Illinois Launches New Quality Rating System for Early Care and Education

McCormick Institute for Early Childhood

BY Linda Butkovich and Teri Talan | September 1, 2007

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

With the launch of the Quality Counts: Quality Rating System in July 2007, Illinois joined the growing number of states across the country implementing quality rating systems. A Quality Rating System (QRS) is a systemic approach to assess, improve, and communicate the level of quality in early care and education programs. Much like the rating systems used for restaurants and hotels, QRS award stars (or some other symbol) to recognize higher quality programs that meet defined program standards.… Download this resource to read the rest of this story.


This resource is part of our archived Director’s Link newsletter series.

McCormick Institute for Early Childhood logo in blue text on a white-to-light-blue background
By Robyn Kelton & Nudrat Hassan June 25, 2026
Early childhood care and education (ECEC) program administrators play a pivotal role in shaping both the quality and sustainability of the programs they lead.
Show More