There are two key ways to measure child care climate: Environmental Ratings Scales and Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS).
Environmental Rating Scales
What does this measure?
This measures the classroom quality in child care and family child care centers as defined by the Environment Rating Scales (ERS). These instruments measure a wide range of quality characteristics including materials, interactions, and health practices. Each instrument uses a scale of 1-7. A score of 3 indicates basic quality, and a score over 5 indicates higher quality. Average ERS observation scores are a core component for assigning star levels to programs in Quality Rated.
Data Source
The ERS are utilized to collect these data. The scales include an instrument that measures the quality of the preschool classroom (ECERS-3), infant-toddler classroom (ITERS-R), family child care (FCCERS-R), and school-age care (SACERS). The measures provide a classroom quality score on a scale of 1-7 that’s reported at the site level. Data is collected and managed by Bright from the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL).
Why is this important?
These scales measure indicators of overall classroom quality that previous research links to child outcomes.
References and Resources
- Harms, T., Jacobs, E. V., & White, D. R. (1996). School-Age Care Environment Rating Scale (SACERS). New York: Teachers College Press.
- Harms, T., Cryer, D., & Clifford, R. M. (2003). Infant/Toddler Environment Rating Scale, revised edition (ITERS-R). New York: Teachers College Press.
- Harms, T., Clifford, R. M., & Cryer, D. (2005). Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale, revised edition (ECERS-R). New York: Teachers College Press.
- Harms, T., Cryer, D., & Clifford, R. M. (2007). Family Child Care Environment Rating Scale, revised edition (FCCERS-R). New York: Teachers College Press.
- Maxwell, K. L., Early, D. M., Bryant, D., Kraus, S., Hume, K., & Crawford, G. (2009). Georgia study of early care and education: Child care center findings. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, FPG Child Development Institute.
- Maxwell, K. L., Early, D. M., Bryant, D., Kraus, S., Hume, K., & Crawford, G. (2009). Georgia study of early care and education: Findings from Georgia’s Pre-K Program. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, FPG
- Maxwell, K. L., Early, D. M., Bryant, D., Kraus, S., & Hume, K., (2010). Georgia study of early care and education: Family child care findings. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, FPG Child Development Institute.
Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS)
What does this measure?
The CLASS is used to measure teacher-child interactions. The scale measures 10 different dimensions of these interactions across three domains: emotional support, classroom organization, and instructional support. Each dimension is scored lowest to highest from 1 to 7. Dimension scores are averaged across the three domains. Each domain is reported separately and the three shouldn’t be averaged.
Data Source
The CLASS is used to collect data regarding teacher-child interactions. Data is collected and managed by DECAL.
Why is this important?
Previous research has found strong links between teacher-child interactions and child outcomes, especially for children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.
References and Resources
- Measuring and Improving Teacher-Student Interactions in PK-12 Settings to Enhance Curry School of Education Students’ Learning. Center for the Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning, Charlottesville, VA.
- Early, D. M., Maxwell, K. L., Skinner, D., Kraus, S., Hume, K., & Pan, Y. (2014). Georgia’s Pre-K Professional Development Evaluation: Final Report. Publication # 2015-02. Child Trends.