Understanding Quality Ratings

Families

Maryland EXCELS knows how important it is for you to choose a high-quality child care program that’s right for your child. With these new quality rating badges, you will be able to easily see if a program participates in Maryland EXCELS and has achieved a quality rating.

To learn more about what the Maryland EXCELS quality rating badge means for your family, watch this short video.

Maryland EXCELS: Choosing Quality for Your Family

Video Transcript (PDF)

 

Key features of quality rated programs are listed below:

	Activities support each and every child’s individual needs Family-teacher conferences are offered
	Children’s developmental progress is observed 2+ opportunities for families to engage in the program Activities informed by early learning guidelines Family-teacher conferences are offered at least once a year Activities support each and every child’s individual needs
	Children’s developmental progress is measured Staff have increased training and experience 3+ opportunities for families to engage in the program Activities informed by early learning guidelines Family-teacher conferences offered at least once a year Activities support each and every child’s individual needs
	Children’s developmental progress measured and linked to curriculum Staff have higher levels of training and experience Continuous quality improvement process informed by independent assessors 4+ opportunities for families to engage in the program Activities aligned with a state recommended curriculum Family-teacher conferences offered at least twice per year Activities support each and every child’s individual needs
	Children’s developmental progress assessed with multiple measures and linked to curriculum Staff meet highest levels of training and experience Continuous quality improvement process informed by independent assessors State or national accreditation achieved 5+ opportunities for families to engage in the program State recommended curriculum used Family-teacher conferences offered at least twice per year Activities support each and every child’s individual needs