Outcomes-based accountability has come to preschools in the form of Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS). QRIS give ratings to early childhood education and care settings based on a variety of measures, and unlike accountability in K-12, participation in most QRIS systems is voluntary. Many such systems include differential funding reimbursement for programs with higher quality ratings. The first statewide QRIS was implemented by Oklahoma in 1998. By February 2017, 38 states had statewide systems with nearly all others planning or piloting systems. To learn more, read “Accountability for Early Education” on EdNext.org.

—Education Next