The “I” in QRIS Survey: Collecting Data on Quality Improvement Activities for Early Childhood Education Programs

A quality rating and improvement system (QRIS) is a voluntary state assessment system that uses multidimensional data on early childhood education programs to rate program quality, support quality improvement efforts, and provide information to families about the quality of available early childhood education programs.

To help states collect data, the Regional Educational Laboratory Midwest partnered with the Iowa Quality Rating System Oversight Committee to develop The “I” in QRIS Survey. This report includes three versions of the survey and describes the survey in detail, including how to use it, how it was developed, and how it can be adapted for other states.

The survey is designed to be administered to early childhood education program directors and key staff who are most knowledgeable about the improvement strategies used in their programs, which include licensed child care centers, home-based child care, state-funded prekindergarten programs, Head Start and Early Head Start programs, and afterschool programs.