The government has a mandate of providing quality education to its citizens to ensure that they get the requisite skills needed to work in various professional fields or for personal empowerment. Accreditation is one of the main frameworks that the government uses to set forth standards that the educational institutions and programs ought to adhere to in conducting various operations. Early childhood, which forms the basis of academic attainment, requires accreditation as it is considered the hallmark of educational excellence. In line with this requirement, it is crucial to understand the accreditation process in terms of how it has evolved, placing new demands for the education sector. Accreditation is not to be confused with program evaluation, and although they tend to overlap, these two concepts point to different quality considerations. An analysis of accreditation processes captures how they change over time to accommodate changing educational needs considering that the education sector is dynamic.
Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS)
Description of Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) Accreditation Process
Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) is a tool that is used to define and measure the quality of early childhood education programs in the US. QRIS has five common elements which are program standards, financial incentives, support for practitioners and programs, consumer education and quality assurance and monitoring. QRIS program standards are used to rate programs that participate in the accreditation process as well as providing the public and parents with information about the quality of these programs. Financial incentives which include bonuses and CCDF subsidy reimbursement rates support providers of early and school-age care to, attain higher ratings, improve learning environments and sustain long-term quality. QRIS equips providers through mentorship and training so that they can be in a position to facilitate the achievement of quality educational outcomes. The element of quality assurance and monitoring focuses on assessing the programs to determine how they are meeting QRIS standards and assigning rates.
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As a systemic approach, QRIS usually awards quality ratings to both early and school-age care as well as education programs, which comply with a set of program standards. States across the US are required to improve the quality and availability of early and school-age care as well as education programs. Schools that participate in their state’s QRIS demonstrate that they are committed to continuous quality improvement (Samuels, 2013). The best thing about QRIS is the fact that it allows providers to continue operating even if they post the lowest QIRS levels as long as they are above the minimum requirements.
How the QRIS Accreditation Process has Changed in the Last Decade
QRIS was first created in 1998 and Oklahoma was the first to adopt it but it has since gained momentum as the main systemic approach that is used for benchmarking quality. Moreover, QRIS has become the basis for identifying and awarding early childhood programs providing high-quality services. By 2010, 22 states including Colorado, Iowa, Kentucky, Wisconsin, and Tennessee had adopted QRIS as the basis for assessing quality. While there is such a statewide adoption of QRIS, the states have the discretion to change or adjust the process so that it suits their academic needs. In some states, school-age programs are allowed to participate others allow family care homes to participate while still others allow state-funded prekindergarten programs to participate in the QRIS. It is important to note that different states are in different stages of adopting QRIS considering that each state has state-specific educational needs.
Idaho, which is one of the states, that has adopted QRIS has a custom-made process that benefits its needs. The state provides families with continuous eligibility for childcare subsidies for at least 12 months. Additionally, the state QRIS provides for developmental guidelines or early learning standards toddlers and infants by having a toddler/infant credential certificate (National Center for Children in Poverty, 2018). Furthermore, the state has adopted Common Core Standards as well as statewide QRIS to facilitate social-emotional learning. In the same breath, the state of Idaho has incorporated ‘Strengthening Families’, a child abuse and neglect prevention and parent engagement framework in their QRIS (US Department of Health & Human Services, nd). This integration rides on the assumption that there exists a unique relationship between parents and childcare providers. The framework hopes to reduce child neglect and abuse to promote social connections, parental resilience, and healthy emotional and social development, which are the precursor’s optimal educational outcomes
How the QRIS Accreditation Process may Continue to Evolve and the Factors that Fight Influence Future Change(s)
QRIS, which is a standard for assessing the quality of programs, will continue to evolve so that it captures the dynamic educational requirements. It is likely that in the future it will adopt more elements in addition to the current five to meet demands. Of importance is the fact that it may be custom-made to align with local, state, and federal needs. For instance, the states may use QRIS to assess specific groups of students such as English language learners or learners who demonstrate various cultural competencies (QRIS National Learning Network, 2019). In line with these changes, it is important to note that various factors may inform these changes. The first factor to consider is the cost, which is associated with developing, implementing and sustaining QRIS. States that are considering adopting this system must have enough funds for creating public awareness as well as funding its implementation. Apart from the cost scope of implementation may be a factor to consider as it may influence QRIS in the future. Stakeholders need to establish whether QRIS is to be adopted nationally, at the state level or locally for the sake of uniformity. Finally, the regulation would be a major factor that determines the uptake of QRIS by the states that are yet to do so. Up until now, it is not clear if QRIS is mandatory or voluntary. According to Esplin et al (2019), if there is no regulation to enforce mandatory adoption of QRIS, it will not produce the desired outcomes. In such a case, the concerned stakeholders ought to consider how to make it mandatory for all programs to adopt the framework.
Comparing Accreditation and Evaluation Processes
Evaluation and accreditation are processes that are common in the education sector especially when it comes to the delivery of quality educational outcomes. Evaluation and accreditation tend to overlap each other since accreditation only occurs after a thorough evaluation of programs, approaches, and processes. According to Graffigna et al, accreditation is “the process performed to acknowledge or certify the quality of a higher educational institution or a university degree program and it is based upon a prior evaluation” (2014, 2635). If an institution is to be accredited, a team must first evaluate the institutions' processes to establish loopholes and areas that require improvement. Evaluation reports advise accreditation agencies whether the institution is adhering to laid out rules and regulations or not. In the same manner, accreditation must rely on evaluation in that the stakeholders must conduct regular evaluations to determine if accredited institutions aligned to the set out provisions. While the two processes are connected and consecutive services, they may point to different approaches and outcomes. Evaluation is conducted to provide a diagnosis to the existing challenges that are associated with a process, procedure, or approach. Accreditation, on the other hand, is involved with granting quality labels to regulate how institutions are to conduct their operations. To this end, it is obvious that accreditation cannot occur without prior evaluation and that evaluation monitor if accredited programs are aligned to accreditation regulations.
References
Esplin, J. A., Neilson, B. G., Austin, A. M. B., & Fronk, A. (2019). Self-Report QRIS: challenges with validation. Early Education and Development, 30(6), 817-834. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2019.1591045
Graffigna, A. M. Ghilardi, L., Fraca, C., Morell, M. A., Simonassi, M. L., Bartol, R., & Mengual, M. (2014). Universitary evaluation. From the program’s accreditation to the institutional evaluation. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences , 116, 2635 – 2639. 10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.01.626
National Center for Children in Poverty. (2018). Idaho Early Childhood Profile. http://www.nccp.org/profiles/ID_profile_20.html#11
US Department of Health & Human Services. (nd). Idaho: QRIS State Profile. https://ecquality.acf.hhs.gov/states/idaho
QRIS National Learning Network. (2019). Engaging Family Child Care in QRIS. https://www.buildinitiative.org/Portals/0/Uploads/Documents/QRIS2019FamilyChildCareReportREV2.pdf
Samuels, C. (2013, August 29). Study: Preschool rating systems disconnected from a child. Education Week. http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/early_years/2013/08/study_preschool_rating_systems_disconnected_from_child_outcomes.html
