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A checklist is a tool used to observe and record specific behaviors, skills and milestones. A checklist helps educators gather all information that is completed and what needs to be completed.

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An example of a checklist would include a questionnaire with the age and stages of where the child is. This gives the ability to check off and see what the child can do and see which areas need improvement.

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Advantages and Disadvantages of Checklist in Education [2024] ✅ – Daily Checklist

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For B.Ed, M.Ed, D.Ed, UG, Teachers’ CET/TET, NET/SET Examinations

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A benefit of a checklist helps educators and providers discover and focus particular areas of development that needs improvement to reach their milestone. This ensures that information isn't being overlook.

Checklists are easy to use and easy to comprehend.

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A disadvantage of a checklist would be that it does not provide enough information. The checklist includes what goals have been achieved and what goals that have not been met, but not why or how to achieve the goal.

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A rubric is a type of tool used to assess the progress and work of a child. It helps educators to see if the child is meeting the requirements of the guidelines. The rubric provides explicit criteria and levels of performance for the child.

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What Are Examples Of Assessment Rubrics? - Childhood Education Zone

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Rubrics adaptable and very flexible to meet the needs of the child. Rubrics give clear define expectations to follow for successful performance. Rubrics can incorporate multiple dimensions of skills and behaviors, providing more comprehensive assessments.

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EducationalWave - Pros and Cons Explained

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Pros and Cons of Rubrics - EducationalWave

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Rubrics offer clear criteria for assessment, enhancing consistency in evaluating performance while guiding students toward meeting expectations

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Rubrics may not cover all aspects of the child's behaviors or skills. Another disadvantage is that they limit imagination. Rubrics require particular task to be completed rather than students being created in their work.

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Rating scales is a tool that allows us educators to make approximate judgement to an extent of behavior or skill that is present using numerical or descriptive rating.

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An example of a rating scale would be ITERS and ECERS. The ITERS rating scale is for infants and toddlers from birth to 2.5 years old. The ECERS rating scale is for infants and toddlers 3 years old, through observations.

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Rating scales are a quick assessment tool. They allow for efficient assessments in a short period. The numerical or descriptive ratings provide important data for tracking progress and sharing with the child's parents.

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Rating scales provide little information regarding behavior and skills, only showing when a behavior or skill happens but not what lead up to it. Rating scales may not capture all aspects of the child's behavior or skill.

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Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale - Third Edition (ECERS-3)

The third edition of the ECERS is designed to assess the quality of care for center-based programs serving children ages 3-5. The ECERS-3 published 2015, is the second major revision of this scale, with the original scale published in 1980 and a second edition (ECERS-R) published in 1998. A brief overview of the changes from ECERS-R to

ECERS-3 can be found here. ​​ ​​

Family Child Care Environment Rating Scale - Third Edition (FCCERS-3)

The third edition of the FCCERS is designed to assess the quality of care for home-based programs for children from birth through age 12. The FCCERS-3 published 2019, is the second major revision of this scale, with the original scale published in 1989 and a second edition (FCCERS-R) published in 2007. A brief overview of the changes from FCC ERS-R to FCC ERS-3 can be found ​ here.

ECERS-R
Second Edition

This second edition of the ECERS contains inclusive and culturally sensitive indicators for many items. New items have been added on Interaction (staff-child, child-child and discipline), Curriculum (nature/science and math/number) Health & Safety and Parents & Staff.

FCCERS-R
Second Edition

This second edition is also designed to assess family child care programs. It covers a wider age range and has a deeper focus on sensitivity to cultural and socioeconomic diversity.

Infant/Toddler Environment Rating Scale - Third Edition (ITERS-3)

The third edition of the ITERS is designed to assess the quality of care for center-based programs serving children birth through age 2. The ITERS-3 published 2017, is the second major revision of this scale, with the original scale published in 1990 and a second edition (ITERS-R) published in 2003. A brief overview of the changes from ITERS-R to ITERS-3 can be found here.

School-Age Care Environment Rating Scale - Updated Edition (SACERS-U)

The updated edition of the SACERS is designed to assess the quality of programs for school-age children (ages 5-12), during out-of-school time (e.g. before/after school care). The SACERS-U published 2014, is an updated version of the original scale published in 1996.

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ITERS-R
Second Edition

The second edition of the ITERS, designed to assess center-based child care programs for infants and toddlers up to 30 months of age. It is more inclusive and culturally sensitive. It also addresses professional needs of staff, and reflects the latest health & safety information.

What's the difference between the Revised (R's) and the 3rd editions?

Revised (R's) Editions:

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Provisions for children with disabilities included in 4 items in Program Structure.

3rd Editions:

Greater focus on teaching and interaction inregard to materials.

Please see these documents for a full list of the differences between the Revised and 3rd editions of the scales:

Curriculum resources

All About
Preschoolers

This comprehensive two volume curriculum set, designed for all preschoolers was written by Debby Cryer, a leading expert in the field of early childhood and one of the authors of the Environment Rating Scales; and Cathy Riley, one of the authors of the All About ECERS-R™ and an expert team of five other authors in the early childhood field. The curriculum meets the standards of ECERS-R™ with more than 650 pages and over 600 illustrative photographs and several curriculum plans. Based on many years of developmental research and appropriate learning theory, it has been carefully designed to be used in preschool classrooms and includes time-proven successful practices. This curriculum is academically enriched, reinforcing cognitive skill development, science, math and social studies, through meaningful content around standards of learning.

all about resources

The All About resource guides interpret each item and indicator on the scale, and provide photographs of real-world settings. It will help you use the ERS to accurately assess your early learning environment in the areas of cognitive, social-emotional, and physical development, as well as health and safety standards.

all about
ECERS-3

all about
ITERS-3

Meet the Authors

Dr. Harms is a Research Professor Emerita in the School of Education at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill. Dr. Harms is recognized internationally for her work in assessing the quality of educational and care settings. She has also developed a variety of curriculum materials and staff training resources. Dr. Harms has provided extensive in-service training and consultation in the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Asia.

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Debby Cryer, Ph.D. is primarily retired now, but remains an active member of ERSI. She is co-author of the Environment Rating Scales and numerous other resource materials. Debby provides the author-interpretations of the scales and consulting in the use of the scales. She always combined her interests as an early childhood practitioner with those of a researcher, translating research findings into practice for early childhood program staff, parents, and policy makers.

Dr. Clifford has written extensively on child and family policy issues, with a particular emphasis on the role of government in the provision and financing of services. In addition, he has conducted research assessing early learning environments and identifying developmentally appropriate practices in early care and education. He helped establish and served as the first director of the North Carolina Division of Child Development. Dr. Clifford is past president of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

Dr. Yazejian has extensive experience conducting large-scale, multi-site research and evaluation studies exploring questions about early education quality and children's outcomes, particularly for children living in poverty. Her early childhood research and program evaluation studies have focused on professional development, models of programming birth to 5, home visiting, quality rating and improvement systems, early childhood language and literacy, and the use of data for continuous quality improvement.

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Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale - Third Edition (ECERS-3) The third edition of the ECERS is designed to assess the quality of care for center-based programs serving children ages 3-5. The ECERS-3 published 2015, is the second major revision of this scale, with the original scale published in 1980 and a second edition (ECERS-R) published in 1998.

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Developing & Using Rating Scales in the Classroom