McCormick Institute for Early Childhood

BY Marie Masterson, PhD | March 4, 2019

This document may be printed, photocopied, and disseminated freely with attribution. All content is the property of the McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership.

Try entering a classroom or family child care setting at children’s eye level. What objects or activities are waiting to invite children’s exploration and inspire their curiosity? What interactions strengthen the love of reading, communication with others, and feelings of competence? Are children solving problems and collaborating with others? Are there safe and meaningful relationships among peers? How do adults facilitate engagement and learning?


This perspective – evaluating the experiences of children – motivates the work of the McCormick Center Quality Assessment Teams. Our focus involves the daily life of children who spend 35-40 hours a week in family child care, community-based programs, school-based preschool, and after-school settings. Are they getting all that is needed to prepare them to be caring and kind, ready for school, and ready for life? Our assessment teams are dedicated to helping program leaders and teachers understand the many ways their work influences children and families.


As part of quality improvement systems, assessment teams that can deliver reliable, accurate data are essential. Reliable and valid data collection means that an assessment conducted on a Monday provides the same congruent results as an assessment conducted on a Thursday. Whether one assessor or another observes a specific setting, both will evaluate what they see and hear using the same lens and criteria resulting in consistent scoring and feedback. Professional assessors view each early childhood setting through a shared lens of criteria, such as the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS), the Environment Rating Scales (ERS), or the Program and Business Administration Scales (PAS and BAS).


To be prepared for excellence, our teams are trained by the authors or professional instructors for each scale. Once initial reliability is attained, we continue to practice, review, discuss, and compare notes. This rigorous and detailed focus ensures that each assessor takes the same perspective when they view a setting. We practice scientific standards of reliability, where observations are double coded to ensure accuracy – meaning that both assessors who evaluate a setting at the same time do so in the same way.


As part of the observation and assessment process, the team takes detailed notes, records conversation samples, and considers the way teachers engage children in learning. They review the physical setting to be certain it provides access to stimulating materials. They listen and watch interactions throughout all aspects of the day, including teaching times, snacks, meals, self-care routines, and outside activities. They watch to see that teachers are tuned in and actively supporting engagement. They listen for the quality of language being used and look to see that teaching is child-centered and individualized. They listen to hear that teachers build on children’s questions and engage them in meaningful conversations about materials, activities, and play. By watching and listening, the team learns a great deal about high-quality teaching.


Our profession recognizes the primacy of play in children’s learning and development. Play is the way young children explore, examine, test their ideas, and develop their skills. During observations, assessors consider the way materials are prepared to promote complex dramatic play. They look for interest areas that provide compelling tools and materials that reflect and connect to children’s real-life experiences. Importantly, they look for culturally and linguistically responsive teaching, which builds on the strengths of the family, neighborhood, and community.


When states focus on building aligned systems of support for the early childhood profession using quality assessment, everyone benefits. First, quality assessment stabilizes the system by providing cohesive approaches to evaluation and data collection. As a result, conversations can take place among and across programs, as well as across systems. Accurate data collection and feedback support quality improvement in programs in the following ways:

  • As programs prepare for an assessor’s visit, they take pride in being part of quality improvement processes. They communicate this priority to teachers and families.
  • As programs participate in quality assessment, they learn how accurate evaluation provides needed data for reflection. This process activates a growth mindset and promotes active collaboration in continuous quality improvement.
  • Scientifically valid feedback provides concrete information for coaches and program staff who work together to set action steps and goals for quality improvement.
  • Children benefit from programs that participate in quality improvement efforts anchored meaningful data.
  • Families can make informed decisions about where to enroll their children based on reliable and accurate information about a program’s quality.


Accurate data collection and feedback also provide a needed anchor for research, program evaluation, and systems building. Questions to be explored include the following: What parts of high-quality teaching matter most for children? What kinds of coaching and training supports have the greatest impact? How can program staff partner with families to have the greatest influence on their children’s learning and development? These research questions inform state and national decisions and priorities for the field.


What are next steps? Researchers are exploring specific aspects of teaching quality. For example, they may find that an intensive focus on language and literacy, early math skills, or approaches that promote self-regulation are the factors that have the most impact on children’s development and learning. It may be that increments of quality make a difference up to a certain point, but that higher-level quality settings make an impact depending on the approaches used. While researchers work to clarify these issues, the field can be sure that high quality data collection can help provide needed answers.


Please contact the McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership to explore training opportunities to strengthen your skills and encourage the quality improvement processes of your program. We are here to support your success.

Marie Masterson, PhD, is the Director of Quality Assessment at the McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership at National Louis University. She is a national speaker, child behavior expert, researcher, and author of multiple books and articles that address high-quality teaching, early care and education, and parenting.

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The Ants Go Marching

By Cara Murdoch • February 16, 2026
In early childhood education and care (ECEC), we know that some of the simplest ideas can carry the biggest lessons—and many of us have been singing “The Ants Go Marching” for years without realizing it might also be a leadership guide. Ants may be tiny, but their colonies run on teamwork, communication, flexibility, and a clear sense of purpose—all things ECEC programs rely on every day. By taking a closer look at how ants work together to support their colony, early childhood leaders can discover practical and familiar ways to strengthen teamwork, value every role, and lead programs where everyone is marching in the same direction for children and families. Ants are busy creatures; they work with a purpose and know their jobs in the colony. Ants exhibit teamwork and collective effort. Ant colonies demonstrate intelligence, division of labor, communication systems, and cooperative behaviors. They can recognize and respond to the colony's needs. They overcome their challenges through trial and error, learning from their experiences, and sometimes even develop innovative strategies. In the ant colony, individual ants work together as a unit, each with a unique role that determines the colony's survival and success. The ant colony functions just like a superorganism, where the actions of each individual ant are a part of the highly efficient system that supports the whole colony. This concept of collective action is closely related to human teamwork! Ants have a lot to teach us, as we work in ECEC. teamwork Just as ants collaborate, relying on their communication and coordination to complete tasks, humans thrive when working together, as each individual brings their own unique skills and perspectives to their “colony.” Ants depend on each other. Each ant has a specialized job, and the colony relies on the cooperation and coordination of all its members to thrive and survive. Each ant’s contribution, no matter how small it may seem, is vital to the success of the colony as a whole, and the strength of the group is built on the cooperation of each individual. Similarly, in ECEC programs, teamwork — working together and helping one another —leads to better results than trying to do everything alone! When we collaborate, we pool our strengths, share our knowledge, and support each other, which can lead to more creative and efficient solutions. Each person in the program brings unique skills and perspectives, filling gaps and helping compensate for one another’s weaknesses. This shared effort allows your program to tackle tasks and achieve goals that would be difficult, if not impossible, for one individual to accomplish on their own... just like in an ant colony! Adapting to face challenges Ants are highly adaptable creatures. Have you ever watched a disrupted colony hurry to move the uncovered eggs to a protected space? They respond quickly to changes or disruptions in their environment. Their ability to quickly assess new situations and adjust their behavior will help the colony continue to function efficiently, even when the unexpected happens. Their adaptability is the key to their survival, allowing them to overcome obstacles and thrive. Early childhood programs also need to adapt to challenges. When unexpected changes occur, each person needs to be flexible and find new ways to contribute to the program's success. Just as ants adjust, programs must reassess their strengths, collaborate, and develop alternative solutions. Adaptability is essential for proper teamwork! honoring individual roles In an ant colony, different ants take on very specific roles. There are worker ants, soldier ants, and the queen ant. Each ant’s role is crucial to the success and survival of the colony, and all roles are interdependent; they work together to achieve common goals. This division of labor that exists in an ant colony can be compared to the different roles and unique talents found in an ECEC program. Just as ants rely on each other to perform specific tasks, each ECEC team member brings their own expertise and skills to the program. In a project or workplace setting, one person may excel at brainstorming creative ideas, another might be skilled at organizing tasks and managing timelines, and someone else may be particularly adept at technical skills or problem-solving. This diversity of roles within a team ensures that every aspect of a project or goal receives focused attention. In center-based programs, there are the director, teachers, kitchen staff, and other roles as needed. The diversity of roles in a program helps to ensure that the program is successful and thrives. clear purpose and goals In an ant colony, survival is the common goal. The colony’s success depends on each member performing its specific role. Their unwavering focus on the survival of the colony is connected to their success. It demonstrates the power of their collective action, driven by a clear and unified goal. ECEC programs thrive when they are aligned around a shared and clear purpose and goals. When program members understand and commit to their common goals, the well-being and growth of children and families, their efforts will become more effective and coordinated. Just as ants bring different strengths to the program, each person brings different strengths to the program. It is alignment around shared goals that enables the program to overcome challenges and succeed. When everyone in the program is clear on the goals and helps work together toward them, the whole program becomes more focused, resilient, and motivated - just as an ant colony becomes stronger when every member is working toward survival! Ants work together harmoniously to achieve their common goals; they set aside individual competition in favor of colony cooperation. Each ant focuses on its specialized task. This spirit of ant cooperation is key to the colony's survival and success, as it enables the colony to accomplish more complex tasks than any single ant could manage alone. ECEC programs can benefit from adopting a similar approach that emphasizes collaboration and shared goals over individual achievement. In an ECEC program, when members support each other and work together, they can leverage each person’s strengths to accomplish more than they could individually. Instead of competing for recognition or resources, each member can focus on the program’s success, fostering a more positive and productive environment. learning from ants Ants have so much to teach ECEC programs when it comes to cooperating and working together as an effective team. Whether it's knowing your own role and abilities, supporting each of your fellow team members, communicating clearly and effectively, being flexible, or avoiding competition, the ant colony is an excellent example of these qualities! Let your ants go marching!!! Ant Life, author unknown I am just an ant, A small life is what I live, But I have dreams for bigger things And so much more to give If only I could grow A foot or two would do I could live a life That others look up to.
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