The reliability and structure of the Classroom Assessment Scoring System in German pre-schools

Abstract

This study examined the reliability and structure of the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS; Pianta, R. C., K. M. La Paro, and B. K. Hamre. 2008. Classroom Assessment Scoring System. Manual Pre-K. Baltimore, MD: Brookes) and the quality of interactional processes in a German pre-school setting, drawing on a sample of 390 children in 61 language promotion groups. Rater agreement, temporal stability, and internal consistency were used to describe the reliability. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to investigate the three-factor structure of CLASS with the domains Emotional Support, Classroom Organization, and Instructional Support. The analysis revealed that reliable assessments of the quality of classroom interactional processes could be achieved and that the three-factor structure could be modelled in a German pre-school setting. The examination of the quality of classroom interactional processes in these language promotion groups indicated that Emotional Support and Classroom Organization were excellent but that the quality of Instructional Support was very low. Consequences of this study were discussed.

Keywords:

• classroom assessment scoring system
• German pre-school setting
• language promotion
• quality of interactional processes

Notes

1. Original title: ‘Wie gut sind unsere Kindergärten’.

2. Using American English term

3. This procedure was statistically validated by calculating the correlation between the first five observation cycles and the maximum number of observation cycles. The values were between r = .992 and r = .998.

4. In the context of the factor analysis, the dimensions are referred to as ‘items’ and the domains as ‘factors.’