NAEYC strives to raise the quality of education for all children from birth through age eight. Accreditation systems are major part of NAEYC's efforts to improve early childhood education; they allow programs to provide the best learning experiences for young children and their educators by meeting national standards of quality.

Ensuring the quality of children's daily experiences in early childhood programs and promoting positive child outcomes is the goal of the 10 NAEYC Early Childhood Program Standards and Accreditation Criteria.

• Standard 1: Relationships

• Standard 2: Curriculum

• Standard 3: Teaching

• Standard 4: Assessment of Child Progress

• Standard 5: Health

• Standard 6: Teachers

• Standard 7: Families

• Standard 8: Community Relationships

• Standard 9: Physical Environment

• Standard 10: Leadership and Management