As part of the Environment Rating Scales, the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Revised (ECERS-R) evaluates 43 items divided into seven categories: physical environment, basic care, curriculum, interaction, schedule and program structure and parent and staff education. The scorer, such as the education coordinator or a teacher from another classroom, notes the classroom surroundings and if there is enough indoor space and furniture for playtime, learning exercises and relaxing activities like the reading corner. The scorer observes interactions between the staff and the children and watches how they run a variety of fine motor, art, science and dramatic activities as well as how the class schedule flows and how teachers supervise and discipline children effectively. The ECERS-R uses a seven-point scale, where seven is excellent and one is unsatisfactory.
The California Department of Education created the Desired Results Developmental Profiles-Revised (DRDP-R) to measure progress of children from infancy to 12 years of age in six different measures: identity of one's self, recognition of skills, ability to express empathy, forming relationships with adults, developing friendships with peers and interacting well with others. The scorer notes how aware a child appears of his characteristics if he states, "My name is Sam" or "I like to play with trucks." If a child can take it a step further by saying he builds tall towers, he is aware of his skills. The scorer watches how children express empathy by hugging a peer who is upset or offering to share toys, and this is often how they develop friendships with classmates by frequently playing with the same classmates. The DRDP-R is scored on four levels, from exploring the skill to integrating the skill fully.
Developed for assessing infant and toddler caregivers, the Program for Infant and Toddler Caregivers (PITC) Program Assessment Rating Scale (PARS) studies the relationship between caregivers and young children through five components. The observer assesses teachers' interactions with children by how responsive and sensitive they are to the child's needs and how well they communicate with infants and toddlers by recognizing each child's cues. The observer measures the quality of relationship-based care by how well the teacher cares for the child continually and follows the personalized routine consistently.
The Child Care Assessment Tool for Relatives (CCAT-R) is an assessment tool, used only to assess family child care of relatives who care for children under 6 years of age. The observer can complete the five components in around three hours. The scorer measures the Action and Communication Snapshot by observing the amount of quality interactions between the caregiver and the children while they talk and perform activities and checks off several behaviors that deal with nurturing and mood during the day on the Summary Behavior Checklist. The observer notes the availability of a variety of supplies to promote child development for the Materials Checklist and that the home carries all of the necessary equipment for the Safety Checklist. The observer completes the assessment by interviewing the caregiver and collecting information about her as well as her views on child care and education.