Choose Your Own Adventure
Start your quality improvement journey your way.
Follow a guided path for curated support or jump straight into search and filters for direct access to the full resource collection.
How do you want to explore?
Choose a guided experience for more direction, or go straight to the no-frills search and filter page for quick access to resources.
The guided path is designed to help newer users understand how Texas Rising Star resources are organized before choosing a resource path.
Guided Path
Best for users who want support, context, definitions, and a clearer starting point.
Search & Filter
Best for users who already know what they need and want fast, direct access.
New to Texas Rising Star resources? Start here.
This short guide explains the language used across the resource collection so you can choose the best path with confidence.
What is a Texas Rising Star Measure?
These are the quality expectations of the Texas Rising Star program and what early learning programs are evaluated on during a site assessment.
The forms linked on the site show the measures and scoring options for both facility and classroom measures.
Why does this matter?
Many resources in the collection are organized either around a broad topic or around a specific measure.
Knowing whether you want big-picture learning or measure-specific support will help you choose the right path.
Quick tip
If you are still figuring out the topic, start with Professional Learning.
Quick tip
If you already know the exact measure you want to improve, Examples & Practice may be the better starting point.
How are the resources organized?
The collection includes different kinds of resources depending on whether you want to build understanding, apply learning, review examples, or try strategies in practice.
Professional Learning Resources
Designed to foster educator development, these resources include collaborative time, expert coaching, and research materials.
They are typically interactive, sustained, and job-embedded, focusing on building long-term capacity and professional expertise.
Implementation Tools
These are tools that help educators put what they have learned into practice.
Implementation tools support action and application after learning.
Examples Resources
These include videos, images, and documents that help users better understand a specific measure.
They can also support conversations between mentors, directors, and teachers about current practice.
Practice Opportunities Resources
These resources include tips, strategies, activities, or specific tools related to a measure that programs can put into practice.
They are useful when you are ready to try, apply, or improve a specific area.
Which kind of support do you need?
Choose the curated path that best matches where you are in your quality improvement journey.
Choose Professional Learning if…
You want topic-based learning, broader context, and support that spans multiple measures.
Choose Examples & Practice if…
You are ready to focus on a specific measure and want examples, strategies, and practice ideas.
Choose your next step.
Select a path to see curated guidance.
Professional Learning & Implementation Tools
Professional learning resources can help you deepen your understanding of a topic that spans multiple Texas Rising Star measures. Then, use implementation tools to put what you have learned into practice.
How this path works
- Choose a professional learning topic.
- Build understanding with curated learning resources.
- Use implementation tools to apply what you learned.
Best for users who want to…
- Start with a broad topic area
- Build background knowledge first
- Move from learning into practice
- Deepen understanding across multiple measures
Browse Topic Information
Child Assessment
Use assessment information to understand children’s development and learning needs and support planning, instruction, and family conversations.
Curriculum
Use curriculum to plan quality learning experiences across developmental areas for children of different ages.
Director Qualifications and Training
Explore knowledge, experience, ongoing professional development, and supportive program practices that strengthen director leadership.
Family Education and Involvement
Strengthen communication and partnerships with families to support children and improve the overall program experience.
Health and Nutrition
Support policies and practices that promote children’s health, safety, and overall well-being.
Inclusive Classrooms
Create inclusive environments where children with different needs can thrive through reasonable accommodations and responsive support.
Indoor Learning Environment
Design indoor spaces with materials and activities children can access freely to support growth and learning.
Instructional Formats and Approaches to Learning
Support engagement through intentional schedules, varied groupings, and opportunities for children to practice new concepts throughout the day.
Language Facilitation and Support
Support children’s language development through frequent language stimulation and responsive communication.
Outdoor Learning Environment
Use outdoor environments to encourage physical activity, motor development, and added learning opportunities.
Play-Based Interactions and Guidance
Use play-based learning to support children’s cognitive, emotional, and physical development.
Staff Qualifications and Training
Strengthen staff knowledge, experience, and professional development through supportive workplace practices.
Staff Retention Strategies
Retain motivated staff through support and incentives that contribute to stability and program quality.
Support for Children’s Regulation
Promote behavioral and emotional self-regulation through clear routines, expectations, and classroom support.
Warm and Responsive Style
Support children’s social, emotional, and cognitive development through warm, responsive caregiving and teaching.
Examples & Practice Opportunities
Examples and Practice Opportunities include samples, videos, and practice opportunities that can guide your quality improvement efforts.
How this path works
- Choose a measure-focused path.
- Review measure definitions and guidance.
- Explore examples and practice opportunities connected to that measure area.
Best for users who want to…
- Target a specific measure area
- See what quality looks like in practice
- Use examples and practice to guide improvement
- Work from a known measure
Browse Measure Definitions
P-FE-01 & P-FE-03: Family Orientation
This measure refers to the type of information shared by an early learning program when conducting an orientation with the family at enrollment.
P-FE-02: Resources on Growth and Development
The intent of this measure is to ensure that families are being provided with a variety of resources and opportunities that assist them in learning more about growth and development.
P-FI-01: Parent Feedback
This measure ensures facilities allow parents to give feedback on the program, including the staffing and classrooms, through surveys, suggestion boxes, exit interviews, or parent meetings.
P-FI-02: Family Conferences
This measure examines if there is an existing policy for parent-teacher conferences and if parents are allowed to have a discussion with a teacher.
P-FI-03: Family Involvement in Program Activities
This measure determines if families are invited to participate in program events, such as special occasions, celebrations, support groups, and other program-related activities.
P-IFAL-01: Intentional Instructional Activities
This measure looks at whether intentional instructional activities are balanced between teacher-directed and child-directed.
P-IFAL-02: Balance of Activities
This measure looks at whether the daily schedule demonstrates a balance of both teacher- and child-initiated planned daily activities.
P-IFAL-03: Incidental Learning
This measure refers to how consistently the teacher adds incidental learning to routines and transitions.
P-IFAL-04: Planned Transition Times
This measure refers to the quality of transition times by considering how organized and prepared the teacher is to begin activities and whether there are long waits between children’s activities.
P-IFAL-05: Repeated Exposure of a New Concept
This measure focuses on how consistently new concepts are integrated throughout the day in different learning contexts.
P-ILE-01: Facilitate Division of Interest Areas
This measure refers to indoor environments that provide children with various interest areas for play as developmentally appropriate, allowing them to move easily from one area to another.
P-ILE-02: Non-Stereotypical and Culturally Sensitive
This measure pertains to developmentally appropriate materials that portray different cultures, life roles, abilities and disabilities, and ethnicities in indoor environments.
P-ILE-03: Materials Displayed at Eye Level
This measure refers to developmentally appropriate teacher-and-child-created materials that should be displayed at the children’s eye level.
P-ILE-04: Equipment and Materials Arrangement
This measure focuses on equipment and materials that appear inviting and reflect the children’s interests.
P-ILE-05: Access to Real Objects
This measure pertains to equipment and materials that encourage hands-on manipulation of real objects for children.
P-LFS-01: Listens and Responds Attentively
This measure analyzes how the teacher notices and responds to individual children’s gestures, vocalizations, comments, and questions, patiently listening to children who want to express themselves.
P-LFS-02: Positive Encouragement and Reinforcement
This measure examines how the teacher uses positive, supportive verbal responses and encouragement to reinforce or acknowledge good behavior and accomplishments.
P-LFS-03: Adds Meaning or Expands on Interests
This measure examines the teacher’s ability to use encouraging language to build or nurture a child’s interests based on their signals.
P-LFS-04: Communicates throughout the Day
This measure assesses how the teacher talks to children throughout the day during activities, including diaper change, feeding, mealtime, outdoor play, and group events.
P-LFS-05: Uses Descriptive Language
This measure considers the variety of labels and descriptors the teacher includes in verbal communication and how consistently the teacher uses them.
P-LFS-06: Opportunities to Talk
This measure evaluates the teacher’s ability to actively encourage children to communicate by asking questions and initiating conversations throughout the day.
P-LFS-07: Allows for Response to Questions
This measure considers how the teacher gives children time to respond to questions before providing the answer or asking another question.
P-LFS-08: Engages in Conversations
This measure assesses the teacher’s ability to initiate a rich conversation about a child’s interests and use open-ended questions to elicit more elaborate responses.
P-LFS-09: Expands on Children’s Understanding
This measure analyzes the teacher’s ability to use rich language to encourage children to speak more about their interests or ideas and expand their understanding.
P-LFS-10: Models Language
This measure analyzes how the teacher models making complete, correct sentences from children’s fragmented comments or grammatically incorrect sentences.
P-OLE-01: Activities Linked to Indoor Learning
This measure assesses outdoor environments that allow children to engage in natural small groupings with activities that reinforce indoor learning.
P-OLE-02: Natural Environment
This measure evaluates the outdoor environment that allows children to care for living things and appreciate nature.
P-OLE-03: Equipment and Materials Encourage Activity
This measure refers to outdoor environments, natural and manufactured equipment, and materials that motivate children to be physically active and engage in activity.
P-OLE-05: Infants’ Outdoor Experiences
This measure assesses the outdoor equipment and materials used for infants.
P-PBIG-01: Supports a Playful Attitude
This measure analyzes how teachers support a playful attitude in the classroom by providing opportunities for children to engage in songs, books, pretend play, or games.
P-PBIG-02: Participates in and Expands on Play
This measure looks at the teacher’s active participation in activities initiated by the children to reinforce language, ideas, and social development.
P-PBIG-03: Provides Guidance
This measure focuses on how the teacher guides or directs children when completing a task or at play versus implementing overly directive strategies.
P-PBIG-04: Provides Opportunities for Social Play
This measure examines how the teacher allows children to interact socially in different situations throughout the day.
P-PM-01: Compensatory Supports
This measure considers whether facilities provide formal compensatory support, including financial compensation, which encourages staff retention.
P-PM-02: Health and Nutrition Practices
This measure looks at providers demonstrating structured health and nutrition policies for children and parents to ensure a program that supports whole-child development.
P-PM-03: Curriculum
This measure assesses if the program uses a developmentally appropriate curriculum that aligns with early learning guidelines or standards.
P-PM-04: Curriculum Planning Supports
This measure examines if the program provides support to teachers for curriculum planning.
P-SCR-01: Models and Encourages Emotional Expression
This measure refers to how a teacher models or encourages emotional expression.
P-SCR-02: Provides Short Explanations on Emotions
The intent of this measure is to determine how consistent the teacher is at recognizing children’s feelings and providing positive, short, clear explanations.
P-SCR-03: Explains Logical Consequences
This measure refers to how consistently the teacher offers consequences that are logical versus illogical or harsh when a behavior occurs.
P-SCR-04: Encourages Self-Regulation
This measure focuses on how consistently the teacher encourages children to follow rules and routines that help children learn to regulate their own behavior.
P-SCR-07: Assists in Peer Communications
This measure focuses on how consistently the teacher assists children in their communications and interactions with other children.
P-SCR-08: Self-Help Skill Building
This measure asks teachers to encourage children to assist with routines and procedures that help build self-help skills.
P-WRS-01: Warm Environment
This measure refers to teachers’ ability to create a warm, safe, and nurturing environment and refrain from using negative or harsh language, behaviors, and discipline.
P-WRS-02: Positive Nonverbal Behaviors
This measure pertains to teachers using frequent, positive, nonverbal behaviors to increase feelings of acceptance among children.
P-WRS-03: Patient, Relaxed Style
This measure focuses on the teacher’s typical style for maintaining calm in the classroom.
P-WRS-04: Notices and Attends to Needs and Signals
This measure analyzes how teachers recognize and respond to children’s verbal and non-verbal signals caused by stress, shyness, or withdrawnness.
P-WRS-05: Responds Promptly to Signals
This measure looks at how sensitive teachers are to the needs of their students and how promptly they respond to such needs.
P-WRS-06: Ability to Adjust Behavior
Teachers who adjust well help build children’s feelings of acceptance by adapting their interaction style to meet the needs of individual children.
S-COTQ-01: Staff Orientation
This measure requires that, before beginning child care duties, all teaching staff members receive documented in-person interactive orientation.
S-COTQ-02-10, P-CQT-01-04: Staff Education, Experience, and Training
These measures capture the level of qualifications and training among teaching staff.
S-DQT-03-06, P-DEQT-01-05: Director Education, Experience, and Training
This collection of measures captures a director’s level of formal education, years of experience, and training hours.
S-FE-01: Written Policies and Procedures
This measure relates to the parent handbook and any supporting documents the program provides.
S-FE-02: Developmental Milestone Checklists
Developmental milestone checklists are tools that provide examples of typical development for children at a given age.
S-FI-03: Family Communication
This measure ensures that the early learning program has documented communication with parents and families about their child’s experiences while in care.
S-FI-04: Community Resources
This measure focuses on community resources available and accessible to parents, which must be accurate, up-to-date, and credible.
S-PM-01: Accommodating Families and Children
This measure involves how facilities provide early-learning programs to support families and children needing additional accommodations.