For Those That Don't Like FCCERS....

[snbauser]

I think the FCCERS is a great tool for internal evaulations of programs and as a tool to enhance a program. I don't like that so much of it is open to interpretation and that in many states, including here in NC, it is used to inform the public of a programs quality. Here we have a stars rating system. It is 1-5 stars with 5 being the best. The number of stars you get is based on a point scale. A portion of the scale is based on your FCCERS score. If you choose to not have one or do not score well, it can directly impact how many stars you get.

Apparently NC has agreed. I saw this posted on their website over the weekend under their what's new section....

The Division of Child Development & Early Education seeks to contract to develop a valid and reliable program assessment measure, or family of measures, designed specifically for the purpose of rating the quality of early childhood care and education programs in a Tiered Quality Rating Improvement System (TQRIS).

And this is listed in the document they posted....

DCDEE has been a national leader in developing a common, statewide TQRIS for early care and education programs, the star-rated licensing system. As part of this system, NC has made significant investments in establishing a reliable method for rating program quality, which includes use of the Environment Rating Scales (ERS) family of instruments. The ERS have been established as valid measures of global program quality, but concerns have arisen regarding use of the ERS in a TQRIS.

One concern is that the ERS and other measures were not originally designed to be used in high-stakes TQRIS assessment, which occurs in NC because the star ratings are public and tied to the level of subsidy payments a program receives. Another concern is that the ERS, as global measures of quality, do not measure other important aspects of quality that are related to children’s learning and development.

The development of a new program quality assessment tool or tools designed specifically for use in a TQRIS will increase the validity of program quality ratings in the star-rated licensing system. This, in turn, will support an increase in the quality of care and education across the system and increase the number of children with high needs who participate in high quality programs, which is a priority of the RTT-ELC initiative.

I thought is was very interesting and wanted to share.

[Heidi]

Thank you for sharing!

I don't have anything against FCCER's really. I agree that it's a great tool for SELF assessment.

What it doesn't do is allow of the uniqueness of family childcare in general, and individuality among providers. What works for my dc children, family, and myself might not work for another provider and HER dc children and family.

Personally, I would like to see MUCH more value placed on the interactions of the provider with the children than on whether or not she has "child sized" seating for each age group and whether or not she sanitizes every possible surface of her home! (or his...sorry Dave).