The Environment Rating Scales (ERS) project at Clayton started in 2004 as part of the Research and Evaluation Department and is now part of the Quality Assessment Services Department. The Quality Advancement Team are State Anchors for the Environment Rating Scales - they are your local ERS experts.
The Quality Advancement Team is trained annually to become anchors by The Environment Rating Scale Institute (ERSI) in North Carolina (authors of the scales). Click here to learn more about the authors of the scales and view additional resources on their website. ERSI provides national-scale resources, while the Quality Advancement Team provides state-specific information. A large part of a Quality Advancement Specialist's role is to maintain Colorado Shines assessor's reliability in the Environment Rating Scales.
ERS Reliability
After an assessor completes the initial trainings on the content of the scales, they then accompany a State Anchor (Quality Advancement Team members) for three consecutive observations to ensure reliability. Once reliable, assessors complete reliability checks every 10th observation. Reliability checks consist of assessors observing in the same classroom at the same time and scoring independently, after which scores are reviewed and discussed. Assessors must show that their scores align within one point of the state anchor’s score. The reliability process is modeled after how ERSI conducts reliabilities for State Anchors nationally.
Contact the Quality Advancement Team
This email will connect you with the Quality Advancement Team where you can ask ERS questions.
Want to schedule your ERS-3 certification? Complete a Certification Request Form.
Want to request other quality improvement services? Complete a Service Request Form.
Services Offered by the Quality Advancement Team
Click on the links below to learn more about the services offered. In addition to the items listed below, this team (along with others at Clayton) offers several other services to support the ECE community. To learn more about those services, visit External QI Services.
Environment Rating Scale Resources
Click on the links below to access Environment Rating Scale resources.
