As part of the Springfield conversation about preschool expansion, a frequent question comes up about how to ensure a consistent level of quality among different early childhood programs. A pilot project conducted by the Community Partnership of the Ozarks and funded with a $10,000 grant by the Community Foundation of the Ozarks may provide the answer. It used the Classroom Assessment Scoring System, or CLASS – developed at U.Va.’s Curry School of Education –  as an assessment and coaching tool, which focuses on a critical factor: interaction between a student and teache...