Advisory council endorses shift to five-tier early‑childhood quality ratings and expanded improvement requirements

The Early Childhood Advisory Council voted to endorse proposed updates to the Virginia Quality Profile (VQB5) guidelines that would replace the current three‑level rating system with a five‑level scale and expand required improvement planning.

Chris Myers of the Department of Education, who presented the recommendations, said the department proposes moving from three broad bands to five 100‑point brackets so ratings better reflect children’s classroom experiences and make improvement supports more actionable. Under the proposal, ‘‘needs support’’ would remain 0–399 points; a new ‘‘approaching expectations’’ band would cover 400–499; ‘‘meets expectations’’ 500–599; ‘‘exceeds expectations’’ 600–699; and ‘‘distinguished’’ 700–800.

Myers said the department’s data show large differences inside the existing ‘‘meets expectations’’ band and that the finer bands will let the state recognize higher performers and target supports to classrooms and sites that most need help. He noted the modeling used scores from 3,293 sites and projected that most programs would remain in the same or a higher band under the five‑level model.

The guidance also would change which sites must undertake formal site improvement planning. Currently, sites scoring 399 points or lower must participate; the proposed guidelines would require site improvement planning for programs at 499 points or lower, with a two‑pathway approach for the new ‘‘approaching expectations’’ band: (1) participation in state coaching partners (BECC, infant‑toddler networks, STREAM, TTACs) or (2) submission of a detailed needs assessment and quality improvement plan for DOE review.

Council members asked whether state capacity exists to provide coaching if the pool of required sites increases. Myers and DOE staff said they have modeled impacts by site type, can prioritize classrooms with the lowest CLASS scores and new teachers, and expect to use a mix of hybrid and in‑person coaching; they emphasized that minimum session counts in the model represent compliance floors and that most partners plan more frequent contacts.

Several members urged care in coaching frequency and relationship building; one said monthly sessions alone ‘‘don’t seem to be very effective’’ for practice‑based coaching. DOE responded that minimums are compliance baselines and that most providers already receive more intensive touchpoints.

The council moved and seconded a motion to endorse the draft guidelines as presented; a voice vote carried the endorsement. DOE staff said the next steps include board review in the spring and summer, data verification and preview for sites, and a public rollout so sites and families can see how the five‑level scale will be explained in fall 2027 profile publications.

Why it matters: The change aims to make quality profiles more usable for families and more actionable for readiness, coaching and resource allocation. The new tiering and the lower threshold for required improvement planning could increase the number of sites receiving state coaching, and DOE plans to phase implementation and prioritize classrooms with the lowest observation scores as needed.

What’s next: DOE will take the endorsed draft to the board and continue capacity planning with regional partners; sites will preview their modeled five‑level rating during the data verification window ahead of the official fall 2027 publication.