Brief Overview of Standard: Daily activities and interactions within early care and education programs are indicators that a program is providing an environment and experiences that are safe, healthy, and stimulating for all children. This includes offering both indoor and outdoor activities to support varied learning experiences. Providing necessary adaptations to a child’s experience and environment allows all children, to learn, grow, and develop.
Environment Rating Scales Tip Sheets
Preparing for Assessments
Resources to help directors, teachers, and family child care providers prepare for their ExceleRate Illinois on-site assessment.
Specific Tools - Assessment of Learning Environment
Introduction to the Environment Rating Scales (ERS)- accepted from 2007- June 2025. This training is no longer offered.
How ERS Works, Illinois' new ERS training is now available only as a virtual training. Dates are posted on the Gateways Training Calendar by searching “How ERS Works” as a keyword). Additional dates will be added soon, including training in Spanish.
*If you have previously taken Introduction to ERS for ExceleRate eligibility, you do not need to complete How ERS Works.
Other ExceleRate-approved entities that offer ERS training:
Child Care Education Institute (CCEI)
Search “ITERS-3” or “ECERS-3”
Training developed by the Scale authors offered through Kaplan Early Learning Company.
From the dropdown, choose ITERS-3, ECERS-3, SACERS-U or FCCERS-R. Some versions are also available in Spanish.
These are online, self-paced training modules. After payment is made, login information will come from