The Environment Rating Scales are used for a variety of purposes in the early childhood field. They were originally developed to meet the needs of two very different groups: researchers and practitioners who are interested in quality assessment and improvement.
For research purposes, the scales are soundly reliable when used by appropriately trained data collectors. Their flexible and comprehensive nature allows an exploration of the relationship between early childhood program quality and its varied causes and outcomes. For example, the scales have been used in studies on what structural variables (such as staff-child ratios, teacher education, cost, etc.) best predict program quality, represented by ERS scores. Also the ERS have been used to see the effects of program quality on how children develop certain aspects of competence, such as language ability, math readiness, and social skills. The scales are amenable for use in a variety of research designs and analytical procedures.
For quality assessment and improvement, the scales are used in monitoring programs, evaluating programs to reward those with higher quality, evaluating the quality of programs to inform consumers/parents and especially to guide practitioners towards creating higher quality programs for the children they serve. Because of the well-defined levels of quality represented in the ERS, they are viewed as a “roadmap” to quality improvement. They are used in licensing, other program quality monitoring, and by program administrative staff, program improvement or technical assistance staff, coaches or mentors, and teachers. They are used in programs for typically developing children and children with developmental disabilities.
The scales are used not just in their country of origin, the United States, but world-wide for research and quality assessment and improvement. International use includes, but is not limited to, Canada, and various countries of Europe, Asia, and South America. They apply across varied cultures when desired outcomes required for success in a global society are desired goals for children.
Selected Research on the ERS and Early Childhood Program Quality
Aboud, F. E. (2006). Evaluation of an early childhood preschool program in rural Bangladesh. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 21, 46-60.
Aboud, F. E., & Hossain, K. (2011). The impact of preprimary school on primary school achievement in Bangladesh. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 26, 237–246. doi: 10.1016/j.ecresq.2010.07.001
Ang, L., Brooker, E., & Stephens, C. (2017). A review of the research on childminding: Understanding children’s experiences in home-based childcare settings. Early Childhood Education, 45, 261–270. doi: 10.1007/s10643-016-0773-2
Andersson, M. (1999). The Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (ECERS) as a tool in evaluating and improving quality in preschools. Studies in Educational Sciences, 19.
Bailey, D. B., Harms, T., & Clifford, R. M. (1982). Comparison of preschool environments for handicapped and non-handicapped children. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 2(1), 9-20.
Bailey, D. B., Harms, T., & Clifford, R. M. (1983). Matching changes in preschool environments to desired changes in child behavior. Journal of Division of Early Childhood, 7, 61-88.
Bailey, D. B., Harms, T., & Clifford, R. M. (1983). Social and educational aspects of mealtimes for handicapped preschoolers: Observation and analysis. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 3(2), 19-32.
Barclay, K., & Benelli, C. (1995). Program evaluation through the eyes of a child. Childhood Education, 72(2), 91-97.
Sílvia Barros, S., & Aguiar, C. (2010). Assessing the quality of Portuguese child care programs for toddlers. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 25, 527-535. doi: 10.1016/j.ecresq.2009.12.003
Benham, N., Miller, T., & Kontos, S. (1988). Pinpointing staff training needs in child care centers. Young Children, 43(4), 9-16.
Bergen, D. (1995). Quality of the literacy environment in day care and children’s development. Childhood Education, 71(3), 191-192.
Bisceglia, R., Perlman, M., Schaak, D., & Jenkins, J. (2009). Examining the psychometric properties of the Infant Toddler Environment Rating Scale-Revised Edition in a high stakes context. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 24, 121–132. doi:10.1016/j.ecresq.2009.02.001
Bjørnestad, E., & Os, E. (2018). Quality in Norwegian childcare for toddlers using ITERS-R. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 26, 111-127. doi: 10.1080/1350293X.2018.1412051
Boo, F. L., Dormal, M., & Weber, A. (2019). Validity of four measures of child care quality in a national sample of centers in Ecuador. PLoS ONE, 14(2), e0209987. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone/0209987
Bryant, D. M., Burchinal, M. R., Lau, L. B., & Sparling, J. J. (1994). Family and classroom correlates of Head Start children's developmental outcomes. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 9(3/4), 289-309.
Bryant, D. M., Clifford, R. M., & Peisner, E. S. (1991). Best practices for beginners: Developmental appropriateness in kindergarten. American Educational Research Journal, 28(4), 783-803.
Bryant, D. M., Maxwell, K., Burchinal, M. R., & Lowman, B. (1997). The effects of smart start on the quality of preschool child care. Chapel Hill, NC: Frank Porter Graham Child Development Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Bryant, D. M., Maxwell, K. L., & Burchinal, M. (1999). Effects of a community initiative on the quality of preschool child care. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 14(4), 449-464.
Bryant, D., Maxwell, K., Taylor, K., Poe, M., Peisner-Feinberg, E., & Bernier, K. (2003). Smart Start and preschool child care quality in NC: Change over time and relation to children’s readiness. Chapel Hill, NC: FPG Child Development Institute.
Bryant, D. M., Peisner, E. S., & Clifford, R. M. (1993). Evaluation of public preschool programs in North Carolina. Final report. Chapel Hill, NC: Carolina Policy Studies Program, Frank Porter Graham Child Development Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Bryant, D. M., Clifford, R., & Peisner-Feinberg, E. S. (1989). Best practices for beginners: Quality programs for kindergartners. Final report. Chapel Hill, NC: Frank Porter Graham Child Development Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Brunsek, A., Perlman, M., Falenchuk, O., McMullen, E., Fletcher, B., & Shah, P. S. (2017). The relationship between the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale and its revised form and child outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis. PLOS ONE, 12(6), e0178512. doi: 10.138/journal.pone.0178512
Buell, M. J., & Cassidy, D. J. (2001). The complex and dynamic nature of quality in early care and educational programs: A case for chaos. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 15(2), 209-220.
Bull, R., Yao, S. Y. & Ng, E. L. (2017). Assessing quality of kindergarten classrooms in Singapore: Psychometric properties of the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale—Revised. International Journal of Early Childhood,49(1), 1-20. doi:10.1007/s13158-017-0180-x
Burchinal, M. (2018). Measuring early care and education quality. Child Development Perspectives, 12(1), 3–9. doi: 10.1111/cedp.12260
Burchinal, M. R., Cryer, D., Clifford, R. M., & Howes, C. (1999). Caregiver training and classroom quality in child care centers. Frank Porter Graham Child Development Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (unpublished manuscript).
Burchinal, M., Howes, C., Pianta, R., Bryant, D., Early, D., Clifford, R., & Barbarin, O. (2008) Predicting child outcomes at the end of kindergarten from the quality of pre-kindergarten teacher–child interactions and instruction. Applied Developmental Science, 12, 140-153. doi: 10.1080/10888690802199418
Burchinal, M., Kainz, K., & Cai, Y. (2011). How well do our measures of quality predict child outcomes? A meta-analysis of data from large-scale studies of early childhood settings. In M. Zaslow, I. Martinez-Beck, K. Tout, & T. Halle (Eds.), Quality measurement in early childhood settings (pp. 11–32). Baltimore, MD: Brookes Publishing Company.
Burchinal, M. R., Peisner-Feinberg, E., Pianta, R., & Howes, C. (2002). Development of academic skills from preschool through second grade: Family and classroom predictors of developmental trajectories. Journal of School Psychology, 40(5), 415–436. doi: 10.1016/S0022-4405(02)00107-3.
Burchinal, M. R., Peisner-Feinberg, E. S., Bryant, D., & Clifford, R. M. (2000). Children's social and cognitive development and child care quality: Testing for differential associations related to poverty, gender, or ethnicity. Applied Developmental Science, 4(3), 149-165.
Burchinal, M., Roberts, J. E., Zeisel, S. A., Hennon, E. A., & Hooper, S. (2006). Social risk and protective child, parenting, and child care factors in early elementary school years. Parenting: Science and Practice, 6, 79–113. doi: 10.1207/s15327922par0601_4
Burchinal, M. R., Roberts, J. E., Riggins, R., Zeisel, S. A., Neebe, E., & Bryant, D. (2000). Relating quality of center-based child care to early cognitive and language development longitudinally. Child Development, 71(2), 339-357.
Burriss, K.G. (2001). Research into practice. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 16(1), 125-129.
Buysse, V., Wesley, P. W., Bryant, D., & Gardner, D. (1999). Quality of early childhood programs in inclusive and noninclusive settings. Exceptional Children, 65(3), 301-314.
Calder, P. (1996). Methodological reflections on using the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale as a measure to make cross-national evaluations of quality. Early Childhood Development and Care, 126, 27-37.
Campbell, P. H., & Milbourne, S. A. (2005). Improving the quality of infant—toddler care through professional development. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 25(1), 3–14. doi: 10.1177/02711214050250010101
Cassidy, D. J., Buell, M., Pugh-Hoese, S., & Russell, S. (1995). The effect of education on child care teachers’ beliefs and classroom quality: year one evaluation of the TEACH early childhood associate degree scholarship program. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 10(2), 171-183.
Cassidy, D. J., Hestenes, L. L., Hegde, A., Hestenes, S., & Mims, S. (2005). Measurement of quality in preschool child care classrooms: An exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis of the early childhood environment rating scale-revised. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 20, 345-360. doi: 10.1016/j.ecresq.2005.07.005
Clifford, R. M. (1993). Recent major studies of early childhood education in the U.S. in Encontro Sobre Educacao Pre-Escolar (pp. 55-61). Lisbon, Portugal: Fundacao Calouste Gulbenkian Serviicade Educacao.
Clifford, R. M., Bryant, D. M., & Peisner, E. S. (1989). Best practices for beginners: Quality programs for kindergartens. Chapel Hill, NC: Frank Porter Graham Child Development Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Clifford, R. M., Bryant, D. M., & Peisner, E. S. (1989). Developmental appropriateness of kindergartens in North Carolina. Raleigh, NC: NC-AEYC News, North Carolina Association for the Education of Young Children.
Clifford, R. M., Harms, T., & Cryer, D. (1990). Measures of reliability of three rating scales. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the National Association for the Education of Young Children, Washington, DC.
Clifford, R. M., & Neitzel, J. (2015, May). New ECERS-R virtual subscales. Paper presented at the National Smart Start Conference., Greensboro, NC. Available online at www.ersi.info.
Clifford, R. M., Rossbach, H. G., Burchinal, M. R., Lera, M. J., & Harms, T. (In preparation). Factor structure of the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (ECERS): An international comparison.
Clifford, R. M., Wenger, M., Lubeck, S., Gallagher, J. J., & Harms, T. (1987). Family needs for child care and early education. Chapel Hill, NC: Frank Porter Graham Child Development Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Cost, Quality, & Child Outcomes Study Team. (1995). Cost, quality and child outcomes in child care centers: Key findings and recommendations. Young Children, 50(4), 40-44.
Côté, S. M., Mongeau, C., Japel, C., Xu, Q., Séguin, J. R., & Tremblay, R. E. (2013), Child care quality and cognitive development: Trajectories leading to better preacademic skills. Child Development, 84, 752–766. doi:10.1111/cdev.12007
Cryer, D. (1999). Defining and assessing early childhood program quality. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 563, 39-55.
Cryer, D., & Burchinal, M. R. (1997). Parents as child care consumers. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 12(1), 35-58.
Cryer, D., Clifford, R. M., & Harms, T. (1988). Day care center compliance and evaluation project: Final report. Chapel Hill, NC: Frank Porter Graham Child Development Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Cryer, D., & Phillipsen, L. (1997). Quality details: A close-up look at child care program strengths and weaknesses. Young Children, 55(5), 51-61.
Cryer, D., Tietze, W., Burchinal, M., Leal, T., & Palacios, J. (1999). Predicting process quality from structural quality in preschool programs: A cross-country comparison. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 14(3), 339–361.
Deynoot-Schaub, M. J. G., & Riksen-Walraven, J. M. (2006). Peer contacts of 15-month-olds in childcare: Links with child temperament, parent–child interaction and quality of childcare. Social Development, 15, 709–729. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9507.2006.00366.x
Diaz, C. J., Arthur, L., Beecher, B., & McNaught, M. (2000). Multiple literacies in early childhood: What do families and communities think about their children’s early literacy learning? Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, 23(3), 230.
Early, D. M., Maxwell, K. L., Burchinal, M., Bender, R. H., Ebanks, C., Henry, G. T., Iriondo-Perez, J., Mashburn, A. J., Pianta, R. C., Alva, S., Bryant, D., Cai, K., Clifford, R. M., Griffin, J. A., Howes, C., Jeon, H., Peisner-Feinberg, E., Vandergrift, N., & Zill, N. (2007). Teachers’ education, classroom quality, and young children’s academic skills: Results from seven studies of preschool programs. Child Development, 78(2), 558-580.
Elardo, R., & Telzrow, K. (1985). Review of the early childhood environment rating scale. 9th Mental Measurements Yearbook. Lincoln: Buros Institute of Mental Measurement.
Epstein, A. (1999). Pathways to Quality in Head Start, Public School, and Private Nonprofit Early Childhood Programs (Statistical Data Included). Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 13(2), 101.
Farquhar, S. (1989). Assessing New Zealand child day care quality using the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale. Early Child Development and Care, 47, 93-105.
Fiene, R., & Melnick, S. A. (1989). Licensure and program quality in child care and early childhood programs. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania State Department of Public Welfare.
File, N. K., & Kontos, S. (1993). The relationship of program quality to children’s play in integrated early intervention settings. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 13, 1-18.
Goelman, H. (1988). A study of the relationships between structure and process variables in home and day care settings on children's language development. In A. R. Pence(Ed), Ecological research with children and families: From concepts to methodology. Teachers College Press.
Goelman, H., & Pence, A. R. (1986). Toward the ecology of day care in Canada: A research agenda for the 1980s. Canadian Journal of Education, 10(4), 323-344.
Goelman, H., & Pence, A. R. (1987a). The effects of child care, family and individual characteristics on children's language development. in D. Phillips (Ed), Quality in child care: What does research tell us? NAEYC Monograph Series (Vol. 1). Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children.
Goelman, H., & Pence, A. R. (1987b). The relationship between family structure and child development in three types of day care. in S. Kontos, & D. Peters (Eds), Advances in Applied Developmental Psychology (Vol. 2 pp. 129-146). Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
Goelman, H., & Pence, A. R. (1988). Children in three types of day care: Daily experiences, quality of care and developmental outcomes. Early Child Development and Care, 33, 67-76.
Goelman, H., Forer, B., Kershaw, P., Doherty, G., Lero, D., & LaGrange, A. (2006). Towards a predictive model of quality in Canadian child care centers. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 21, 280–295.
Gordon, R. A., Fujimoto, K., Kaestner, R., Korenman, S., & Abner, K. (2013). An assessment of the validity of the ECERS-R with implications for assessments of child care quality and its relation to child development. Developmental Psychology, 49(1), 146–160. doi: 10.1037/a0027899
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Hadeed, J. (2014). Reliability and validity of the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale, Revised Edition, ECERS-R in Arabic. Early Child Development and Care, 184, 819-842. doi: 10.1080/03004430.2013.818991
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Helburn, S., & Howes, C. (1996). Child care cost and quality. The Future of Children: Financing Child Care, 6(2), 62-82.
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