Project leads: Dr. Shannon Lipscomb, Oregon State University-Cascades, Dr. Roberta Weber, Oregon State University, and Dr. Beth Green, Portland State University

This work was funded in part by the Early Learning Division, Oregon Department of Education, as a part of its Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge Initiative.

Oregon’s QRIS Validation Study has two goals: 1) to examine how well the QRIS rating system differentiates levels of observed program quality and child/family engagement and 2) to identify revisions that could enhance validity. Oregon is conducting two studies to accomplish these goals. The first uses a standardized measure of the observed quality of adult-child interactions (the Classroom Assessment Scoring System, or CLASS), as a benchmark against which to compare QRIS ratings. Results of this first study are included in this report. The second study, currently underway, uses measures of child and family engagement as a way to assess the predictive value of QRIS ratings at the child and family level; data from the second study are not included in this report.

In other words, the Oregon QRIS Validation Study reported in this document examines how well the ratings that programs earn in Oregon’s QRIS represent the quality of children’s experiences, measured by adult-child interactions. More specifically, we examine five inter-related research questions.

Research Questions

  1. What is the quality of programs in the QRIS Validation Study, as indicated by CLASS scores and QRIS ratings?
  2. How highly correlated are the QRIS domains and standards with one another?
  3. How well do programs’ QRIS ratings differentiate observed quality of adult-child interactions?
  4. How do certain QRIS standards & indicators of interest relate to observed quality?
  5. How well are other personnel measures associated with observed quality and final QRIS ratings?

There are two version of the report:

i. Full length, including appendices

Oregon’s QRIS Validation Study1report_withappendices_Jan2017

11. Brief version, without appendices

QRISStudy1report_FINAL_noappendices_FINAL

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