Leaders, policymakers, and systems developers seek to improve early childhood programs through data driven decision-making. Data can be useful for informing continuous quality improvement efforts at the classroom and program level and for creating support for workforce development at the system level. Early childhood program leaders use assessments to help them understand their programs' strengths and to draw attention to where supports are needed. The "Early Education Essentials" is a recently developed tool to examine program conditions that affect early childhood education instructional and emotional quality. It is patterned after the Five Essentials Framework, which is widely used to measure instructional supports in K-12 schools. The "Early Education Essentials" measures six dimensions of quality in early childhood programs: (1) Effective instructional leaders; (2) Collaborative teachers; (3) Supportive environment; (4) Ambitious instruction; (5) Involved families; and (6) Parent voice. A recently published validation study for the "Early Education Essentials" demonstrates that it is a valid and reliable instrument that can be used to assess early childhood programs to improve teaching and learning outcomes.