"RAND Education."

"This study was carried by RAND Education"--Preface.

Includes bibliographical references.

Introduction -- Methods -- Findings -- The pioneer QRISs and how they were developed -- Lessons learned -- Appendix A. Interview guide -- Appendix B. Unpublished Mani paper on QRISs.

As demand for child care in the United States has grown, so have calls for improving its quality. One approach that has been gaining momentum involves developing and implementing quality rating and improvement systems (QRISs), multi-component assessments designed to make child-care quality transparent to child-care providers, parents, and policymakers. QRISs provide simple, independent public ratings of child-care quality along with feedback, technical assistance, and improvement incentives. QRIS supporters posit that these systems can inform parental choice and motivate and support quality improvements. This monograph discusses the development and implementation of QRISs in Oklahoma, Colorado, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, five states that were among the first to develop a QRIS. Zellman and Perlman examine decisions that each state made in developing its QRIS, the challenges each faced in implementing its system, and the lessons that were learned during the process. The authors conclude with a series of recommendations for developing, designing, implementing, evaluating, and refining QRISs based on study findings and lessons learned.

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