Teacher – Full Teacher Evaluation Information - North Dakota ...

early years of formal education. As policymakers and program administrators strive to maximize
children’s learning and developmental outcomes, even while streamlining budgets, evidencebased
monitoring, evaluation, and teacher professional development strategies are gaining
attention.
This document describes the ways the CLASS can be used to facilitate improvements in
teacher-child interactions through: 1) program evaluation and monitoring; and 2) professional
development. It provides an overview of the CLASS as well as practical information to guide
policy and implementation efforts at the federal, state, and local levels.
First, an overview of the CLASS is presented. Then, a conceptual framework is introduced
that can guide states and others in systematically implementing the use of the CLASS and
creating a coordinated approach for improving teacher-child interactions. The report also
provides answers to practical questions about how best to implement and coordinate use of
the CLASS as part of program quality improvement and evaluation and monitoring systems.
The report concludes with a brief discussion of other important issues, such as use of the
CLASS in settings with diverse populations of children.
But first, a few important caveats. No one tool or
system can assume sole responsibility for improving
the quality of ECE programs, or even the quality of
one component of these programs, such as teacherchild
interactions. The CLASS is an evidencedbased
tool that can effectively be used as one
approach, but successful, systemic improvement in
the quality of ECE programs also requires a
broader, more comprehensive approach that
considers the many different facets of high-quality
programs, such as teacher preparation, ongoing
training, supervision, curriculum and working
conditions (including teacher compensation), as well
as the capacity and cohesion of the state’s ECE
infrastructure, policies,
and regulations.
“With an assessment tool like the
CLASS, we’ve found a missing piece
of the puzzle that we’ve been looking
for for a very long time. A tool that
helps assess the quality of teacherchild
interactions can help strengthen
the qualities of our programs by
focusing on something that we know
is so important to a young child’s life
– supportive relationships built on
quality interactions.
-Amanda Bryans, Director, Educational
Development and Partnerships Division,
Office of Head Start – November 2008
Second, although this report relies heavily on
research to inform important policy and implementation questions, much remains to be learned
about how to most effectively conduct and use classroom observations as a part of evaluation,
monitoring, and program improvement efforts. It is critical that those of you implementing
programs that rely on the CLASS partner with evaluation and research teams to continue
building our knowledge about effective practices. Furthermore, in our increasingly data-driven
world, sustained improvements in policy and programs require that these data are collected,
interpreted, and shared in ways that will inform policymakers, teachers and administrators.
CLASS Implementation Guide 11