A Step for Quality

Massachusetts has moved one step closer to creating a Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) that will evaluate program quality, provide incentives for programs to improve and, ultimately, offer families valuable information as they choose appropriate early education and care settings for their children. The Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) recently awarded grants of up to $10,000 apiece to 640 programs across the state – centers, family child care homes and public pre-kindergartens — to participate in a pilot QRIS that defines standards for four levels of quality.

Pennsylvania’s Keystone Stars and Delaware’s Stars for Early Success are among the QRIS programs in place in 21 states across the country. With this pilot, Massachusetts joins a dozen other states that are also piloting QRIS programs. Another 14 are in the early stages of developing quality rating systems. Most define three to five levels of quality.

In Massachusetts, EEC plans to use the pilot QRIS to gather information that will help it refine the program before launching it statewide. “The QRIS Pilot is an opportunity for any interested program to engage in the early version of the QRIS,” the department states on its website. “It will allow EEC to learn more about how the QRIS rating process works for programs and what changes the Department can implement prior to full implementation to make the QRIS an effective tool for improving program quality. This Pilot will also allow programs to share feedback on how the provisional standards align with program quality. Individual program rating levels generated as a result of the pilot will not be publicly posted. EEC will report aggregate-level data regarding program rating levels.”

In our brief, we mention ways that several other states have implemented QRIS. “Programs enrolling subsidized children in Pennsylvania receive add-on daily rate bonuses per child if the program has a rating of two or more stars, with the highest bonus given to 4-star programs,” the brief reports. “Tiered bonuses also apply to educator retention awards for highly qualified directors and staff. In North Carolina, loans to improve facilities are coordinated with the state’s QRIS system and converted to grants if programs increase their rating. Financial incentives may also be used to encourage parents to make informed choices about quality. Arkansas, Louisiana, Maine, and Vermont offer tax credits to families that enroll children in high-quality programs.”

Want more detail? The newly released Child Care Quality Rating System (QRS) Assessment: Compendium of Quality Rating Systems and Evaluations was commissioned by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and written by researchers at Child Trends and Mathematica Policy Research.