Quality Measurement in Early Childhood Settings

Martha Zaslow, Ph.D., Ivelisse Martinez-Beck, Ph.D., Kathryn Tout, Ph.D., Tamara Halle, Ph.D.

This comprehensive resource brings together more than 50 experts to establish what's working and how quality measurement in early childhood settings can be improved.

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What constitutes quality in early childhood settings, and how can it best be measured with today's widely used tools and promising new approaches? Find authoritative answers in this book, a must-have for high-level administrators and policymakers as more and more states adopt early childhood Quality Rating and Improvement Systems.

The most comprehensive resource on measuring quality in both home- and center-based settings, this book brings together a who's who of early childhood experts to establish what's working in quality measurement and how it can be strengthened to support better programs and optimal child development. Readers will explore specific approaches to measuring the quality of factors that are key to school readiness, including:

• supports for early language and literacy development
• math and science curricula and instruction
• environmental supports for social and emotional competence
• health-related factors such as nutrition, safety, and adequate physical activity
• family-sensitive child care
• cultural responsiveness
• services for children with disabilities
• practices that promote dual language learners' development and learning

To help them measure these factors accurately, readers will get critical analyses of dozens of current assessment measures, plus an exclusive inside look at today's most promising new tools. Readers will also find invaluable guidance on "big picture" issues—such as how to align quality measures with professional development goals and desired child outcomes; how to make sound, data-driven decisions when implementing a large-scale Quality Rating and Improvement System, and how to conduct integrated quality assessments that combine the best of observational and structural approaches.

An essential reference for anyone involved in a statewide effort to improve program quality, this book also makes an ideal graduate-level text for tomorrow's early childhood decision makers. Readers will have the knowledge base they need to strengthen their quality measurement—so they can be sure their programs lead to positive outcomes and get children ready for school success.

Reviews

: Young Children (NAEYC) - September 19, 2011

"The thoughtful and coherent summaries in this comprehensive volume provide invaluable insight toward understanding and strengthening this central component of our field."

W. Steven Barnett, Co-Director, National Institute for Early Education Research; Board of Governors Professor, Rutgers University - October 18, 2010

"No issue is more important for early childhood policy, practice, and research. No book provides a better guide to what we know and what we must learn about measuring quality. A must read for anyone concerned with improving early childhood policy and practice."

Kelly Maxwell, Associate Director and Research Scientist, FPG Child Development Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill - October 11, 2010

"Brings together an incredible array of the best minds in early childhood to thoughtfully tackle one of the toughest issues of our time-measuring quality practices for young children."

Catherine Scott-Little, Associate Professor, Human Development and Family Studies, UNC-Greensboro - October 11, 2010

"A definitive 'go to' book for policy makers, researchers, and anyone else charged with the task of measuring and/or improving the quality of early childhood programs."

Volume Editors: Martha Zaslow Ph.D., Ivelisse Martinez-Beck Ph.D., Kathryn Tout Ph.D., Tamara Halle Ph.D.

Download an excerpt

Measuring Quality of ECE Programs for Children with Disabilities