Accurate, reliable, and scalable measurement of classroom quality represent a critical tool for ensuring that young children benefit from early learning programs. The Early Childhood Classroom Observation (ECCO) study was designed to better understand how video recordings can support high-quality measurement of pre-kindergarten (pre-K) classrooms,…

Research Findings: A total of 54 videotaped mathematics activity observations drawn from 27 different pre-kindergarten classrooms in an urban public schools system in the U.S. were coded using 2 observational measures: (1) a general measure, the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS); and (2) a math-specific measure, the High Impact…

In this study, we examined American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) Head Start directors' perceptions of the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) and critically examined those perceptions to provide insight into the cultural appropriateness of the CLASS in the AI/AN Head Start context. Based on qualitative data from 76 AI/AN Head Start…

The National Quality Framework is used across Australia to drive quality improvement in early childhood settings. Unique to Western Australia, the National Quality Standard is also used in schools to improve quality in classrooms up to Year two (seven to eight years). However, the literature suggests the National Quality Standard is too broad with…

Systematic classroom observation is often used in evaluating and enhancing the quality of classroom instruction. However, classroom observation can potentially suffer from human bias. In addition, the traditional classroom observation is too expensive for resource-constrained environments (e.g., Sub-Saharan Africa, South and Central Asia). A…

The objective of this paper is to present the conception and validation of the Quality of Educators' Observation and Planning Practices Scale (QEOPPS). The instrument assesses the quality of early childhood educators' observation practices (observing children, collecting information, using the collected information, paying attention to each child)…

Many school districts face the empirical challenge of monitoring program quality to assure that all children experience pre-K environments that foster early learning and development. Factors that are exogenous to classrooms (such as evaluation timing) may play a role in estimates of program quality and yet are not fully understood. This paper…

Helping students engage with complex texts has been a longstanding challenge, though teachers have received little guidance about practices that help students in engaging with texts. This paper provides a range of empirical evidence about a tool designed to provide formative insight into text-focused teaching, which we used to reliably score more…

Early childhood education programs (ECE) invest in assessments of classroom quality to enable accountability and to enact efforts towards quality improvement. The "Early Childhood Environment Rating System -- Revised" (ECERS-R) and "Classroom Assessment Scoring System" (CLASS) are two widely used classroom quality assessments…

One widely used tool that captures the process quality of preschool classrooms, including interactions between teachers and children, is the Classroom Assessment Scoring System-Preschool (Pre-K CLASS; Pianta et al. 2008). The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation funded Mathematica to conduct a literature scan to search for recent studies analyzing…

Background & Context: Accurate, reliable, and scalable measurement of classroom quality is critical to ensure that children benefit from early childhood programs. Early childhood classroom quality is most commonly measured using classroom observation tools serving multiple purposes including (1) teacher support (e.g., coaching, professional…

There is growing interest in improving and assessing teachers' use of culturally responsive practices (CRP) in the classroom, yet relatively few research-based approaches exist to address these measurement gaps. This article presents findings on the psychometric properties of a newly developed classroom observation measure of CRP, called the CARES…

Whole-school or whole-class programs designed to promote positive behavior can enhance the likelihood that effective teaching and learning occur for all students. This practice guide is intended to help elementary education educators, as well as school and district administrators and parents, implement and support effective prevention-focused…