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Improving Systems, Practices, and Outcomes

Quality Rating and Improvement Systems

Topic Editors: Jani Kozlowski

jani.kozlowski@unc.edu

Increasingly, states are developing Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS), also referred to as Tiered Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (TQRIS) or Quality Rating Systems (QRS), to assess and improve the quality of early care and education programs for young children, increase parents' understanding of and access to quality child care, and enhance the professional development of early care and education providers.

See also: eNotes on QRIS and Early Childhood Data Sources: Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS)

Figure: Building High-Quality Systems: Governance, Finance, Personnel, Data System, Accountability and Quality Improvement, Quality Standards

ECTA System Framework: Quality Standards Component

The Quality Standards component guides Part C and Section 619 Coordinators, their staff and partners in an ongoing process of evaluating the quality of their programs and services within the context of the larger early care and education community, to ensure continuous program improvement and to develop more effective, efficient systems that support enhanced child and family outcomes.

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Quality Compendium (2019)

Developed by the Build Initiative and Child Trends, this compendium is a catalog and comparison of Quality Initiatives such as the Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS). The compendium includes state profiles and an indicator category database including provisions for children with special needs.

ECTTAS Quality Improvement Fact Sheets

A series of fact sheets about the state of quality rating and improvement systems (QRIS) are available from Early Childhood Training and Technical Assistance Systems (ECTTAS), funded by the Office of Child Care. The fact sheets were created from the data in the Quality Compendium, a catalog of the QRISs operating in the United States.

Fact Sheet on Children with Special Needs and Inclusion Practices in QRISs (2019)

This fact sheet from the National Center on Early Childhood Quality Assurance provides a descriptive analysis of information gathered from the 2019 Quality Compendium and details special needs and inclusion practices in all 44 QRISs, categorized by program type. The relationship between QRISs and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is provided.

QRIS National Learning Network (QRIS NLN)

  • List of QRIS state contacts
  • Library of State Resources and Profiles includes training guides, forms, and TA materials developed by individual states for their QRIS.