Impact of the Early Learning Challenge on State Quality Rating and Improvement Systems

This resource is chapter 8 of BUILD's E-Book - Rising to the Challenge: Building Effective Systems for Young Children and Families. The E-Book shares learnings from the initial implementation of the Early Learning Challenge, the major federal funding initiative, launched in 2011, supporting states in developing high quality early childhood systems, especially targeted to children with high needs. This chapter discusses the impact of what many consider to be the centerpiece of the ELC: the requirement that states establish a tiered Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS), and describes benefits, early lessons, opportunities and future QRIS challenges.