Research and Evidence
What Does Research Say about the CLASS?
Effective classroom interactions make a critical difference in student achievement. Studies in thousands of classrooms demonstrate that
- CLASS Works—Students in classrooms with higher CLASS scores make greater academic and social gains than those in classrooms with lower CLASS scores.
- CLASS Lasts—The CLASS is valid across age-levels.
- CLASS Lifts—The CLASS is particularly effective in addressing the achievement gap by supporting students at-risk of school failure.
CLASS Helps Kids
Learners in classrooms that score higher on the CLASS achieve at levels higher than their peers in lower-scoring classrooms. The CLASS helps educators focus on effective interactions that
- Support students’ social and emotional functioning
- Focus student behavior, time, and attention in the classroom
- Build higher-order thinking and language skills
Interactions measured by the CLASS are organized into three broad domains–Emotional Support, Organizational Support, and Instructional Support–all of which are linked to student academic and social gains.
- High levels of Emotional Support contribute to preschoolers’ social competence in the kindergarten year.
- High levels of Emotional Support are associated with growth in reading and math achievement from kindergarten through third grade.
- High levels of Classroom Organization are associated with gains in first graders’ literacy.
- Higher levels of Instructional Support are related to preschoolers’ gains in pre-reading and math skills.
CLASS Helps Educators
CLASS turns high-level research into road maps for teaching success by
- Supporting teachers by simplifying the complex classroom environment
- Informing administrators by providing a common lens applicable across all classrooms and schools
- Elevating the education profession by measuring what matters most
CLASS Helps Researchers
The CLASS is reliable, valid, and scalable, providing a solid tool for education research and evaluation.
- Comprehensive—No other observational tool matches the CLASS in proven results across settings.
- Flexible—Content neutrality means the CLASS can be used for any teacher, any subject, and any grade.
- Scalable—CLASS can be used in a single classroom or across an entire system, state or program. The CLASS Train-the-Trainer program provides economical support for large research studies.
CLASS Helps Policy Makers
By focusing on effective interactions, policy makers can level the playing field and make positive changes that relate to all teachers and benefit all learners. For them the CLASS provides a
- Common framework applicable to diverse learning environments
- Trusted tool steeped in academic research and tested in thousands of classrooms
- Proven catalyst to both teacher effectiveness and student performance
