Over the last few years early care and education programming has gained recognition for its substantial role in shaping long term outcomes for individuals, families and communities. A solid evidence base supports the understanding that time spent in a high quality early care and education program positively impacts a child’s long term success along physical, social, cognitive and economic domains.1,2,3,4,5,6 Given the many dimensions of early care and education, assessing the quality of a program entails consideration of many factors. An initial focus on evaluating environmental or structural quality has more recently shifted toward an emphasis on the relationships between and among educators and children in a program.
Through many years evaluating early care and education initiatives, I’ve witnessed the importance of engaged, skilful teachers to the overall quality of a program. There is a palpable electricity—sometimes very quiet, other times boisterous—in a room where children and educators connect deeply in the process of learning and development. A seemingly simple interaction between a teacher and children reading a story or sharing a meal together can be a catalyst for so much growth—and so maybe not surprisingly, measuring what happens in that relationship that contributes to such far-reaching outcomes is complex.
With this in mind I felt very fortunate to have had the opportunity recently to become certified in the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS). CLASS is widely recognized as a leading framework for measuring and improving the quality of teacher-child interactions in early childhood and K-12 settings. CLASS measures three broad domains of interaction: emotional support, classroom organization, and instructional support. These domains are grounded in research demonstrating that responsive, consistent, and cognitively stimulating relationships are central to children’s well-being.7,8
Just as healthy family systems are characterized by secure relationships, predictable routines, and emotionally responsive caregiving, when educators use these same principles to guide their practice, they create classroom environments that support children in learning and development. For children who may not consistently experience these supports in their family context, high-quality teacher-child interactions can serve as a protective factor, buffering stress and promoting resilience. Children who learn self-regulation and organizational skills in early care and education programs are better equipped to contribute positively at home. Families often report reduced stress when children demonstrate improved emotional control and independence. Research also demonstrates that high CLASS scores correlate with academic student outcomes.
Beyond its direct impact on children, implementation of the CLASS framework can also influence how schools partner with families. Educators trained in CLASS principles are often more attuned to the importance of relationships and communication. This awareness can translate into more collaborative and responsive interactions with families. Strong school-family partnerships are linked to better academic outcomes, improved attendance, and enhanced social-emotional development. In communities facing economic stress, trauma, or systemic inequities, consistent access to high-quality interactions becomes even more critical.
CLASS provides evaluators with a common language and a standardized metric for comparing sites within a program, a tool for benchmarking a program against national averages, and for helping programs to track improvements over time. As an addition to ICH’s expertise in participatory data collection methodologies, analytic capabilities and contextual knowledge base, CLASS certification rounds out our evaluation capacities for early care and education programs and initiatives.
Citations
1 Karoly, L. A., Kilburn, M. R., & Cannon, J. S. (2006). Early childhood interventions: Proven results, future promise. Rand Corporation.
2 Anderson, L. M., Shinn, C., Fullilove, M. T., Scrimshaw, S. C., Fielding, J. E., Normand, J., … & Task Force on Community Preventive Services. (2003). The effectiveness of early childhood development programs: A systematic review. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 24(3), 32–46.
3 Campbell, F., Conti, G., Heckman, J. J., Moon, S. H., Pinto, R., Pungello, E., & Pan, Y. (2014). Early childhood investments substantially boost adult health. Science, 343(6178), 1478–1485.
4 Hahn, R. A., Rammohan, V., Truman, B. I., Milstein, B., Johnson, R. L., Muntañer, C., … & Community Preventive Services Task Force. (2014). Effects of full-day kindergarten on the long-term health prospects of children in low-income and racial/ethnic-minority populations: A community guide systematic review. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 46(3), 312–323.
5 Maggi, S., Irwin, L. J., Siddiqi, A., & Hertzman, C. (2010). The social determinants of early child development: An overview. Journal of Pediatrics and Child Health, 46(11), 627–635.
6 Muennig, P., Robertson, D., Johnson, G., Campbell, F., Pungello, E. P., & Neidell, M. (2011). The effect of an early education program on adult health: The Carolina Abecedarian Project randomized controlled trial. American Journal of Public Health, 101(3), 512–516.
7 Magnuson, K. A., & Waldfogel, J. (2005). Early childhood care and education: Effects on ethnic and racial gaps in school readiness. The Future of Children, 15(1), 169–196.
8 NICHD Early Child Care Research Network. (2002). Child-care structure→ process→ outcome: Direct and indirect effects of child-care quality on young children’s development. Psychological Science, 13(3), 199–206.