To prepare all children for kindergarten, Virginia’s early childhood system must ensure that all children have quality teaching and learning experiences that meet their unique needs. In response to state law, Virginia has developed the Unified Virginia Quality Birth to Five System (VQB5) to measure and help improve the quality of all publicly-funded birth-to-five classrooms and support families to choose quality programming across program types.
- 2024-2025 VQB5 Guidelines
- VQB5 for Families – English/Spanish
VQB5 Participation Requirements
All publicly-funded birth-to-five early childhood programs are required to participate in VQB5 on an annual basis. Programs that do not receive public funding have the option to participate.
VQB5 measures the quality of infant, toddler and preschool teaching and learning based on two nationally recognized quality indicators: interactions and curriculum.
- Measuring Quality Interactions
The quality of teacher-child interactions is measured in a developmentally-appropriate way with the use of the CLASS tool. VQB5 sites are required to complete two types of CLASS observations: local and external observations.
- Measuring Use of Quality Curriculum
Quality is measured through the optional use of a comprehensive curriculum that aligns with Virginia’s early learning and development standards.
VQB5 Quality Profiles include information about performance on quality measurements and other topics of interest to families, policymakers, and the general public.
- View VQB5 Quality Profiles at: EarlyChildhoodQuality.doe.virginia.gov
- VQB5 Quality Profiles Overview Video (3 min)
- Tips for Promoting Your VQB5 Quality Rating /Spanish (Resources for Site Leaders)
Supporting Continuous Quality Improvement
Through frequent measurement and feedback, VQB5 identifies and intervenes where needed, dedicating targeted interventions and state resources for programs and classrooms where support is most critical.
RecognizeB5: VQB5 Educator Incentive
RecognizeB5 is an important component of VQB5 that provides direct financial incentives to support retention of teachers at publicly-funded child care centers and family day homes.
Ready Regions
VDOE annually funds nine Ready Regions to provide regional implementation of VQB5 and support coordination for every birth-to-five provider in the Commonwealth.
VQB5’s Data System – LinkB5
LinkB5 collects measurement and improvement data across early childhood programs participating in VQB5.
Contact:
If you have questions about VQB5, please email [email protected].
