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 QRIS National Learning Network (NLN) is a coalition of states and other organizations formed to use rating and improvement strategies to improve children's development. The NLN provides resources related to the design and implementation of quality systems like QRIS for early care and education. 

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.

A video that provides a tour of the Quality Compendium website and demonstrates three ways you can use the Compendium to answer your questions about QRIS.

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].

A data dictionary for qualitycompendium.org downloads in spreadsheet format including the fields: data element name, category, definition, sub-elements, options, variable type, and the number of time the variable(s) repeats in the download.

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.

The BUILD Initiative and Child Trends hosted a webinar to share updates to the Quality Compendium, including new data, features of the website, and how quality improvement leaders use the data in their work.

Speakers included Debi Mathias, Kathryn Tout, Liz Bedrick, Simon Workman, and Char Goodreau.

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.