This 19th annual edition of "Quality Counts" takes a broad look at the issues and forces shaping the discussion around early-childhood education. It examines how new academic demands and the push for accountability are changing the nature of early-childhood education for school administrators, teachers, and children alike. Reporters delve into the policy debates surrounding publicly funded programs; examine cutting-edge research focusing on the early years, as well as milestone studies that continue to resonate throughout the field; and examine the academic and technological changes in store for the youngest learners as they move further along the educational pathway. They delve into the shifting nature of kindergarten, and the multigrade challenge of assuring a seamless English/language arts transition across the pre-K-3 spectrum. Complementing this package is original analysis from the Education Week Research Center with specific relevance to this year's theme in the form of a new feature called the Early Education Index. It examines multiple years of data through 2013 to offer a comprehensive portrait of states' participation in early-childhood programming, public, and private. The index touches on both preschool and kindergarten trends, with a specific emphasis on low-income families. This year's "Quality Counts" provides the summative grades for the nation, each of the 50 states, and the District of Columbia on key indicators, and includes the Education Week Research Center's Chance-for-Success Index, which comprises a wide range of learning indicators from the early years to adulthood. Following "A Playbook for the Youngest Learners" by the editors, articles and features in this issue include: (1) Consensus Is Just the Starting Point (Christina A. Samuels); (2) Striking a Balance on Rigor (Sarah D. Sparks) with Pre-K Snapshots of New York City (Evie Blad), San Antonio (Arianna Prothero), and Granite School District, Utah (Arianna Prothero); (3) Government's Stamp on Early Education (Madeline Will); (4) Early-Childhood Analysis (Education Week Research Center); (5) States Graded on Indicators for Early Years (Education Week Research Center); (6) Kindergarten's Growing Pains (Christina A. Samuels); (7) Early Assessments Fuel Testing Jitters (Catherine Gewertz); (8) Stairsteps to Reading Proficiency (Christina A. Samuels); (9) Doing Ed-Tech Right in the Early Years (Benjamin Herold); (10) Connect Zero-to-3 to the Classroom (Laura Bornfreund); (11) Readying Schools for Native Students (Susan C. Faircloth); (12) Find What Works in Kindergarten (Heather E. Quick); (13) What about Costs vs. Benefits (David J. Armor); and (14) Ranking the States: A New Approach.