The inCLASS is a child-focused observational system, whereas the original CLASS focuses on classroom and teacher-level interactions. For the inCLASS, individual children within the classroom are specifically observed on their engagement with teachers, peers and tasks. For more information on the CLASS, go here.

The inCLASS was developed to be sensitive to the development of children between the ages of the 3 to 5 years old. The measure is not validated for use with children outside this age range.

The inCLASS provides information about a child's engagement in a classroom context, organized within the broader categories of Teacher Interactions, Peer Interactions, Task Orientation, and Negative Interactions. This information can be helpful for teachers, mental health consultants, and administrators to identify patterns of children's classroom engagement and then use observational data to guide classroom interventions. The inCLASS has mostly been used as a research tool but is currently being piloted as part of a consultation model for teachers. The inCLASS data can also be useful to researchers interested in studying children's engagement within early childhood education and care settings.

The inCLASS is designed to be used by researchers, teachers, administrators, and mental heath professionals to assess children's behavior in the classroom in a standardized, reliable and valid way.

We offer two types of trainings: 1) The inCLASS Observation Training is designed for individuals who would like to become certified reliable on the inCLASS measure, and 2) The inCLASS Train-the-Trainer (TTT) Program is designed for individuals who are already certified reliable on the inCLASS Observation Training, and would like to become an inCLASS Trainer for their organization/project/group. Each training involves two intensive 8-hour days that include video review and group discussion facilitated by a certified trainer. All training resources are provided including the inCLASS coding manual and video library access. Please see the Training page for more information.

The inCLASS observation system requires extensive training for anyone to use reliably in early childhood classrooms. Training for the inCLASS are conducted only by trainers who have completed the inCLASS Train-the-Trainer Program and are certified by CASTL. See the Training page for more information, including the Observation Training Agreement.

Fees associated with the Observation Training and the Train-the-Trainer Program are outlined on their detail pages. In general, the total cost of each training is $2000 plus travel costs.

We recommend that all coders complete regular calibration assessments during data collection and refresher courses to ensure that they are still coding reliably. These calibration resources include access to video segments and mastercoded justifications that can be purchased along with consultation from an inCLASS trainer. We also recommend that observers from the same organization periodically code together in live classrooms to ensure inter-rater reliability.

The inCLASS is a copy written observational measure; the manual and score sheets cannot be altered or reproduced without express written permission of authors at the University of Virginia. Approved modifications in the past have been limited to translations into other languages.

We recommend that coders on the same study periodically do a joint coding session to ensure inter-rater reliability. CASTL-run studies typically double-code 15-20% of observations to check for inter-rater reliability. We also recommend taking a calibration test every couple months to ensure continued reliability against the master codes. Calibration resources are available; please see the Observation Training Agreement for more information.

The inCLASS has been used in psychometric papers to establish its reliability/validity, as a predictor of academic, social, and self-regulatory development during preschool, to describe children's engagement across activity settings, as an outcome measure in classroom-based intervention trials, and more. For more information on the research associated with the inCLASS, please visit our Research page.

Given studies that show different patterns of engagement across classroom settings, it may be useful to collect information about activity settings (i.e., free choice or large group), physical settings (i.e., outside or classroom), and/or instructional codes (i.e., reading or math) that coincide with inCLASS observation cycles. Read about the activity settings that are collected as part of the inCLASS measure here.