The Louisiana Environment Rating Scale Assessment

Why is Louisiana Using the Environment Rating Scales (ERS)?
The environment rating scales have been highly researched and proven to provide accurate assessment of a child care setting located in a child care center, family child care home, or school-age program.  These scales are internationally recognized for their validity and reliability and depict what research supports as best practices when providing developmentally appropriate environments for young children.

The ERS are used to:

* Help you notice strengths and areas to work on in your classroom or home setting
* Help you provide a quality environment for the children in your care
* Help you grow as a child care professional
* Help you increase parents' awareness as to the importance of their child's care in a quality environment

What are the ERS Assessments?
The ERS are used in hundreds of programs and studies across the United States and around the world. The following links provide descriptions of each ERS.

ECERS-R Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale Revised Edition
ITERS- R Infant/Toddler Environment Rating Scale Revised Edition
FCCERS Family Child Care Environment Rating Scale
SACERS The School-Age Care Environment Rating Scale

What does the ERS Assessor look at?
The ERS Assessor will observe all aspects of the environment provided to young children. He/she will observe basic care routines and learning activity times with regards to health and safety and developmentally appropriate practice. Classrooms will be selected randomly using a process provided by the Assessor on the day of the assessment.

^{What to expect on the day of your ERS assessment.}

Is it a test? What score do I have to make to pass?
Although there is a score associated with the ERS Assessments, the main idea is to identify and acknowledge the program's strengths and weaknesses. With this information, the program is encouraged to work with their Resource and Referral agency to create a plan of action for future growth and quality improvement.

How long does the ERS Assessor have to watch me?
The ERS Assessor will observe the classroom or home for a minimum of 3 hours. There are a few items on the scale that will require interview questions. It would be a good idea to allow about 30 minutes to answer these questions.

Is the ERS Assessment like my CDA Assessment?
While the ERS Assessment is similar to the CDA Assessment in that an outside person  comes to your child care site or home, the ERS Assessment focuses on the interactions and environment in which the children learn and play.  The CDA assessment focuses mainly on the provider.  The assessments are two different visits and processes. 

Additional Resources to Assist Providers in Learning about the ERS Assessment:

ERS Playground Safety Criteria

Recommended ERS Materials Checklists:       ITERS             ECERS        
    Kaplan Early Learning Company
    Lakeshore Learning Materials

Definitions of ERS Terms

Video Trainings Accessible on the Web

Activities, Space and Furnishings (http://earlychildhood.msstate.edu/partners/Space_Activities/)

Personal Care Routines (http://earlychildhood.msstate.edu/partners/PersonalCareRoutineCD/loader.html)

Books

• Active Learning Series. Published by the Dale Seymour Publications.
  Active Learning for Infants. Cryer, D., Harms, T., Bourland, B.
  Active Learning for Ones. Cryer, D., Harms, T., Bourland, B.
  Active Learning for Twos. Cryer, D., Harms, T., Bourland, B.
  Active Learning for Threes. Cryer, D., Harms, T., Bourland, B.
  Active Learning for Fours. Cryer, D., Harms, T., Ray, A. R.
  Active Learning for Fives. Cryer, D., Harms, T., Ray, A. R.
  Active Learning for Children with Disabilities. Bailey, P., Cryer, D., Harms, T., Osborne, S., Kniest, B. A.
• Conscious Discipline. Dr. Becky Bailey.
• Caring for Children in School-Age Programs. Koralek, D.G.,
  Colker, L.J., Newman, R.
• School-Age Child Care - An Action Manual. Seligson, M., Allenson, M.
• The Creative Curriculum for Infants, Toddlers and Twos Revised Edition.
  Dombro, A.L., Colker, L.J., Trister Dodge, D.
• The Creative Curriculum for Preschool 4th Edition. Trister Dodge, D.,
  Colker, L.J., Heroman, C.
• The Creative Curriculum for Family Child Care. Trister Dodge, D.,
  Colker, L.J.
• Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Programs
  Revised Edition. Bredekamp, S., Copple, C., Eds.
• Caring for Our Children. National Health and Safety Performance Standards: Guidelines for Out-of-Home Child Care Programs, Second Edition. Published by the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Public Health Association, and National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care. A full web version of Caring for Our Children can be found at http://nrc.uchsc.edu/CFOC/

Websites

Frank Porter Graham http://www.fpg.unc.edu/~ecers/

Partners for Quality Childcare - http://earlychildhood.msstate.edu/partners/TextandSwf/