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A ROAD MAP FOR THE CHILD CARE OPTIONS DOCUMENTS
This chapter presents information relevant to the construct of child care quality (both structural and procedural quality) across the main ACF evaluations and the additional studies selected for the EDCP for which items related to child care quality are available (i.e., 3 of the 9 main ACF evaluations and 7 of the 13 additional studies selected for the EDCP). These evaluations and surveys are listed below:
| Evaluation/Survey |
|---|
| Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES) |
| Early Head Start Evaluation and Tracking Pre-K (EHS and TPK) |
| National Head Start Impact Study |
| Panel Study of Income Dynamics, Child Development Supplement |
| National Survey of America's Families (NSAF) |
| Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Cohort (ECLS-K) |
| Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort (ECLS-B) |
| National Household Education Surveys Program (NHES) |
| National Study of Child Care for Low-Income Families |
| National Child Care Staffing Study |
Two tables are presented on the following pages, one for the ACF evaluations and one for the additional studies selected for the EDCP. These tables give an overview that shows the types of measures available for each evaluation and survey in this chapter and indicates the primary reporter for each measure.
For each evaluation and survey, a series of key information is described, including population assessed, periodicity, major components, procedures for administration, and a compilation of items that assess child care quality. Although all the items in this chapter are used to measure child care quality, the depth with which quality is measured varies by evaluation and survey. For example, FACES, EHS and TPK, and the National Head Start Impact Study include the most detailed items to assess both structural and procedural child care quality (e.g., items about a teacher’s education and items to assess the appropriateness of the activities in the child’s classroom), whereas other evaluations, such as the NSAF and the NHES, tend to focus on one aspect of child care quality (in this case, structural quality) in a less detailed manner. Additionally, some of the measures used by the evaluations and surveys contain specific subscales (e.g., the Early Childhood Rating Scale), whereas other measures are simply a set of items without defined subscales (e.g., the National Head Start Impact Study Parent Interview).
At this stage of the EDCP, no analysis and synthesis of items across evaluations and surveys have been attempted; rather, the information is described separately for each evaluation and survey. Readers interested in developing items to assess child care quality are encouraged both to examine the items included here and to return to the original evaluations and surveys to ensure that they understand the items in context and to obtain full skip patterns, response options, and other important information.
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