States/Territories That Have Teried Reimbursement for Higher Quality Care
Parent/Consumer Education
Development of a quality rating indicator (or symbol) that families can use as a consumer guide:
- Posted quality rating symbols
- Child care resource and referral agencies
- Public awareness campaigns
- Press releases
- Informational brochures, Web sites, etc.
- Publicized ratings
- Partnerships
Evaluation of Impact
What is the impact of a QRS?
- On program quality?
- On teachers?
- On families?
- On child outcomes?
Evaluation Impact
State evaluations find positive impacts on quality:
- Oklahoma
- Higher star level programs connected to more educated directors and teachers
- Less turnover
- Higher salaries
- North Carolina
- Increase in rating scale scores connected to increased teacher education levels in centers and homes
Evaluation Impact
- Pennsylvania
- Programs with higher ratings have higher ERS scores
- Programs with a defined curriculum have higher ERS scores
- Teacher and provider education and experience correlate to higher ERS scores
- Tennessee
- Child care quality across Tennessee has improved at both centers and homes
- Average infant and toddler scores rose 9.9 percent
- Parents across the State had evaluation results and report cards to help them make more informed child care choices
- Caregivers received detailed information about what they were doing well and ways to improve their services
- Child care quality across Tennessee has improved at both centers and homes
Evaluation Impact
- Colorado
- Greater focus on evaluating system itself, raising issues about measurements (family partnership and teacher training) and relationship of Qualistar to child outcomes
- Improvement of the Family Partnership measure
- Child care quality of programs improved over time
Concluding Thoughts
- Overall, seeing an increase in the numbers of programs at higher star levels over time in states based on their QRS.
- These efforts are still works in progress, with states experimenting and refining.
- The bulk of the work is to focus on how to move states from where they are to where they want to be
QRS Resources
For more information about QRS, visit NCCIC’s Web site. (Outside Source)
Sources
- Mitchell, A. (2005, July). Stair steps to quality: A guide for states and communities developing quality rating systems for early care and education. Retrieved March 11, 2009, from the Alliance for Early Childhood Finance Web page. (Outside Source)
- Data compiled by NCCIC as of March 2009 from State documents and Web sites.
