Washington

QRIS State Profile

This profile is from the Quality Compendium—a comprehensive resource for information about all of the QRIS operating in the U.S. and its Territories. It was developed by a partnership of the BUILD Initiative, the Early Learning Challenge Collaborative, and Child Trends.

QRIS Resource Guide Examples

Initial Design Process

Washington Pilot on Head Start and PreK Inclusion

The Washington Department of Early Learning (DEL) believes that ensuring consistently high-quality programs for children, regardless of the setting, is critical to improving outcomes for Washington’s youngest learners. In 2013, the DEL conducted a voluntary pilot project with the goal of streamlining the process for Head Start programs and Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP) preschools, which were state-funded and modeled after Head Start, to participate in their QRIS, Early Achievers. The DEL learned from the pilot that Washington’s Head Start programs and ECEAP preschools

  • aligned well with Early Achievers quality standards,
  • demonstrated high quality using their existing practices, procedures, and policies, and
  • provided care that, on average, equaled an Early Achievers quality level 3 or higher.

Based on these pilot findings, Head Start programs and ECEAP preschools that opted to participate in Early Achievers

  • entered Early Achievers at a level 3,
  • were strongly encouraged to demonstrate quality levels 4 or 5 through a full onsite evaluation and streamlined rating process, and
  • had the opportunity to apply to become training resource centers once they were rated a level 4 or 5; training resource centers received a contract to share training and professional development with other Early Achievers participants.

Head Start programs and ECEAP preschools were not eligible to receive quality improvement awards available to licensed child care providers who participate in Early Achievers. The pilot’s executive summary further describes the results.