Since the first child care Quality Rating System (QRS) was implemented in Oklahoma 11 years ago (in 1998), 16 additional statewide systems have been launched and numerous states are piloting or developing a QRS (Zaslow, Tout, & Martinez-Beck, forthcoming). As QRS stakeholders across the nation look ahead to the next decade, it is important to take…

Professional development (PD) for early childhood educators has received increased attention as a means of bolstering young children's learning and development. Theory and research indicate that educators' characteristics play roles in both their own learning and that of children; however, little research has explored who participates in PD. This…

Kentucky has developed an assessment and accountability system that provides outcome data for a set of state early childhood standards for children birth to 5 years of age that are aligned with early childhood outcomes designated by the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). Within this flexible and comprehensive state assessment system,…

Measures of quality are now in widespread use across states as part of quality improvement initiatives. For example, many states are currently using global measures of quality that were first developed for research and practice purposes (such as the Environmental Rating Scales) in their Quality Rating Systems (QRSs). Although global quality…

In response to the problems caused by categorical funding for services to children and families, the National Commission on Children recommended a series of changes in the organization, administration, and implementation of programs at all levels of government, to encourage a more collaborative and comprehensive service delivery system, including…

By strengthening linkages between pre-k programs and education reform agendas, Early Childhood Councils are well positioned to influence their states' school improvement activities. This brief identifies specific steps councils can take to maximize their states' investments in early education including aligning policy prior to and following Pre-K.…

Reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act offers an opportunity to invest in programs with the greatest educational and economic benefits. Members of Congress should look to states for flexible, innovative, bipartisan strategies to gradually grow pre-k programs. This brief highlights some of the most promising state efforts to…

If early childhood systems are to be effective at the population level then they must be able to provide family-centered care to all the racial, ethnic and cultural groups that they serve. Despite major policy driven and technological advances in healthcare, health disparities across different races and ethnicities persist. For example, the infant…