Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (ECERS-R)

This title is in the Environment Rating Scale® Family of Products—the leading research-based tools to optimize the quality of children’s early learning.

Featuring a spiral binding, the updated Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale, ® ECERS-R, offers more practical assistance in the form of an Expanded Score Sheet (which contains a worksheet) and additional notes for clarification to improve accuracy in scoring. However, the items and indicators remain the same as in the original ECERS-R.

Designed for preschool, kindergarten, and child care classrooms serving children 2½ through 5 years of age, this widely used program quality assessment instrument can be used by program directors for supervision and program improvement, by teaching staff for self-assessment, by agency staff for monitoring, and in teacher training programs. The established reliability and validity of the ECERS-R make it particularly useful for research and program evaluation.

Convenient Organization in seven subscales

• Space and Furnishings
• Personal Care Routines
• Language-Reasoning
• Activities
• Interaction
• Program Structure
• Parents and Staff

Each of the 43 items is expressed as a 7-point scale with indicators for 1 (inadequate), 3 (minimal), 5 (good), and 7 (excellent). Notes for clarification and sample questions are included to improve accuracy in scoring.

An introductory section gives detailed information about the rationale for the ECERS-R, the process of revision, and the reliability and validity of the scale. Full instructions for administration and scoring, as well as an Expanded Scoresheet and Profile that may be photocopied, are included with the scale.

Thelma Harms, Director of Curriculum Development Emerita, Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Dr. Harms is recognized internationally for her work on assessing care and educational programs for children. Her early experience as Head Teacher of the Harold E. Jones Child Study Center, UC Berkeley for 15 years, and her subsequent role as Director of Curriculum Development at the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute prepared her to serve as lead co-author of the four Environment Rating Scales (ECERS, ITERS, FCCERS, and SACERS). Much of her recent training and consultation through the Environment Rating Scales Institute (ERSI) has focused on preparing professionals in the use of the scales for research, technical assistance, training, and program assessment in Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS) and similar quality enhancement projects in the United States and abroad.

Debby Cryer, Scientist Emerita, Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Dr. Cryer is now retired from the University and works with the Environment Rating Scales Institute. She was a Principal Investigator for the national study on Cost, Quality and Child Outcomes in Child Care Centers, continued those interests in the European Child Care and Education Study, and has studied the effects of providing continuity of caregiver to infants and toddlers. She is the lead co-author of a curriculum called “All About Preschoolers.” She regularly provides consultation on establishing quality rating and improvement systems. Dr. Cryer frequently lectures, and provides training on the scales, both in the United States and internationally.

Richard M. Clifford, Senior Scientist Emeritus, Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Dr. Clifford has written and consulted extensively on child and family policy issues with special emphasis on the role of government in the provision of early childhood services. In addition, he has done research on early learning environments and their impact on young children. He was Principal Investigator on the National Center for Early Development and Learning study of state funded pre-kindergarten programs and Co-Director of the companion SWEEP study. He was also one of the principal investigators on the Cost, Quality and Child Outcomes in Child Care Centers study. He helped establish and served as the first director of the North Carolina Division of Child Development. Dr. Clifford is a past president of the National Association for the Education of Young Children.