Early childhood quality rating and improvement systems
Program basics
- Systemic approach to assess and improve the quality in early and school-age care and education programs
- Systems generally define a set of program standards and award ratings to educational institutions that meet them
- Well-developed systems include quality standards, supports for providers, financial assistance and incentives, monitoring processes, and public engagement
- Can be implemented at the local, regional, or state level
Strength of evidence
Evidence level: Strong (second-highest tier)
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Strong (second-highest tier)
Ranked as having the second-highest level of evidence by County Health Rankings and Roadmaps
Target population
All school-aged children
Program cost
Not available
Implementation locations
Dates active
1990s-present
Outcomes and impact
- Some evidence for improved quality of participating early childhood programs
- Programs participating appear to improve over time
- Associated in some cases with increased cognitive skills, literacy growth, and school readiness among children
- Increase in parents' understanding of local early care and education quality landscape
- Associated with an increase in teaching quality, including knowledge in instructional and emotional support
- Creates financial incentives and opportunities for educators to improve their learning environment and strategies; incentives include CCDF subsidy reimbursement rates, bonuses, quality grants, merit awards, refundable tax credits, and scholarships
Keys to successful implementation
- Note: This content is under review
- Work with care providers and schools to create a detailed plan and timeline, address availability of funding, and assess capacity in order to ensure a more seamless implementation of the rating system.
- Partner with local governments, monitoring organizations, and parents to generate support for quality rating systems and facilitate buy-in from educational service providers.
- Implement ratings systems that facilitate opportunities for providers to make improvements and boost their standing in rankings.
- Collect data on providers’ improvements once the program is implemented, and subsequently restructure programs in an appropriate manner to maximize effectiveness.
- Motivate governments to offer subsidy funds or other financial incentives for programs in order to boost participation and effectiveness.
- Implement quality rating and improvement systems that are customized to your childhood programs’ needs; sufficient data collection and evaluation, pilot programs, and redesign before implementation all lead to more successful QRIS.