Since the development of Quality Rated, validation has been integrated into its day-to-day management
and has become an integral part of its success. Upon being awarded the Race to the Top – Early Learning
Challenge in 2013, DECAL contracted with Child Trends to assist with its validation efforts, including
ongoing analysis of Quality Rated administrative data and conducting a study of the effectiveness of
Quality Rated. Findings related to these efforts will be posted below.
January 2020
Google and Yelp Reviews as a Window into Public Perceptions of Early Care and Education in Georgia
Researchers from Child Trends analyzed the language in more than 8,700 publicly available Google and Yelp reviews of Georgia child care programs
to identify the principles that are important to the public in evaluating early care and education (ECE) access and quality, and to understand
how they used those yardsticks to rate providers. The researchers then compared the public perceptions and ratings from these platforms against
the star ratings those same providers received from the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL) Quality Rated system. Child Trends
identified nine common themes in the online public reviews that roughly aligned with ECE access and quality. The researchers also found that the
publicly available Google and Yelp reviews, though based on more subjective impressions and values, were significantly related to the star ratings
assigned by DECAL’s Quality Rated system.
May 2019
Quality Rated Validation Study Report 4: Quality Rated Star Ratings and Independent Measures of Quality, Children’s Growth, and Work Climate
This is the fourth report in the series from the Quality Rated Validation Project, and the second that presents data collected by Child
Trends and Georgia State University. This report examines the relationship between star ratings and independent observations of
program quality, children’s development over the school year, and work climate. This report uses child assessment, observation,
and questionnaire data collected by the validation study team during the 2016-17 and 2017-18 school years in 158 FCCLHs, and during
the 2017-18 school year in 181 center-based programs.
October 2018
Quality Rated Validation Study Report 3: Director, Teacher, and Provider Perceptions of Quality Rated
This is the third report in a series of four from the Quality Rated Validation Project, and the first that presents data collected by
Child Trends and Georgia State University. This report examines those providers’, directors’, and teachers’, perceptions, including what
motivated them to join, what supports they have used and found most helpful, and their suggestions for improving the system.
March 2018
Report 2: A Further Look at the Programs in Quality Rated
This is the second in a series of four reports
developed as part of the Quality Rated Validation Project. This report examines the distribution of ratings among different types of programs, the
timing of each step in the rating process, and the re-rating of programs.
August 2017
Report 1: What Makes Up a Quality Rated Star Rating? An In-Depth Look at the Criteria, Standards and Components
This is the first in a series of four reports developed as part of the Quality Rated Validation
Project. This report examines the components of Quality Rated, how those components are working to create a rating,
and how these components differ by type of child care program.
May 2017
Voices From the Field: Providers’ Experiences With Implementing DECAL's Quality Rated Subsidy Grant Pilot Program
This report describes child care providers’ experiences with the Quality Rated Subsidy Grant Pilot Program. The program was developed
by DECAL to improve access to high-quality early care and education programs for low-income families, reimburse providers at a rate
that supports the cost of high-quality care, test a new funding model, and create an opportunity for closer relationships between
child care providers and families.
Documents List