Introduction to ECERS-R You are here today because you are committed to improving the quality of care for children in child care in Wayne County. I commend you for your dedication and thank you for being here today. The purpose of this training is to give you an overview of the Environmental Rating Scale- the ECERS-R. We will talk about the scales: how they work and what they measure, and then go through the process of learning to score the rating scale using a video presentation. This is merely an introduction to familiarize you with the scales. It takes more intense training to turn you into valid raters. Please remember that the assessment that you do is merely for program improvement and not the assessment that will be used for the rated license.

There are 4 Environmental Rating Scales:

ECERS-Revised: The Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Revised a thorough revision of the ECERS designed to assess group programs for preschool to kindergarten aged children from 2 through 5 years of age. Total scale consists of 43 items

ITERS: The Infant/Toddler Environment Rating Scale Designed to assess group programs for children from birth to 2 1/2 years of age. Total scale consists of 35 items. Soon to be revised.

FDCRS: The Family Day Care Rating Scale Designed to assess family child care programs; conducted in a provider’s home. Total scale consists of 40 items, including 8 supplementary items for programs enrolling children with disabilities.

SACERS: The School Age Care Environmental Rating Scale Designed to assess before and after school group care programs for school age children, 5-12 years of age. The total scale consists of 49 items, including 6 supplementary items for programs enrolling children with disabilities.

Each one of the scales has items to evaluate: Physical Environment Basic Care Curriculum Interaction Schedule and Program Structure Parent and Staff Education

The scales are suitable for use in evaluating Inclusive programs Culturally diverse programs

The environmental rating scales are designed to assess PROCESS QUALITY in early childhood or school age group care.

PROCESS QUALITY consists of Various interactions that go on in a classroom between staff and children Interactions between staff, parents, and other adults Interactions among children themselves Interactions children have with the many materials in the environment Features such as space, schedule, and materials that support those interactions

PROCESS QUALITY is assessed primarily through observation

Process quality has been found to be more predictive of child outcomes than than structural indicators such as staff to child ratios group size cost of care type of care (child care center or family child care home

Three Basic Needs All Children Have protection of their health and safety building positive relationships opportunities for stimulation and learning from experience In order to provide care and education that will permit children to experience a high quality of life while helping them develop their abilities, a quality program must provide for the three basic needs all children have: protection of their health and safety building positive relationships opportunities for stimulation and learning from experience No one component is more or less important than the others, nor can one substitute for another. It takes all three to create quality care. Each of the three basic components of quality care manifests itself in tangible forms in the program’s environment, curriculum, schedule, supervision, interaction, and can be observed. These are the key aspects of process quality that are included in the environmental rating scales. It takes all three to create QUALITY CARE!

Scoring the ECERS-R The 43 items are divided into 6 subscales dealing with the children’s program The seventh subscale covers the needs of the key adults: the parents and staff Begin video before this and see Part 1 of workbook. Start tape and stop when instructed. Review the 43 items

The ECERS is based on a broad definition of environment including Organization of space Interaction Activities Schedule Provisions for staff and parents

The ECERS-R has established interrater reliability and validity Reliability: scores will be consistent between raters Validity: indicates the instrument measures what it purports to measure

There are 4 levels of quality described 1 Inadequate indicates a negative situation that needs correction 3 Minimal 5 Good 7 Excellent

Scoring Instructions When scoring an item always start reading from 1 (inadequate) and progress upward until the correct score is reached

Ratings are to be assigned in the following way A rating of 1 must be given if any indicator under 1 is scored YES A rating of 2 is given when all indicators under 1 are scored NO and at least half of the indicators under 3 are scored YES A rating of 3 is given when all indicators under 1 are scored NO and all indicators under 3 are scored YES

A rating of 4 is given when all indicators under 3 are met and at least half the indicators under 5 are scored YES A rating of 5 is given when all indicators under 5 are scored YES A rating of 6 is given when all indicators under 5 are met and at least half of the indicators under 7 are scored YES A rating of 7 is given when all indicators under 5 are met and all indicators under 7 are scored YES

A rating of NA (Not applicable) may only be given for indicators or for entire items when “NA permitted” is shown on the scale and on the Score Sheet. Indicators that are scored NA are not counted when determining the rating for an item.

Explanation of Terms Accessible means children can reach and use materials, furnishings, equipment and so forth. This does not mean that every child has to have access at all times. Access may be limited to a certain number of children in an area or limited to certain times of the day.

Terms (continued) A substantial portion of the day means at least one third of the time the children are in attendance. Some and Many are further defined and differentiated in the Notes for Clarification for the items Staff generally refers to the adults who are directly involved with the children. For example 1 hour out of a three hour program, or 3 hours out of a 9 hour program In the scale staff is used in the plural because there is usually more than one staff member working with a group. When individuals staff members handle things differently it is necessary to arrive at a score that characterizes the overall impact in the children. Fir example, in a room when one staff member is very verbal and the other is relatively nonverbal, the score is determined by how well the children's needs for verbal input are being met

Administration of the Scale The scale is designed to be used with one room or group at a time A block of at least 2 hours should be set aside for observation and rating. Before you begin your observation complete as much as possible of the identifying information on the top of the first page of the Score Sheet

Administration of the Scale Take a few minutes at the beginning of the session to orient yourself to the classroom You may want to start with the items 1-6 in Space and Furnishings because they are easy to observe

Administration of the Scale Some items require observation of events and activities that occur only at specific times of the day. (i.e. Items 9-12 in Personal Care Routines< items 7, 8, and 29 covering Gross Motor Play) Be aware of those items so that you can observe and rate them as they occur

Administration of the Scale Score items that assess interactions only after you have observed for a sufficient time to get a representative picture Such as Items 30-33 in Interactions; 34-37 in Program Structure; 41 in Parents and Staff

Administration of the Scale Items 19-28 In Activities will require both inspection of materials and observation of use of materials

Administration of the Scale Be careful not to disrupt the ongoing activities while you are observing: Maintain a pleasant but neutral facial expression Do not interact with children unless you see something dangerous that must be handled immediately Do not talk to or interrupt the staff

Administration of the Scale Arrange a time with the teacher to ask questions about indicators you were not able to observe. The teacher should be free of responsibility for children when he or she is answering questions. Approximately 20 minutes will be required for questions.

In order to make best use of the time set aside for asking Questions: Use the sample questions provided whenever possible If you have to ask questions about time for which no sample questions have been provided, jot your questions down on the Score Sheet or another price of paper before talking with the teacher

Asking Questions: Ask only those questions needed to decide whether a higher score is possible Ask questions on only one item at a time and take notes or decided on a score before you move on to the next item

Asking Questions Ask questions in an organized, calm, and pleasant manner, putting as little pressure as possible on the person answering. Try not to ask leading questions or indicate a preferred answer.

Scrambled Item Item 22 Blocks (a) 7 (b) 3 (c) 1 (d) 5

Rationale Good block play requires a sufficient number of blocks (d=5) and adding a variety makes the area more stimulating (a=7). Having a place to play where block structures are protected from being knocked down is necessary for a good setting (5), and labeled shelves (7) add to the child’s ability to be independent. In addition to a block area indoors, some block play outdoors is required for a 7.

Scrambled Item Item 18 Informal use of language (a) 5 (b) 3 (c) 7 Page 5 in your video guide. The item are printed with the indicators out of their proper order, resulting in scrambled items. Work in pairs on each item and come to a decision about the proper 1, 3, 5, 7, progression. Remember that the indicators under 5 describe the basic components of a strong program and the indicators under 7 describe additional refinements that make a program outstanding. In order to score a 7 the program would first have to meet all the requirements of 5. When participants have made their decisions ask which descriptions they though coincided with ratings of 1,3, 5, 7.

Rationale For a basic good environment, staff must have many conversations with children and use language primarily to exchange information with children and for social interaction (a=5), not primarily for control (d=1). Observing conversations with many individual children ensures that the rich language promoting environment described in (a) is available for most of the children (c=7)

For a good situation staff must also add to what children say (5) so that children can learn more than they already are able to produce verbally. More complex questions (7) can be added, once the language model is there from which the children can learn (5).

Sample Situations for Scoring Practice Answer Sample Situation 1. Item 2. Score 4 Reason for Score: None of 1 is true, all of 3 is true 5.2 is true 5.3 is NA Half or more of 5 is true Page 7 in your Video Guide The sample situations are descriptions of what an observer might find during an observation from looking, listening, and asking. This activity gives you a chance to use ECERS-R items as they appear in the scale to decide on a score. Read the item and the sample carefully. With your partner decide what score that you would give and why you chose that score. Also think about what changes you would suggest for improvement. Discuss each situation, have trainees volunteer to share their answers.

Sample Situations for Scoring Practice Sample Situation 2. Item 28. Score 7 Reason for Score: None of 1 is true Everything is true under 3, 5, & 7

Sample Situations for Scoring Practice Sample Situation 3. Item 18. Score 1 Reason for Score: Even though 3.1 is true, 1.1, 1.2, and 1.3 are true. If any indicator under 1 is true, the item must be given a 1. After this re-start video and complete Part II Items for Scoring the Video Observations. Instructions are contained in the video.