An Uneven Playing Field:
Quality Standards for School Districts vs. Private Child Care in Colorado
A data-driven comparison of Cognia school district accreditation and the CO Shines Quality Rating and Improvement System β and what the gap means for Colorado's private child care providers.
At a Glance: The Numbers That Matter
The contrast between how school districts and private programs are measured is stark β and the data proves it.
Cognia Systems Accreditation: Actual Indicator Performance at Time of Accreditation
Morrill Public Schools (NE) β a real-world example of a district earning and displaying the Cognia accreditation seal with these performance levels across 31 system indicators.
Source: Morrill Public Schools Cognia Systems Accreditation Report, April 2022. Despite these results, the district earned full accreditation β valid for 6 years.
Head-to-Head Comparison
How do the two systems actually stack up? The differences are not minor β they represent fundamentally different definitions of "quality."
Visualizing the Gap
These charts tell the story of what "accredited" actually means for a school district β and how it compares to what private providers must demonstrate.
Cognia Indicator Performance at Accreditation
Distribution of 31 system indicators for an accredited district at time of review
CO Shines: What Levels 3β5 Require
Every private provider at Level 3+ must score points in ALL five categories
Accountability Cycle: How Often Are Programs Really Evaluated?
The frequency of meaningful external review is dramatically different between the two systems.
π« School District (Cognia)
β Private Provider (CO Shines)
What CO Shines Actually Demands from Private Providers
Unlike a system-wide average, CO Shines requires individual programs to demonstrate quality across five specific, independently verified categories. There is no averaging, no grace period, and no district umbrella to hide behind.
β What Cognia Allowed at Accreditation
- 48% of indicators at "Initiating" β just beginning to address quality
- 26% at "Improving" β partial progress only
- 23% lacked sufficient evidence to rate
- Only 1 of 31 indicators at "Impacting" β highest level
- Districts given 5 years to address deficiencies
- All programs under the district umbrella β regardless of individual quality
β What CO Shines Requires of Private Providers
- Each program individually assessed β no averaging
- On-site visits by Quality Ratings Specialists for Levels 3β5
- Environment Rating Scale (ERS) classroom observations
- Evidence verified across all 5 categories
- Points-based scoring β must earn quality designation, not just pass a threshold
- More frequent renewal than Cognia's 6-year cycle
Breaking Down the Cognia "Pass": What 31 Indicators Actually Showed
This is what the accreditation seal was awarded on. The "Initiating" level means practices are just beginning β not established, not sustained.
π What "Initiating" Really Means
In Cognia's performance framework, "Initiating" is the lowest active performance level. It describes an institution that is just beginning to address a standard β not one that has implemented it, not one that can demonstrate results from it.
When 15 of 31 system indicators (nearly half) are rated "Initiating," it means the district has significant, documented quality gaps β yet still displays the Cognia accreditation seal for up to 6 years.
A CO Shines Level 3 private provider has demonstrated more consistent, verified quality than this.
π‘ The Advocacy Case for Colorado's Private Child Care Providers
Colorado's private child care community is held to a higher, more rigorous, more transparent accountability standard than school districts β yet often receives less recognition, lower reimbursement rates, and less preferential treatment in public systems. The data does not support that disparity.
- A CO Shines Level 3, 4, or 5 program has been individually assessed, observed on-site, and verified across five quality categories. That is more accountability than a district system where half of practices may be at the "just starting" level.
- There is no equivalent of a district "umbrella" in private child care. Every provider must stand on its own merits β its workforce, its classrooms, its leadership, its family engagement, its health practices β all individually scored.
- School districts accreditation lasts up to 6 years. Private providers face more frequent scrutiny with more individual accountability. Yet funding models and public perception often treat district programs as higher-quality by default.
- 23% of indicators in the Cognia example had insufficient evidence β yet accreditation was awarded. If a private provider submitted insufficient evidence in any CO Shines category, they would not advance. The double standard is documented.
- Colorado is currently in a QRIS refresh/transition for CO Shines. This is a critical window to ensure private providers are recognized β and resourced β commensurate with the quality they actually demonstrate.
π What Policymakers Should Know
When comparing school district early childhood programs to private child care on "quality," the accreditation labels are not equivalent. Cognia accreditation is a district improvement framework with generous thresholds. CO Shines is an individual program quality designation. Treating them as equivalent β or defaulting to the district label as superior β is not supported by the standards themselves.
π CO Shines as a Credibility Signal
A private provider pursuing or holding CO Shines Level 3β5 is demonstrating individual commitment to quality that exceeds what Cognia requires of school districts. This rating should be recognized in CDPHE, CDEC, and local government contracting, referral partnerships, subsidy reimbursement rates, and community communications as a genuine mark of excellence β not merely a compliance box.
Why Does This Matter?
School districts that have an accreditation will be able to add their programs to that accreditation and acquire a level 4 crosswalk without anyone ever looking directly at their program.Β Β Just another way that the CO Early Childhood system is proving to be inequitable for private industry.Β Β
If CDEC proceeds with the current ratio decrease rule, we hope that they will pause any accreditation of new school district programs out of fairness until community based programs can rate again.
Links to Cognia docs:Β https://www.cognia.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Performance-Standards-for-Early-Learning.pdf
Sample assessment summary:Β Β https://www.mpslions.org/o/prek/article/726538Β
