Assessments
Classroom and program assessments not only measure quality and document growth,
they can be powerful learning
tools to help guide early
childhood educators on their
path to excellence.
Read how we use the PQA to make a difference: Tackling Program Quality
Through the Early Years Count! Education Initiative of the Community Foundation of St. Joseph County
and at Head Start, we conduct a range of assessments to measure quality. All of our assessors are trained and, where applicable, certified. Individual feedback is always provided after an assessment is completed.
PROGRAM QUALITY ASSESSMENT (PQA)
by the HighScope Educational Research Foundation
Infant-Toddler PQA focuses on learning environment, schedules and routines, adult-child interaction, and curriculum planning and child observation in classrooms for the zero to age three group.
Preschool PQA for early childhood centers, ministries, and preschool programs takes a close look at four domains: learning environment, daily routine, adult-child interaction, and curriculum planning and assessment.
Agency PQA for Infant-Toddler and Preschool Programs looks at parent involvement and family services,
staff qualifications and staff development, and program management.
Family Child Care PQA can be used to measure quality in all family child care homes and is adaptable to multiple age settings from birth to pre-k.
CLASSROOM ASSESSMENT SCORING SYSTEM (CLASS)
developed at University of Virginia Curry School of Education
The Infant CLASS measures 4 dimensions within the domain of responsive caregiving, including teacher sensitivity, positive emotional climate, and support for language and exploration.
The Toddler CLASS focuses on effective teacher-child interactions in two domains of emotional and behavior support and engaged support for learning.
The Pre-K CLASS measures ten dimensions under three domains: emotional support, classroom organization, and instructional support.
EARLY LANGUAGE AND LITERACY CLASSROOM OBSERVATION (ELLCO)
by Education Development Center, Inc.
Evaluates classroom environments and teaching practices as they relate to children’s language and literacy development. The ELLCO Pre-K focuses on conversations, phonological awareness, books and book reading, print environment and writing.