Assessing Classroom Quality in Preschool through Third-Grade Classrooms: CLASS Continuous Quality Improvement Opportunity

The Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) is a unique office within the commonwealth as it is a dual deputate reporting to the Pennsylvania Departments of Education (PDE) and Human Services (DHS). OCDEL, through PDE, is offering an opportunity for school districts to engage in a continuous quality improvement process using certified observers / assessors and the CLASS assessment tool. The Classroom Assessment Scoring System ® (CLASS ®) is an observation instrument developed to assess classroom quality in Preschool through Third-Grade classrooms. https://teachstone.com/class/     

CLASS not only defines teaching quality through the lens of interactions, but it also provides the ability to measure and improve the interactions that matter most for student outcomes. It’s a journey of continuous improvement that is data-driven and focused on what matters most for student outcomes, interactions. The tool is broken down into three distinct domains covering focused dimensions. Emotional Support looks at positive climate, negative climate, teacher sensitivity and regard for student perspective. Classroom Organization looks at behavior management, productivity, and instructional learning formats. Instructional Support covers concept development, quality feedback, and language modeling.

Observations consist of four twenty-minute cycles lasting approximately two hours. Targeted feedback on areas of strength and areas of opportunity are provided to teachers and administrators within one week after the observation. 

Click here to learn more! 

Maryanne Olley at molley@pa.gov or Barry Wiestling at bwiestling@pa.gov.