Child Care and Early Education Research Connections

Skip to main content

Systemwide quality improvement in early childhood education: Evidence from Louisiana

Description:

Despite substantial federal, state, and local investments in improving early care and education (ECE), we know little about whether ECE program quality has improved over time. The lack of data tracking the quality of publicly funded ECE programs at scale creates a substantial evidence gap for policymakers attempting to weigh the returns on, and future of, quality improvement policies. Data from Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS) provide a promising opportunity to address this problem. Using 4 years of data from a mandatory, statewide QRIS covering subsidized child care, Head Start, and state pre-kindergarten, we document systemwide quality and improvement trends over a period of targeted investment in quality improvement statewide. We find improvements in quality overall, across sectors and communities over this period. Results also reveal differential growth across sectors such that quality gaps diminished. This study highlights the potential of statewide ECE data for informing quality improvement efforts. (author abstract)

Resource Type:
Reports & Papers
Country:
United States
State(s)/Territories/Tribal Nation(s):
Louisiana

Related resources include summaries, versions, measures (instruments), or other resources in which the current document plays a part. Research products funded by the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation are related to their project records.

- You May Also Like

These resources share similarities with the current selection.

Systemwide changes in the quality of early childhood education: Trends in Louisiana from 2015-16 to 2018-19

Reports & Papers

Louisiana Preschool Development Grant

Administration for Children and Families/OPRE Projects

Continuous quality improvement in QRISs

Fact Sheets & Briefs
Release: 'v1.57.0' | Built: 2024-03-14 09:29:08 EDT