Aligning QRIS Standards, Supports and Policies to Teaching and - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Aligning QRIS Standards, Supports and Policies to Teaching and Learning

May 6, 2015

Introductions

Agenda for the Conversation

• Historic Context
• Theory of Change
• Who are the children?
• Teaching and Learning
• Elements of QRIS

A Systems Approach

Many systems approaches available; Here is the Early Childhood Systems Working Group framework, which focuses on :

• Outcomes
• Necessary Systems and

Services

• Values and Principles
• Core Strategies

Historical Context

Welfare Reform

• From work support to school readiness
• Federal and State spending on child care

skyrocketed between 1995-2009

• Focus on increasing supply; little attention to

policies that support provider quality

• Result: dramatic government cost increase

without corresponding improvement in quality or child outcomes

Historical Context

The Great Recession Added New Challenges

• As child care demand boomed pre-recession,

cost/quality challenges not as apparent

• With recession, ECE programs that serve all

socioeconomic sectors suffering from:

– Lower enrollment – Insufficient fee collection – Pressure to lower prices

• End result: Oversupply of poor- and mediocre quality

programs, significant fiscal challenges for higher quality programs

Historical Context

Federal Direction to Improve School Readiness

• Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge

– Grants shifted focus from access to quality – Clearly focused on standards-based ‘system’ – standards for learning, for professionals and standards for program – Required a “T”QRIS

• Increased focus on quality from

Office of Child Care - Child Care Development Fund Reporting

Historical Context

• NAEYC Accreditation define quality

practices – the North Star

• Brain Research
• Accountability, ROI and Results
• Using Research to inform practice

States Considering Theory of Change

What is the Vision for QRIS? What Levers are used to progress to that vision? The use of tools and models:

• Logic Models to demonstrate inputs and
• utcomes
• How is implementation science being used to

provide a conceptual framework?

• What does the ‘end’ look like?
• What are best and promising practices?

Goals of the QRIS – Zaslow/Tout

(QRIS NLN Meeting July 2013)

• Improved child outcomes and school readiness
• Professionalization of the ECE Workforce and

Instructional Leaders

• Improving ECE as a System
• Enhancing Family Outcomes

Lets Talk

What is your reaction to states defining and tracking other goals (besides child

• utcomes) of the QRIS?

The Importance of Data

What data drives your state’s policies to improve teaching and learning?

Who are the At Risk Children?

Lets Talk

Discussion:

– What does good teaching looks like? – How would we know? – What makes an “excellent” teacher? – How would we know?

What is Teaching Quality?

No other intervention can make the difference that a knowledgeable skillful teacher can make in the learning process

(Darling-Hammond, 1997)

Teaching Quality

Teaching Quality = Strong Instruction = Students Learn Teaching Quality = Teacher Quality + Context of Instruction Teacher Quality

– Knowledge – Skills – Dispositions

Context of Instruction

– Curriculum and assessment system – “Fit” between teachers’ qualifications and what they are asked to teach – Teaching conditions (e.g., time, class size, facilities, and materials)

State Policy To Promote Effective Teaching That Improves Children’s Learning

Guiding questions for states:

• 1. What are the consistent supports and sensible

accountability systems needed to drive teaching quality that will result in improved outcomes for children?

• 2. What guidance and advice can we give to states about

the “powerful and few” core state policies that improve teaching quality and result in significant outcomes for children?

Children's Learning

Teaching Quality Teacher Quality Teacher Knowledge, Skills and Dispositions Context of Instruction Conditions of Teaching Human and Organizational Resources

Teaching Quality: Theory Of Change

Pro rofe fessi sional nal Devel velopme

• pment

nt and d Ac Accounta ntabi bility ty St Structures ctures

• What are effective teaching practices that result in significant

learning outcomes for young children? – high quality learning environments must be coupled with highly intentional and developmentally appropriate instruction

• How do we move these practices into policy and practice?
• A Question of Implementation

– Evidence-based Approaches – State and Local Capacity – Policy Coherence

Moving Toward Solutions: Research – Policy – Practice

• 1. Focusing Professional Development Policies on Effective

Teaching Practices

• 2. Streamlining Accountability Structures that Impact

Teaching Quality

• 3. Integrating Teaching Conditions into States’ Professional

Development and Accountability Structures

• 4. Ensuring Racially, Culturally, and

Linguistically Competent Teaching

Four Problems of Practice

Elements of QRIS

QRIS can be framework for early care and education system reform …

Standards

System Planning and Accountability

Supports for Improvement

Financing

Engagement and Outreach

The Challenges In Early Care And Education--Equity

• Creating equitable, high quality early care and education

systems that have sufficient policies, programs and capacities in place to support and sustain optimal developmental and educational outcomes for all children, including the most vulnerable.

• Creating a workforce at all levels that is able to provide

equitable, high quality, culturally responsive, intellectually rigorous, and emotionally supportive care and education for children, including the most vulnerable. from a presentation by Aisha Ray, Ph.D.

Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty

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Questions, Reflections, Comments?

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Access presentations and resources at

http://buildinitiative.org/OurWork/StateandLocal/EarlyLearningChallenge/SmartStart2015.aspx

BUILD’s RTT-ELC E-Book chapters will be posted at the above link. Check back!

Debi Mathias, Director QRIS NLN BUILD Initiative

dmathias@buildinitiative.org www.qrisnetwork.org

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