Summary of Article's First 150 Words

Total word count: 2318

Many tools have been created and utilized in an effort to assess the quality of early childhood programs, though few of these tools address the many programmatic elements of these programs. Some of the most comprehensive tools that are widely used today are the Environment Rating Scales developed by Thelma Harms, Debbie Cryer, and Richard Clifford. These tools are used nationally and internationally and include the Family Day Care Rating Scale (FDCRS), the Infant Toddler Environment Rating Scale-Revised (ITERS-R), the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Revised (ECERS-R) and the School Age Care Environment Rating Scale (SACERS). Though their original proposed use was self-assessment, the scales also have been used in research and in shaping public policy: as definitions of quality, methods for quantifying quality, and as tactical approaches for increasing quality in large numbers of programs and centers.

This widespread use reflects the face value of the scales. The subscales and ...