10/14/13

Recently, nearly 400 people gathered in Washington D.C. for a national meeting – sponsored by the Build Initiative with funding from the Alliance for Early Success and other partners – to discuss and plan for the next generation of Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS). The participants included state, territory and federal administrators, QRIS leaders, staff from organizations working directly with early care and education programs, and QRIS researchers who gathered to take stock of the past, present and future of QRIS. Many states and territories are still in the early years of designing or piloting a QRIS, while others are making revisions to QRIS that have been operating for more than five years. Attendees discussed challenges and opportunities in QRIS implementation and offered lessons and recommendations from QRIS practice and research.

As QRIS researchers, we have always appreciated the openness of the QRIS community to new evaluation findings, new strategies, and new methods for increasing the effectiveness of the work. Discussions in the recent meeting focused on using evidence and implementation science to improve the techniques used to measure and rate quality, to support early care and education programs in improving their quality, and to disseminate information to parents and other consumers. QRIS administrators and staff are seeking ways to make adjustments or significant changes to their QRIS, and they are looking for guidance from research and practice to make these decisions. They also recognize the resource and practical constraints that characterize work in early care and education.

Source: Child Trends

Available at: http://www.childtrends.org/qris-building-the-research-base/#more-11732