Reprinted with permission from School-Age Notes, the most trusted publisher and provider of quality, innovative resources designed to elevate the skills of adults who create learning opportunities for children and youth.

Numerous states across the U.S. are in the process of developing or have established a quality rating and improvement system (QRIS) for early-childhood, school-age and after-school programs to help them address the important issue of quality. Each state has its own ladder or rating scale that programs use as they improve their practices.