Despite substantial federal, state, and local investments in improving early care and education (ECE), we know little about whether ECE program quality has improved over time. The lack of data tracking the quality of publicly funded ECE programs at scale creates a substantial evidence gap for policymakers attempting to weigh the returns on, and future of, quality improvement policies. Data from Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS) provide a promising opportunity to address this problem. Using 4 years of data from a mandatory, statewide QRIS covering subsidized child care, Head Start, and state prekindergarten, we document systemwide quality and improvement trends over a period of targeted investment in quality improvement statewide. We find improvements in quality overall, across sectors and communities over this period. Results also reveal differential growth across sectors such that quality gaps diminished. This study highlights the potential of statewide ECE data for informing quality improvement efforts.

尽管联邦，州和地方在改善早期护理和教育（ECE）方面进行了大量投资，但我们对欧洲经委会计划质量是否随着时间的推移而提高知之甚少。缺乏大规模跟踪公共资助的ECE计划质量的数据，这为试图权衡质量改进政策的回报和未来的决策者提供了巨大的证据空白。来自质量评级和改进系统（QRIS）的数据为解决该问题提供了一个有希望的机会。使用来自州级强制性QRIS的4年数据，涵盖补贴的儿童保育，Head Start和州立幼儿园，我们记录了在全州范围内针对质量改进进行的定向投资期间的全系统质量和改进趋势。在此期间，我们发现各个部门和社区的整体质量都有所提高。结果还显示出各个部门的差异增长，从而使质量差距缩小了。这项研究强调了全州ECE数据在通知质量改进工作方面的潜力。