Program assessment is important because in order to evaluate and understand children’s performance and progress, we need to measure the educational experiences that the programs they attend are providing.

Programs, rather than children, should be held accountable for learning.  To help programs meet these obligations, educators need valid tools to assess how well their programs promote learning in all areas of development. HighScope’s Program Quality Assessment (PQA) meets this need, and is now available in an easy to use online format.  Our OnlinePQA provides enhanced reporting and makes program assessment easier while offering the most comprehensive approach available!

The Preschool Program Quality Assessment (PQA) is a rating instrument designed to evaluate the quality of early childhood programs and identify staff training needs. It is reliable and valid and is appropriate for use in all center-based early childhood settings, including but not limited to those using the HighScope curriculum.

OnlinePQA makes it easy to conduct a comprehensive program assessment.  It assesses key aspects of program quality; reflects research-based and field-tested best practices in early childhood education and care; can be aligned with the Head Start Program Performance Standards; provides reliable, scientifically validated assessment proven in a wide range of early childhood programs and settings; and can be used as a basis for program accreditation, reporting, monitoring, and training.

What does the Preschool PQA assess?

The PQA covers 63 dimensions of program quality in 7 domains:

• Learning environment
• Daily routine
• Adult-child interaction
• Curriculum planning and assessment
• Parent involvement and family services
• Staff qualifications and development
• Program management

How does OnlinePQA work?

Raters observe the program and interview the appropriate staff members. Through the OnlinePQA system, they record supporting evidence for each row (component) of every item. They read the indicators (definitions and examples) for that row and check the one box per row that best reflects the supporting evidence. Then, using the scoring rules they select one rating for the item as a whole.  Administrators can use OnlinePQA to evaluate programs and classrooms, and teachers can use it to evaluate their own classrooms.  Both can use it to identify professional development needs.