Certification Levels

A child care and early learning program must meet all of the required measures in order to obtain certification. Then the scores of the points-based measures are used to determine the star level for each category and ultimately for the program as a whole.

The star level of each category is determined by averaging the score of all points-based measures in that category. Texas Rising Star assigns each of the four categories a weight, which calculates the overall certification level of the child care program. Category 2: Teacher-Child Interactions has the highest weight at 40 percent and the remaining three categories each have a 20 percent weight.

The scoring criteria for each star level is:

• Four-Star—average score is 2.4 or greater (80 percent of total possible points)
• Three-Star—average score is 1.80 to 2.39 (60–79.9 percent of total possible points)
• Two-Star—average score is below 1.80 (less than 60 percent of total possible points)

This means a program does not have to obtain 100 percent of the points available to become certified at the highest star level, Four-Star. 

Texas Rising Star–certified programs receive higher payment rates for children enrolled in the Child Care Services program than noncertified programs. 

Each Board establishes payment rates at or above a level established by TWC. TWC has published each of the Board’s maximum payment rates as of October 1, 2024. 

TWC requires Boards to set their Texas Rising Star maximum payment rates at or above the following levels: 

• For Four-Star providers, at least 9 percent higher than the 75th percentile of the most recent Market Rate Survey
• For Three-Star providers, at least 7 percent higher than the 75th percentile
• For Two-Star providers, at least 5 percent higher than the 75th percentile 

TWC has also published a Texas Rising Star Revenue Calculator to help child care and early learning programs see how financially beneficial being Texas Rising Star-certified could be for their program. Simply complete the 3 steps within the calculator spreadsheet to see the estimated additional revenue they could receive. 

Note: Entry Level-designated child care and early learning programs do not receive enhanced payment rates.