Quality of Early Care and Education

Quality of Early Care and Education

Oregon has data for all regulated programs on characteristics of child care that research has found to predict quality.

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Spark

Oregon is committed to improving the quality of early care and education. A quality improvement initiative was originally launched with the generic name of Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS). The quality improvement initiative is now known as Spark. A key component of Spark is giving programs that volunteer to be assessed a rating of how well their program supports the development of children and their families.

The Research Institute (TRI) at Western Oregon University administers Spark and produces reports, including the following:

  • Spark Statewide Data Facts
    Monthly reports detail the numbers of participating programs and children served in those programs. Reports for each county follow the statewide report.
  • Spark Newsletters
    Monthly newsletters including press releases, new, and updates.

More information

Structural Indicators of Quality

Oregon has data for all regulated programs on characteristics of child care that research has found to predict quality. These conditions are associated with how the program interacts with children and families. When these conditions, known as structural indicators of quality, are strong, there is a greater likelihood that interactions and activities will support children’s development.

Oregon partners collect data from all regulated child care and early education facilities and produce annual reports on the following structural indicators:  education and step levels, training, center teacher compensation (wages and benefits), retention and accreditation by a nationally recognized accrediting body.

The 2019 report is the most current available.

In addition to the state overview, you can find detail for all counties or Early Learning Hubs.

 

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Download the structural indicators for a specific Oregon County or Early Learning Hub.

Also see: Structural Indicators prior to 2019