ECERS

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• ECERS

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WHAT IS ECERS-R?
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• ECERS-R (Early Childhood Environmental Rating
  Scale Revised edition)
• Developed in 1980 (revised 1998) by Dr. Thelma
  Harms, Dr. Richard M. Clifford, and Dr. Debby
  Cryer of the Frank Porter Graham Child
  Development Center (University of North Carolina
  at Chapel Hill)
• Used in hundreds of programs and studies across
  the United States and around the world
• Designed to assess/measure what high
• quality should look like in preK K programs

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• ECERS-R contd
• Evaluates seven key areas space and
  furnishings personal care routines language and
  reasoning activities interaction program
  structure and parent and staff education
• Assesses quality of various interactions that
  go on in a classroom between staff and children,
  staff, parents and other adults, among children
  themselves, and the interactions children have
  with the materials and activities in the
  environment
• Also assesses arrangement of indoor/outdoor
  space and the schedule of the day (including
  routines and activities)

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WHY ECERS-R?
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• Research shows that Early Childhood education has
  a long-term impact on student achievement.
• HISD is committed to providing quality learning
  programs to promote the future academic success
  of all children in the district.
• The ECERS-R scales have proven reliability and
  validity making them suitable for program
  evaluation as well as program improvement
  efforts.

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quality is assessed primarily through
observation and has found to be more predic- tive
of child outcomes than structural indicators such
as staff to child ratio, group size, cost of care
and even type of care. Whitebook, Howes
Phillips, 1995
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HOW WAS ECERS-R USED?
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• Ratings were conducted
• in over 415 preK classrooms from March through
  May, 2004
• each observation took 2 3 hours (and a brief
  teacher interview)
• classrooms were rated in 7 different subscales
  for a total of 43 indicators (items)
• Action Plans developed highlighting program
  strengths
• classroom materials ordered (1,000 - 5,000 per
  classroom) targeting areas the would benefit from
  support
• professional development opportunities
  based on teacher self-assessment
  to be made available

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TAKING A CLOSER LOOK
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• SPACE AND FURNISHINGS
• indoor space
• furniture for routine care, play and learning
• furnishings for relaxation and comfort
• room arrangement (well-defined centers)
• space for privacy
• child related display
• gross motor play
• gross motor equipment
• Some space (indoor/outdoor) is used by
  children for a minimum of 1 hour daily in a full
  day program. For a half day program a minimum of
  ½ hour daily is recommended.

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• ACTIVITY
• furnishings for relaxation and comfort
• room arrangement for play

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• PERSONAL CARE ROUTINES
• greeting/departing
• meals/snacks
• nap/rest
• toileting
• health practices
• safety practices
• adequate handwashing with soap after toileting,
  recess, wiping noses, handling pets, before
  eating, etc.

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• LANGUAGE/REASONING
• books and pictures
• encouraging children to communicate
• using language to develop reasoning skills
• informal use of language
• to be considered accessible materials must be
  available to children a minimum of 50 minutes
  daily for a full-day program and 25 minutes daily
  for a half-day program
• to be considered substantial portion of the
  day materials must be available to children a
  minimum of 2 hours 20 minutes daily for a
  full-day program and 1 hour daily for a half-day
  program

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ACTIVITY
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• ACTIVITIES
• fine motor
• art
• music/movement
• blocks
• sand/water
• dramatic play
• nature/science
• math/number
• use of TV, video, and/or computer
• promoting acceptance of diversity
• see recommended times for accessible and
  substantial portion of the day for full-day and
  half-day programs

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ACTIVITY
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• INTERACTIONS
• supervision of gross motor activities
• general supervision of children (other than
  gross motor)
• discipline
• staff-child interactions
• interactions among children
• PROGRAM STRUCTURE
• schedule
• free play
• group time
• provisions for children with disabilities

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ACTIVITY
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• PARENTS AND STAFF
• provisions for parents and staff
• provisions for personal needs of staff
• provisions for professional needs of staff
• staff interaction and cooperation
• supervision and evaluation of staff
• opportunities for professional growth

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WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
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The primary purpose of assessment is to gather
data to inform teaching. It provides feedback
to improve the instructional program and the
curriculum. Fountas Pinell, Guided Reading,
1996
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In a sense, assessment refers to information
from multiple indicators and sources of evidence
that is organized and interpreted and then
evaluated to make an appraisal. Basics of
Assessment A Primer for Early Childhood
Educators McAfee, Leong Bodrova (NAEYC), 2004
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• Remember
• CLEAR is our curriculum
• Multidisciplinary Instructional Planning Guides
  are our scope and sequence for CLEAR
• Workstations/centers should be clearly defined
  and well equipped with appropriate materials
• Schedule should reflect whole and small group
  instruction, free play/workstations, outdoor
  play, gross motor development, teacher
• directed and child initiated activities

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Like the children we assess, our programs will
have both strengths and weaknesses. The
information we gather from ECERS-R gives us an
opportunity to consider where change is needed,
and to determine how to create desired
improvement. All About the ECERS-R Cryer,
Harms, Riley, 2003.
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PLEASE DONT FORGET TO SIGN OUT TODAY!
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sgubitz_at_houstonisd.org Early Childhood
Department 713-892-6160
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