Resources

Watch this webinar to learn more about the Compendium, including how Quality Improvement Systems are adapting to build a more equitable system for children, families, and providers served through their programs in Michigan and Idaho.

The Compendium of Quality Rating Systems and Evaluations, published in 2010 by the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation was the first compilation of data related to QRIS. 

The INQUIRE Data Toolkit, developed by the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation in the Administration for Children & Families, is an online resource that provides analytical recommendations and a comprehensive list of data elements needed to address policy and research questions related to quality initiatives and the early care and education of young children.

The QRIS Resource Guide is intended as a tool for States and communities to explore key issues and decision points during the planning and implementation of a quality rating and improvement system (QRIS).

The QRIS Cost Estimation Model and QRIS Resource Guide are online quality rating and improvement resources provided by the Office of Child Care.

This National Standards Crosswalk Tool is designed to help states that are developing and aligning program standards for licensing, quality rating and improvement systems, and/or prekindergarten programs, to search and compare the content of several sets of national standards.

Suggested citation for QRIScompendium.org:

The Build Initiative & Child Trends. (2019). A Catalog and Comparison of Quality Initiatives (Data System). Retrieved from http://qualitycompendium.org/ on [ENTER DATE].

The attached file provides summary tables of data elements, or groups of data elements, using qriscompendium.org data, by state/locality. Tables are included for the following topics: participation by program type; participation by funding stream; number of rating levels; rating process features; length of time the rating is valid; process for the receipt of a rating level; automatic rating features; financial incentives; target populations for technical assistance; public awareness efforts; data collected; and incoporation of licensing for both centers and family child cares. 

A spreadsheet of all of the cleaned data from QRIScompendium.org from 2014 (N=39).

The BUILD Initiative, with the help of many of the country’s early childhood leaders, has produced an E-Book, Rising to the Challenge: Building Effective Systems for Young Children and Families. Through this E-Book, they share learning from the initial implementation of the efforts, highlighting experience, trends, and reflections stemming from the significant contribution from the federal investment in this strategic work.

A spreadsheet of all of the cleaned data from QRIScompendium.org from 2015 (N=41).

Note (6/6/2022): Minor changes have been made to this dataset. All affected cells are highlighted in yellow.

A spreadsheet of all of the cleaned data from QRIScompendium.org from 2016 (N=43).

A website from the Administration for Children and Families, Office of Child Care TA Network, to examine and compare states' child care licensing regulations.

A series of fact sheets about the state of quality rating and improvement systems (QRIS). Data are from a catalog of Quality Compendium data. Topics include: 

• NEW - Continuous Quality Improvement in QRIS
• NEW- Determining QRIS Ratings Using Cut Points on Observational Tools
• NEW- QRIS Data Systems 
• Curriculum and Child Assessment Indicators

• Funding and Financial Incentives

• History of QRIS Growth Over Time

• Indicators of Quality for Ratings

• Infants and Toddlers Addressed in QRIS

• Mission and Goal Statements

• Program Participation in QRIS

• Rating Structures and Processes

• Staff Qualifications, Professional Development, and Supports

• Targeted Communities, Programs, and Children in QRIS

• Technical Assistance

• Use of Observational Tools in QRIS 

A spreadsheet of all of the cleaned data from QualityCompendium.org from 2017 (N=43).

Note (6/6/2022): Minor changes have been made to this dataset. All affected cells are highlighted in yellow.

A spreadsheet of all of the cleaned data from QualityCompendium.org from 2019 (N=45).

Note (3/16/2022): A previous version of this file had incorrect column headings for "Monitoring: Use of continuous quality improvement in rating" in the Rating tab. The column labels for "Use of CQI: Not as an indicator, but as part of the rating or quality improvement process" and "Use of CQI: No continuous quality improvement processes" were switched. The file has been corrected and reuploaded, but data files downloaded prior to the correction will still have inaccurate column labels.

Note (6/6/2022): Minor changes have been made to this dataset. All affected cells are highlighted in yellow.

Data on program eligibility and participation in QRIS are among the most requested data elements by users of the Quality Compendium. These data are challenging to collect in ways that allow direct comparison across different states. For example, calculation of density of participation relies on using similar criteria across states for how the universe of eligible programs (the demoninator in density) is calculated and how the number of rated/participating programs (the numerator) is calculated. Child Trends identified challenges in interpreting the participation and density data from 2019. This spreadsheet documents data changes to produce more clear alignment across states. If you are interested in how the state originally intended to present their data, this spreadsheet provides a look at the data as states entered it. Note that this spreadsheet does not include all of the data presented on the Compendium website. To view the complete database, please refer to the 2019 Master Dataset linked on qualitycompendium.org.

An error in the 2019 data collection process resulted in a loss of data from the technical assistance (TA) focus section of the QRIS profiles, specifically on the data element related to TA focused on infants and toddlers. The data showed that 15 state respondents had changed their answer from "yes" in 2017 to "no" in 2019, which Child Trends identified as unlikely. Child Trends used the 2017 data to manually change those states' 2019 responses from "no" to "yes." To view the complete database, please refer to the 2019 Master Dataset linked on qualitycompendium.org.

The Early Childhood Workforce Index 2020 was published by the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment at the University of Berkeley. The Index provides an overview of policies related to workforce qualifications, work environment, and compensation. Users can use the State Explorer to see profiles of each state and the District of Columbia.

A spreadsheet of cleaned data from a COVID-19 Impact Survey administered by the Quality Compendium in the fall of 2020 (​N​​​​​​=47).

The Integrated Measurement, Program Assessment, and Collaboration Tools (IMPACT) is led by the University of Oregon's Early Childhood Precision, Innovation and Shared Measurement (EC PRISM) program at the Center of Translational Neuroscience. Users can search, compare, and access early childhood measures, each of which are scored on four categories: usability, cost, cultural relevance, and technical merit. 

This brief summarizes findings from two surveys disseminated in 2020 to understand the impact of COVID-19 on quality improvement systems and early childhood providers. 

A spreadsheet of all of the cleaned data from QualityCompendium.org from 2021 (N=45).

Note (6/6/2022): Minor changes have been made to this dataset. All affected cells are highlighted in yellow.

A spreadsheet of all of the cleaned data from QualityCompendium.org from 2023 (N=46).

Note (4/3/24): Minor changes have been made to this dataset. In the field Use of continuous quality improvement, the options "As an indicator, for points or levels" and "Not as an indicator, but as part of the rating or quality improvement process" have been collapsed into "Continuous quality improvement is used." Additionally, some of the participation numbers have been updated.

All affected cells are highlighted in yellow.

During this webinar, we discuss overall trends in the new 2023 Quality Compendium data, including the shift from rating to recognition and states’ approaches to continuous quality improvement. We also hear directly from state leaders in Illinois and Maryland as they share insights about their own QIS systems.

The Getting Started video is a quick-start guide to the Quality Compendium database. This video will cover some background about the Quality Compendium and its purpose, the data collection process, and key features and functions of the website. 

The Making Sense of the Data video is a user guide to interpreting the data and identifying the information you need. This video covers the resources available on the Quality Compendium to help you make sense of the data, such as the data dictionary, glossary, fact sheets, and top trends.

The Exploring the Data video helps to guide analyses using the Quality Compendium data. This video covers approaches to learning about one QIS, examining trends in a few data elements across states, examining national or multi-state trends across many data elements, and examining trends over time. 

A dictionary of all data fields included in the Quality Compendium.

This implementation guide from the National Center on Early Childhood Quality Assurance guides readers through five actions that are essential to creating and implementing a comprehensive, equitable salary scale, or structured schedule of compensation, for early educators.

This toolkit is geared towards those invested in leading quality infant/toddler care and will show them how Infant/Toddler Specialist Networks can support the infant/toddler early care and education workforce and increase access to high-quality care. 

This infographic developed by the Office of Head Start describes eight dimensions of staff well-being—including both individual and organizational dimensions—and how they can be nurtured in Head Start program settings.

This report operationalizes equity indicators, which are grounded and organized by the CEP’s 14 priorities to advance equity in early care and education systems, published in a 2020 report, in partnership with 8 national organizations. States can use these indicators to inform QRIS redesign efforts to advance equity and improve transparency for families.

The Early Childhood Equity Strategic Plan Template is an implementation tool that can assist states and tribes in planning for systems change, in line with the 14 key equity priorities and accompanying policy agendas.

Th is paper addresses what needs to be financed to support QRIS, reviews current fi nance strategies, and suggests additional options to explore as QRIS leaders focus on fi nancing as a critical facet of QRIS’ potential.

The NAEYC Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS) Toolkit was developed to provide assistance in understanding and advocating for a systems-building approach to improving the quality of early childhood programs at the state and local levels.