A Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) for Early Care and Education Settings

QRIS GOALS Increase overall quality Recognize the quality that already exists Improve consumer awareness Improve training and compensation of early care professionals Reward quality financially Focus on continuous quality improvement Increase access to higher quality programs for children using child care subsidies

Early childhood experiences set the stage for all future learning. Positive outcomes from investments in early childhood education depend on the quality of these experiences. High quality care means that children are engaging in meaningful learning and play, guided by qualified caregivers in an enriched educational environment. Quality Matters

A quality rating and improvement system (QRIS) is a method to assess, improve, and communicate the level of quality in early care and education settings. QRIS is voluntary Definition

Research-based National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) developed ten criteria

Ratings are based on 4 performance standards –Education and professional development of staff—documentation –Interactions—CLASS –Structure and ratios—documentation –Environment and Transition Practices— Environmental Rating Scales and documentation

Mentors are assigned to help the program develop and implement a quality improvement plan.

Apply Send in documentation Visit from rater Star-rating given and posted Mentorship for 2 years ystem 2 YEAR CYCLE

Children with access to high quality child care programs are more likely to acquire the skills they need to enter kindergarten ready to succeed and adapt to new learning and social environments. Outcome

Observation & rating Feedback report Parent resources On-site mentoring Quality improvement plan Quarterly goals & incentives Access to scholarships Networking opportunities Benefits

16 states and the District of Columbia have adopted a QRIS. A majority of states are in the process of exploring, designing, or piloting a QRIS. Trend

Participation is voluntary Rated on a 5 star scale of increasing quality Documentation review and on-site observations by reliable and highly trained Star Quality Raters Assessed on a biennial basis For center-based programs; a process for home-based programs is in development Piloted in both public and private programs in over 13 communities statewide Rated on 4 performance standards Virginia Star Quality Initiative

A Brief History

Designed to test the standard, not to rate programs Designed to test the process of rater selection, training, assignment, oversight, and reporting Goals of Phase I

To expand the improved rating process into more communities, rating 350 classrooms To include toddler classrooms for a more holistic program ratings To begin assigning stars and posting star ratings To standardize the mentoring process across communities Smart Beginnings/VECF agree to house the “hub” and added the VA Star Quality Initiative to their website TTAC contributed financially to the training of raters and mentors The Goals of Phase II

To continue to expand the rating process into more communities To train a group of Master Star Trainers To train more raters and mentors Automate processes Increase public awareness The Goals of Phase III Pilot of a standard for family child care providers

Pilot a rating system for family child care centers Pilot ratings for infant classrooms Provide funding for ratings, quality improvement and mentoring at the state level The Future

C LASS & ECERS-R The standard The process and procedure Survived “rater boot camp” Critical to avoid “drift” Anchor raters Buddy visits Average of 90% reliable Rigorous Training and Reliability

Raters are not Mentors!

Site selected Site completes documentation for standards 1, 3, and 4. Submits documentation forms to local coordinator Documents are reviewed. Rater is assigned Rater and site sign a waiver of conflict of interestRater contacts the site/program to confirm the 3-week window Rater observes one out of every 3 preschool and toddler classrooms at the site Rater conducts continuous observation for 4-6 hours for each classroom Copy of Rater’s report is sent to the program in approximately 30 days. Star Rating is posted on Smart Beginnings/VA Star Quality Initiative website The Rating Process

Program sites are assigned a Star Quality Mentor by their local coordinator Mentors provide technical assistance and Along with the program director, develop a Quality Improvement Plan Mentors meet regularly with the program staff The goal is for the providers to demonstrably improve the program’s quality when the program is rated every 2 years The Mentoring Process

Private licensed child day centers (for-profit and non-profit) Private faith-based preschools and other preschools exempt from licensure Public programs, like the Virginia Preschool Initiative and Head Start Participants

The Virginia Early Childhood Foundation and the Virginia Office of Early Childhood Development work in partnership to serve as the hub and coordinate state-level activities for the Virginia Star Quality Initiative Local early childhood coalitions or organizations work with the hub to coordinate local activities, like mentoring Partners

The QRIS Standards

Assessed by documentation Part 1—Staff Education and Qualifications – Director – Teacher – Assistant Teacher Part 2—Ongoing Training/Professional Development – Attending conferences – Participate in ECE association – Participate in mentoring program – Workshops – College courses Standard 1: Education, Qualifications, and Training

Assessed by rater observations using the CLASS (Classroom Assessment Scoring System) developed by the University of Virginia Measured across 3 domains: emotional support, classroom organization, and instructional support Weighted more than the other standards due to the strong correlation between high quality teacher-to-child and child-to-child interactions and positive child outcomes. Standard 2: Interactions

Assessed by documentation collected by programs Examines maximum class sizes and child to staff ratios Differentiated by the age of the children served, from infants to school-age children Standard 3: Structure

Assessed by rater observations using an Environment Rating Scale Separate scales for each age group: ECERS-R or ITERS-R Also includes documentation of transition practices which may include: parent meetings transfer of records related professional development, program orientation for families Standard 4: Environment and Instructions

Websites: Resources