Education Commons^™

Self-Report Qris: Challenges With Validation, Jacob A. Esplin, Brionne G. Neilson, Ann M. Berghout Austin, Alexander Fronk

Faculty Publications

Research Findings: The current study looks at the validity of a voluntary self-report Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) and the characteristics of participating childcare centers. The self-reported quality indicators are compared to external ratings of quality Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Revised ([ECERS-R]) and correlated with variables such as size of center and number of state subsidy clients. ECERS-R scores were unrelated to capacity but significantly lower for centers with a large percentage of state-supported clients. Regarding self-reported quality, centers frequently under-reported their quality and what was claimed was not always externally validated, suggesting a self-report QRIS may not be …