Related Resource of 18580

Assessing States' Child Care Quality Rating Systems (QRS)
Kirby, Gretchen; Boller, Kimberley; Tout, Kathryn; , 2008

Statewide or local child care Quality Rating Systems (QRS) are in place in 26 states and are under consideration in many others as tools to measure, monitor, and promote quality in early child care and education programs. The QRS Assessment produced a series of products as a resource to inform decision-making about and evaluation of QRS. Key products include: (1) a compendium of QRS, (2) two in-depth study reports (one focused on quality measurement and one on the role of QRIS in integration of the early care and education system); (3) a secondary data analysis on quality measurement, and (4) a toolkit for evaluating QRIS. Research questions include: (1) What is the variation in how select QRIS define and measure quality?; (2) What processes are used to measure components and determine an overall rating?; (2) What is the availability (and use) of consistent and reliable data on quality measurement?; (4) What role does QRIS have and to what extent does it contribute to integration of early care and education programs?; (5) How could states and localities monitor and assess the extent to which QRIS contribute to ECE system development?; (6) What is the prevalence of quality rating components across QRIS and at different levels?; (7) How does the prevalence of quality rating components differ between rating levels across QRIS and between types of providers (such as Head Start and accredited centers)?; (8) What is the unique effect of each quality component on observed quality?; and (9) What patterns of quality profiles emerge based on unique effects of components and how do these profiles map to actual rating levels in QRIS?

Administration for Children and Families/OPRE Projects