Do State Standards Equal Quality?

Parents, legislators and community members are finally beginning to agree that the early years of a child’s development are critical. Quality early learning and care environments can have long-term positive effects on young children, their families and even entire communities. This is great news for early learning professionals. But what exactly makes for a quality program?

Individual states are trying to answer this question by outlining learning standards for preschools and child care centers. Program directors and teachers are working hard to comply. But does simply meeting your state’s standards create a quality program?

Not necessarily. According the the annual report on the state of preschool put out by the National Institute for Early Education Research only 18 of the 50 states requirements meet the majority (at least 3/4) of the 10 quality benchmarks as outlined by the NIEER and only 30 meet more than half.

There are several national organizations that have issued standards or benchmarks for quality in early childhood programs.  Three of the biggest include:

• National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)- has an accreditation process that details 10 quality program standards. These cover the areas of children, teachers, families and community, and program administration. They also have curriculum requirements.
• National Institute for Early Education Reasearch (NIEER)- has a quality standards checklist which outlines 10 minimum requirements for a quality program including curriculum, staff training, class size, and family services. You can learn more on p.27 of their annual report on the state of preschools in America.
• National Head Start Association- has their own curriculum guidelines for all head start programs called Head Start Learning Outcomes as well as other program requirements to help ensure quality.

Local requirements are important, but to really ensure quality, it is also important for program administrators, teachers and even parents to become familiar with these national standards, look at the areas where ideas on quality come together and create a more informed vision of quality.