Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (Third Edition)

The long-anticipated new version of the internationally recognized Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale, ECERS-3focuses on the full range of needs of preschool- and kindergarten-aged children. This widely used, comprehensive assessment tool measures both environmental provisions and teacher-child interactions that affect the broad developmental needs of young children, including:

• Cognitive


• Social-emotional


• Physical


• Health and safety

ECERS-3 also includes additional Items assessing developmentally appropriate literacy and math activities.

Designed for preschool, kindergarten, and child care classrooms serving children 3 through 5 years of age, ECERS-3:

• Provides a smooth transition for those already using ECERS-R.


• Emphasizes the role of the teacher in creating an environment conducive to developmental gains.


• Is designed to predict child outcomes more accurately and with greater precision.


• Provides a stronger method of distinguishing between good and truly excellent programs.


• Offers a complete training program with ongoing support available at the Environment Rating Scales Institute (ERSI) website

ECERS-3 is appropriate for state and district-wide QRIS and continuous improvement; program evaluation by directors and supervisors; teacher self-evaluation; monitoring by agency staff; and teacher education. The established reliability and long term evidence of validity of the ERS family of instruments make this new version of ECERS particularly useful for RTTT-ELC accountability and research.

Suitable for use in inclusive and culturally diverse programs, ECERS-3 subscales evaluate:

• Space and Furnishings


• Personal Care Routines


• Language and Literacy


• Learning Activities


• Interaction


• Program Structure