Outcome Measures for IECMHC

States, tribes, and communities are building the evidence that IECMHC works in early care and education. A common question is which tools to use to measure impact.

Use this Choose and Use tool to plan how you'll measure IECMHC outcomes. It summarizes 22 measures used in two or more IECMHC program evaluations, covering impact on children, teachers, teacher-child relationships, and classrooms or programs.

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Classroom · Measure

Classroom Assessment Scoring System™ (CLASS™ PreK, 2)

Trained observer/trained rater3 languagesDetailsClose

Level: Classroom
Type of Tool: Measure
Construct: Caregiver-child interactions; Classroom climate
Respondent: Trained observer/trained rater
Language(s): English; Spanish; French
Length: Four cycles of 15-minute observations over at least 2 hours
Description: Based on classroom observations by trained raters, the CLASS assess teacher-student interactions and overall classroom quality in early care and education settings
Subscales: Emotional Support, Classroom Organization, and Instructional Support with multiple dimensions (e.g., positive climate, negative climate, teacher sensitivity, teacher regard for student perspectives, behavior management, productivity, and instructional learning)
Published Psychometrics?: Yes See for example: La Paro, K. M., Pianta, R. C., & Stuhlman, M. (2004). The classroom assessment scoring system: Findings from the prekindergarten year. The Elementary School Journal, 104(5), 409-426.
Citation for Tool: Pianta, R. C., La Paro, K. M., & Hamre, B. K. (2008). Classroom Assessment Scoring System™: Manual K-3. Paul H Brookes Publishing.
In the Public Domain?: No - Available for purchase through Brookes Publishing

Disclaimers

Don't limit your data collection to these measures. They are outcome measures: they show how IECMHC affects children, classrooms, and programs. Also collect implementation data (how IECMHC is delivered) and process data (the near-term changes that lead to those outcomes).

Many families who use IECMHC face wide racial and ethnic disparities in access to opportunity. Programs and systems leaders should always collect demographic data, and always break down outcome, process, and implementation data by race/ethnicity, income, language, and disability status.

Make evaluation decisions in light of your program's theory of change, setting, and the people you serve. Where you can, choose measures normed on the populations you serve and available in a language families understand.

In addition to using the Choose and Use Guide, we recommend you also contact the CoE to request technical assistance to refine your decisions about which tools to select.

Need help choosing?

Request technical assistance from the Center of Excellence to help you decide which tools to use.

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