TY - JOUR
T1 - Variations in Pre-Kindergarten Classroom Quality Ratings across the School Year
T2 - Observation Ratings from New York City’s Pre-K for All
AU - Gandhi, Jill
AU - Raver, C. Cybele
AU - Abenavoli, Rachel M.
AU - Morris, Pamela A.
AU - Meyer, Lauren M.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - 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 examines the role of timing in pre-K classroom quality as it was observed in practice by one of the largest school districts in the United States. In the 2015–2016 school year, New York City (NYC) observed 648 of its Pre-K for All programs using the Classroom Assessment Scoring System Pre-K (CLASS), giving each program an overall average classroom quality rating at one time point. Research Findings: A series of OLS regressions indicated that CLASS scores were lower for programs observed in the fall semester in the domains of Emotional Support and Classroom Organization. Emotional Support also demonstrated a pattern of increasing scores by each month within the fall semester, providing evidence for a relationship-building period between teachers and students early in the school year. Practice or Policy: These findings may be informative for school districts and policymakers who consider using CLASS as an accountability tool.
AB - 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 examines the role of timing in pre-K classroom quality as it was observed in practice by one of the largest school districts in the United States. In the 2015–2016 school year, New York City (NYC) observed 648 of its Pre-K for All programs using the Classroom Assessment Scoring System Pre-K (CLASS), giving each program an overall average classroom quality rating at one time point. Research Findings: A series of OLS regressions indicated that CLASS scores were lower for programs observed in the fall semester in the domains of Emotional Support and Classroom Organization. Emotional Support also demonstrated a pattern of increasing scores by each month within the fall semester, providing evidence for a relationship-building period between teachers and students early in the school year. Practice or Policy: These findings may be informative for school districts and policymakers who consider using CLASS as an accountability tool.
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U2 - 10.1080/10409289.2020.1829291
DO - 10.1080/10409289.2020.1829291
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85097012271
SN - 1040-9289
VL - 32
SP - 1174
EP - 1193
JO - Early Education and Development
JF - Early Education and Development
IS - 8
ER -