Inclusive Classroom Profile (ICP)

Reminder about objective assessment:

NOTE: Objective assessment means that you are viewing your program’s management and leadership practices through an unbiased lens. Scoring is based on your program’s current actual practices and not what you have done in the past or plan to implement in the future. By using objective assessment to view your program’s management and leadership practices, you provide an accurate lens that can be used to celebrate your successes and strengthen your program through continuous quality improvement goals.

Assessment at-a-glance

• Appropriate for family and group child care facilities located in a residential structure
• 4-6 hours to complete depending on document verification
• Provider interview required
• Documents needed as source of evidence for scoring
• Assessment based on observation, provider interview, and documentation verification

Required materials

• Business Administration Scale Second Edition ISBN 978-0-8077-5939-4 -OR-  Escala de Evaluación de la Administración de Negocios (Spanish BAS): Para el Cuidado de Niños en el Hogar (BAS2 Espanol) 2nd Edition ISBN 978-0807763940
• Additional Notes for Clarification (mccormickcenter.nl.edu)

Supplemental materials

• Not applicable

Purchase the program observation instrument (POI)

• There are several sources where the required book can be purchased. Searching online by resource name or ISBN may yield several options from which to choose.
• Be sure to allow adequate time for ordering and delivery of all materials.
• Only one BAS scale book is needed to conduct the assessment; you can continue to work from the same scale book each time you revisit the BAS, or you may want to consider ordering additional copies for future use and comparison. Using a pencil to record notes and scores is recommended.
• Scoring pages cannot be duplicated.
• Provider Qualifications Worksheet may be duplicated as needed.

Conduct the internal assessment with the BAS

1. Learn about the BAS

• Register for the Online Self-Paced: PA Foundations of the Business Administration Scale (BAS) course in Pennsylvania’s Professional Development (PD) Registry.
• Additional professional development, Getting Ready for the BAS, is available from the McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership.
• Request a Facilitated Program Observation Instrument Orientation (FPO). This one-hour session with an Assessor provides an opportunity to learn basic information about the BAS and ask specific questions. The FPO is structured to meet everyone’s or program’s specific needs, and each person attending receives one hour of PQAS credit. NOTE: The FPO is not a substitute for the online self-paced PA Foundations of the Business Administration Scale (BAS) course, but rather provides a basic overview.
• Read the BAS book cover to cover. The more you learn about the quality practices in each subscale, the more accurate your own internal assessment results.
• It is recommended that the provider and internal assessment team become familiar with the expectations of the BAS prior to the internal assessment.
• Clarify any questions about the BAS with an Assessor.

  2. Prepare to conduct the internal assessment 

• Pay close attention to the overview of the BAS scale, as well as procedures, definitions, and scoring information found on pages 1-6 of the BAS book.
• If time has elapsed since your purchase, review, or use of the BAS, or it has been a while since you attended a BAS PD, re-familiarize yourself with the scale expectations.
• Gather all the documentation required to meet each indicator. It is anticipated that programs will not have all documentation needed to satisfy all indicator expectations since there is always room for growth. The BAS Assessor can provide a list of possible documentation sources to use as evidence of meeting an expectation.
• After all potential documentation has been gathered, schedule the internal assessment during a block of time when interruptions may be minimal.
• Prior to starting your internal assessment be sure to have a copy of the BAS book, pencil, and the Notes for Clarification (see required materials).

 3. When to conduct the internal assessment

• Since the BAS does not focus on the environment and children in the family child care, the internal assessment can be conducted any time to review the documentation (internal assessment by the provider or another designee).
• Plan for 4-6 hours for scoring and documentation verification.

4. Conduct the internal assessment (internal assessment by the provider or designee)

• Plan to take a lot of notes. Taking notes is extremely helpful for various reasons. First, note taking will help you score accurately. If you are reviewing the assessment to check your scores, looking back at notes will help. Second, note taking will help you create goals and make changes based on what was observed and written. Finally, your notes will assist the Assessor in understanding your program’s practices and will support deeper internal assessment consultation meeting conversations. Providing numerical scores is not enough for growth and development. Score the assessment using the scoring rules found at the beginning of the BAS.
• Use the checkboxes on the Notes page for each item.
• Be objective. It might be second nature to give scores based on information you think your documentation contains. The rating scale is designed to look at quality policies and practices and specific elements of the documentation.
• Read each indicator of quality carefully and be sure all expectations of an indicator are met and scored appropriately.
• Refer to the scoring guidance for each item.
• Read all supplemental information. Review the Notes for Clarification to assure accurate scoring. The scale book is designed to assist you by offering suggestions/examples as you work through scoring the various items.
• Scoring of the BAS is conducted as you work your way through the scale book. Each item is scored across the strand as you gather and review the required documentation. Please consult the BAS book for instructions or contact your Quality Coach and Assessor if you need assistance.

5. Determine your BAS scores

Reminder: Scores should be based on existing policies and procedures, not past practices or future plans.

Complete the Provider Qualifications Worksheet

• Only one person can be designated as the provider.
• Complete the Provider Qualifications Worksheet found on page 32 in the BAS book.
• Use the information from this worksheet to rate the indicators for Item 1-Qualifications and Professional Development.

Rate the indicators for Items 1-10

• Rate the indicators and determine scores for Items 1-10.
• For each item, start with the indicator in the one’s column and score left to right, indicating a Y (yes) or N (no) when determining whether the indicator was met or not met. You must score each indicator in the strand even if you indicate a “No” for any previous strand indicator.
• When permitted as indicated in the scale, a rating of “not applicable” (NA) may be given when the item or indicator is not applicable to your program.
• Record notes in the “Rationale” section at the bottom of the page to support your scoring decisions.

Determine the Score

• Refer to the scoring rules on page five of the BAS to determine individual item scores.
• Once you have determined the score for each item, circle the score on the bottom of the page.

Determine the Average BAS Item Score

• Use the Item Summary Form found on page 33 of the BAS book to calculate the Average BAS Item Score.
• Divide the number of items scored (which would be a minimum of nine but could be a total of ten if the family child care provider has one or more employees) into the Total BAS Score.

Plot your scores on the BAS Profile

• Using the BAS Profile found on page 34 of the BAS book, plot individual item scores on the graph, then connect the dots. This provides a visual tool for understanding your program’s strengths and areas for growth.
• Using a different colored pencil/pen each time you re-evaluate your program will provide you with a visual report of progress over time.

6. Review findings

• Conducting a BAS assessment is only the first step of the process toward growth. Review your observation with those people responsible for implementing changes.
• Review the assessment findings with your Internal Assessment Team, Quality Coach and Assessor. They can celebrate successes with you and work with you to determine where growth might occur.
• Identify goals to achieve growth and include them in your Continuous Quality Improvement Plan (CQI).

7. Next steps

• Assure everyone has contributed ideas and ensure everyone knows the next steps to take toward improvement.
• When planning for CQI goals, look toward implementing the next level’s indicators. Incorporate your goals into your CQI plan.
• Start small. Focus on one indicator at a time.
• Be patient. Do not be discouraged if your initial scores do not meet your expectations. Growth takes time.
• Change what you can and accept those things that are outside of your program’s ability to improve.
• Share your plan for growth/CQI plan with everyone involved on your team.
• Plan to revisit your goals and program’s administrative practices regularly to assess and update as goals are achieved. The CQI process is cyclical as you continuously reflect on your practices and your drive for growth.