Hentschel, Carter probe use of quality assessment tools in Exchange

McCormick Institute for Early Childhood

BY   | September 25, 2014

Hentschel, Carter probe use of quality assessment tools in Exchange

Alongside Margie Carter, the McCormick Center’s Ann Hentschel offers insight into finding the balance between innovation and accountability in a recent article published by Exchange. Carter and Hentschel’s dialogue, “Recalibrating Quality Improvement: Who’s in the Driver’s Seat?”, critically examines how quality assessment tools can support program improvement through empowering and engaging teachers.



Hentschel: “Too often the perception is that these items or dimensions of quality are being imposed on them rather than looking at these areas through the lens of how they relate to the important work the teacher is already doing with children.”


Carter: “Too often the QRIS standards ARE imposed on teachers without any dialogue to promote this kind of engagement or reflection. What kind of actions are you envisioning when you say teachers should be given voice in determining goals?”


The article can be found on pages 20-27 in the September/October edition of Exchange. It can also be purchased online from Exchange for $3.

A woman is sitting at a desk in an office with her hands folded.

Ann Hentschel is Director of Quality Assessment and oversees the implementation of quality assessments and training of technical assistance specialists for ExceleRate™ Illinois, the state’s quality rating and improvement system. Prior to joining the McCormick Center, Ann worked for many years as a toddler and preschool teacher and as the executive director of accredited early childhood programs at Stanford University.

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