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Assessing the Implementation and Cost of High Quality Early Care and Education: A Review of the Literature
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Assessing the Implementation and Cost of High Quality Early Care and Education: A Review of the Literature

OPRE Report 2016-31
Published: May 24, 2016
Publisher: Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation
Human Services Quality Improvement Early Childhood Child Development Early Childhood Systems Quality Measurement Systematic Evidence Reviews Analytics & Operations Research & Evaluation Performance Management Evaluation Design Policy Analysis

Clients

OPRE Logo

Authors

Pia Caronongan

Gretchen Kirby

Kimberly Boller

Emily Modlin

Julia Lyskawa

Key Findings

Key Findings:

  • Research reveals some associations between the features of an ECE center and quality, or children’s outcomes, but the lack of clear evidence means that ECE-ICHQ data collection must start broad.
  • Factors at the center level that can affect implementation are important to measure.
  • Current measurement of the cost-to-quality relationship provides little direction for those who wish to invest in quality.
  • There is a need to align measures of implementation and cost to inform the direction of efforts to improve quality.
This report reviews the literature and research syntheses in three areas—ECE quality, implementation science, and ECE costs—to create a conceptual framework that will guide measurement development. 

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