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ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT

Classroom Environmental Assessment Tool

Carsyn Guitrau

Louisiana State University

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ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT
Classroom Environmental Assessment Tools

Environmental assessments are useful because they work on improving the quality of the

classroom environment. The classroom environment consists of the physical environment,

relationships, and instruction. When fostering development, it is important for the learning

environment to be safe, responsive, and nurturing. Environmental assessments are useful for

teachers to see where they are at and to what they can do to improve it. Environmental

assessments should be used regularly to ensure that the classroom environment is always

improving to best fit the needs of the students.

Early Childhood Environmental Rating Scale – Third Edition (ECERS)

General Description of the Instrument

ECERS is an environmental scoring tool that is used to assess classroom quality through

the use of observation. ECERS covers six different domains. These domains are space and

furnishing, personal care routines, language and literacy, learning activities, interaction, and

program structure. Each domain is filled with indicators that add up to the overall score for that

domain. When scoring, the observer checks either yes or no for each indicator. This assessment

should be administered to one classroom or group of children from ages 3 to 5 years old. The

observation for this assessment should be at least 3 hours long and should take place when most

of the children are present and active. This tool is usually administered in the morning. When

administering the tool, it is important to have an observed schedule to see the children engaging

in various activities and to move around the space with affecting the environment. Also, when

scoring it is important to have resources regarding the health and safety items to make sure it is
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scored properly. Lastly, the administration of the scale should be done before the children leave,

so time should be sued efficiently.

Reliability and Validity

Reliability is when tests are consistent. Something has reliability if it “yield the same

results if the child were retested within a reasonable time frame or if the test were administered

again by a different person” (Kostelnik, Soderman, Whiren, Rupiper, 2019, p. 230). Validity

refers to the accuracy of a score. The first version of this tool, ECERS-R, has a well-established

concurrent and predictive validity. Because of this “the current revision maintains the basic

properties of the original instrument” (Harms, T., Clifford, R., & Cryer, D., 2015, p. 2). This tool

has indicator reliability, due to it having 468 indicators throughout the tool. It also has item

reliability, interclass correlation, and internal consistency.

Environmental Objectives/Recommendations

I administered the ECERS scoring tool in my placement classroom at Prairieville Primary

School. Overall, this classroom received an average score of 4.77 out of 7. The domain that this

classroom got the best score on was interaction, which was a score of 7 out of 7. The lowest

score received was a 2.64 out of 7 in the learning activities domain. In this section I will provide

recommendations for the items that did not get a perfect score. See Appendix A for a copy of the

scored ECERS tool.

Space and Furnishings

 2. I recommend having at least 2 pieces of furniture per each activity. Most of the

activities do not have 2 pieces of furniture.

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ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT
 3. I recommend having the classroom more accessible to students with disabilities. The

particular class that I observed did not have any students with disabilities in it, but the

room should still be accommodated in that way.

 4. I recommend that the staff take into account if a child wants privacy and make the

effort to help them keep that privacy. There are not many spaces in the classroom made

privacy.

 5. I recommend that the things out on display in the classroom pertain more to what they

children are learning and contains more of the children’s artwork.

 6. I recommend that the gross motor space is more accessible to the children. Due to

COVID-19, the children are not allowed to use the playground and therefore have to walk

far to get to the space for gross motor play.

 7. I recommend that there is more equipment solely used for the purpose to further gross

motor development.

Personal Care Routines

 9. I recommend that the bathroom in the classroom or a bathroom nearby has child-sized

sinks and toilets for the children to use.

 10. I recommend for the staff to model appropriate health practices. For example, the

staff in the classroom generally eat standing up and walking around, so I recommend that

they sit at a table while eating to model healthy eating habits.

Language and Literacy

 12. I recommend adding more information about words that are used. This will expand

the child’s vocabulary. This should be done all throughout the day.
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 14. I recommend providing accommodations for non-English speaking children during

book time.

 16. I recommend using print more often in the classroom. The teacher can write with the

children, label things that are theirs, and write down what a child makes out of their art.

Learning Activities

 17. I recommend that there are fine motor materials supplied for varying difficulty levels.

I also recommend that the staff shows interest in the children as they are manipulating

these materials.

 18. I recommend that all types of art materials are accessible to the children at all times.

During my observation, collage and tools were not accessible.

 19. I recommend that a variety musical instruments are accessible to the children. During

my observation, there were no musical instruments accessible to the children.

 20. I recommend that the space for building blocks is bigger so that the children can be

active while engaging in this activity. The space for building blocks in the classroom is

small and closed in.

 21. Dramatic play is not in the classroom at this time due to COVID-19.

 22. I recommend that nature/science is brought more into the classroom. I did not observe

many nature/science materials in the classroom. Also, it was not talked about much by

the staff. I recommend that nature/science becomes a bigger aspect of this classroom.

 23. I recommend that the classroom acquires more math materials. I also recommend that

the teacher engages the children with these materials to get the children interested in

math.
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 24. I recommend that math words are woven into the daily events of the classroom.

During my observation, I heard math words spoken during daily events once or twice.

These should be used more throughout the day.

 25. I recommend that the staff engage in conversations with the children about written

numbers. I also recommend that written numbers are shown with play materials to help

the children gain an understanding of written numbers.

 26. I recommend that diversity is displayed and discussed more in the classroom. This

could be done by putting up things around the classroom in regard to racial and cultural

diversity or weaving conversations of diversity into a lesson.

 27. I recommend that the use of technology is more actively involved in the classroom. I

only observed technology in the classroom as a whole group lesson. I recommend that the

children have more opportunities to engage in technology individually to foster creativity.

Program Structure

 35. I recommend that more efforts are taken to make sure that all of the children are

actively engaged in group activities. During my observation, a couple of the students

were obviously unengaged, and some began wondering around the classroom.

Reflection

Benefits of the ECERS tool are that it looks at multiple different areas of the

environment. For example, this tool takes into account the space and furnishings, personal care

routines, language and literacy, learning activities, interactions, and program structure. This is a

benefit because there are ample different things that the classroom is scored on. A limitation of

this tool is the rating system. For example, a classroom could receive all check for “yes” on the

score of 7, but if they receive a “no” on the score of 5, then they get an overall score of 4 for that
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section. This becomes a limitation because the score does not take into account the checks you

receive after checking off one “no.” Something that went well during my observation is that I

was able to observe the normal daily schedule of the classroom and nothing was unexpected. It is

important that “teachers plan the environment, schedule, and daily activities to promote each

child’s learning and development” (Copple, Bredekamp, 2013, p. 18). Something I would have

done differently is not stop scoring the tool. When the children went to eat lunch, I stopped

scoring so that I could help my mentor teacher. This is something that I would have done

differently because you are not supposed to engage with the students while scoring.

NAEYC Accreditation Tool

General Description of the Instrument

The goal of this tool is to strive to improve the quality of learning programs. This tool has 10

different standards that together make up a high-quality program. The standards are

relationships, curriculum, teaching, assessment of child progress, health, staff competences,

preparation, and support, families, community relationships, physical environment, and

leadership and management. This tool is administered with a one business day notice or an

unannounced visit. The tool is administered by professionals that have been trained to score it.

Reliability and Validity

Reliability is when tests are consistent. Something has reliability if it “yield the same

results if the child were retested within a reasonable time frame or if the test were administered

again by a different person” (Kostelnik, Soderman, Whiren, Rupiper, 2019, p. 230). Validity

refers to the accuracy of a score. This tool has internal reliability of the criteria and validity of

assessment instruments. There is intensive training to go along with the tool which makes it more
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reliable. They begin with a 3 to 5 day training and then have to meet requirements to show their

professional development. The item and factor analysis gather from teachers, directors, and

validators proved that the tool is valid.

Environmental Objectives/Recommendations

I administered the NAEYC tool in my placement classroom at Prairieville Primary

School. This classroom did fairly well on this tool and received an overall amount of 14 no’s out

of 116 indicators. Below, I have given recommendations for the indicators that received a “no”.

See Appendix B in order to see the scored copy of the NAEYC tool.

Standard 1 - Relationships

 1C.2. I recommend that the teacher does not immediately intervene when there is conflict

among the children. Instead, the teacher should give the children time to try and resolve

the conflict own their own. Once you can tell the conflict is not going to be resolved, the

teacher should help guide them in solving it.

 1D.1. I recommend for the teacher to put up materials around the classroom that show

children with different abilities. For example, the teacher could display a picture of

children playing but one of them is in a wheelchair. This will let the children see diversity

and counteract stereotypical limitations.

Standard 2 - Curriculum

 2B.1. I recommend for the teacher to address the feelings of the students in the

classroom. If a child in the class is sad, the teacher could ask the other children what they

think that child is feeling and why. This will be the children opportunities to recognize

and name other people’s feelings.

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 2G.3. I recommend that factual information related to the curriculum is displayed in the

classroom. Some of the things displayed in the classroom are not related to the

curriculum. I recommend that these things are replaced with data collections.

 2G.4. The children had chances to think and ask questions, but not make predictions

about natural and physical phenomena. I recommend that teacher allows the children to

use their five senses to make predictions on their own.

 2J.2. I recommend that dramatic arts are brought into the classroom. I did not observe any

signs of dramatic arts in the classroom. Once dramatic arts is in the classroom, then I

recommend that they use it to appreciate cultural diversity. They can do this by acting out

things from different cultures.

 2L.1. I recommend that the children have the opportunity to learn about differing family

structures. This could be done by displaying various family structures around the

classroom. I also recommend that the teacher allows each child to share their family

structure so they children can learn about the family structures in the classroom.

 2L.2. I recommend that details about the community in which the class lives are woven

into things that they are learning.

 2L.3. I recommend that the class engages in science activities to learn about the physical

and geographic characteristics of their local environment. They could do this by going

outside of the school and exploring or taking field trips to places in their local

environment.

Standard 3 - Teaching

 3A.2. I recommend that the children have more opportunities to create artwork to display

in the classroom. I also recommend that when the children make art during centers that it
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is displayed in the classroom. This way more than half of the classroom displays will be

the children’s artwork.

 3G.6. I recommend that the teacher engages in conversations or experiments with the

children to challenge their minds and help then gain an understanding of the world.

Standard 5 - Health

 5C.2. I recommend that air-freshening sprays are not used in the classroom. During my

observation, an air-freshening spray was used instead of ventilation.

Standard 9 – Physical Environment

 9C.2. I recommend that a first-aid kit is brought with the teacher when the children are

engaged in outdoor play. I recommend that the first aid kit is with the teacher, so it is

readily available if it is needed.

 9D.1. I recommend that toxic substances are put in higher cabinets so the children cannot

reach them or in a cabinet that is locked.

Reflection

Benefits of this tool is that it accounts for all areas in the classroom. This is a benefit

because it gives a full representation of quality of the program being scored. A limitation of this

instrument is that is does not provide tools or guidance to acquire a deeper understanding of

standards and assessment items. Something that went well was the relationships forming

between peers and children and teachers. Something that I would do differently is giving the

children the opportunity to develop self-regulation and conflict management skills. I would do

this by giving the children chances to communicate and figure out conflict on their own before I

intervene.
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Rating Observation Scale for Inspiring Environments (ROSIE)

General Description of the Instrument

The Rating Observation Scale for Inspiring Environments is a tool that helps evaluate the

classroom environment from a different perspective. This tool “promotes creativity, learning, and

simple beauty displayed in the illustrations” (ROSIE-rating observation scale for inspiring

environments). There are three stages of this tool. The first stage is sprouting which is the stage

for beginners that are beginning to understand the basic principle of creating an appropriate

environment. The second stage is budding. This is the stage where teachers become more skilled

causing the environment to grow. The third stage is blooming which is the highest level where

the environment has reached its full potential. There are seven principles of design that

determine the stage you are in. The principles are nature inspires beauty, color generates interest,

furnishings define space, texture adds depth, displays enhance environment, elements heighten

ambiance, and focal points attract attentions. Under each principle, there are indicators. When

administering the tool, you start with the first principle and determine if the indicators are in the

sprouting, budding, or blooming stage. Then you continue doing the same thing with the rest of

the principles. This tool should be used anytime a new environment is set up in the classroom. It

is suggested that this tool is revisited at least once a week.

Reliability and Validity

There is no information on reliability and validity for the ROSIE tool.

Environmental Objectives/Recommendations

I administered the ROSIE tool in my placement classroom at Prairieville Primary School.

The classroom I observed received a total score of 75, which is in the budding domain. Most of

the indicators for this observation were in the budding stage, but there were a couple in the
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sprouting and blooming stages. Some indicators were in the blooming stage, but not a single

principle was in the blooming stage. The principle that was the closest to reaching the blooming

stage was furnishings define space. Below, I have recommendation for any indicator that was not

in the blooming stage. In Appendix C, I have placed the scored ROSIE tool from my

observation.

Nature Inspires Beauty

1. Add at least 3 living items into the classroom. This could consist of plants, flowers, a

fish, etc.

2. Items from nature should be added to sensory centers, creative centers, and cognitive

centers.

4. Classroom should include 3 examples of children’s work inspired by nature.

5. Add rocks as books ends or wooden bowls into the classroom.

6. Tactile, auditory, and olfactory items that are part of nature need to be put into the

classroom.

Color Generates Interest

1. Furniture in the classroom that is not upholstered should be wood-toned or neutral colors.

2. Color elements need to reflect current color trends.

4. Accent colors should be no more than 3 colors and should be repeated throughout the

classroom.

5. Accent colors should be integrated in the classroom through natural materials and

authentic objects, such as greenery or child-painted tiles.

Furnishings Define Space

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1. Three learning centers need to have coordinating decorative items and child-created

items.

2. The designated private space should include at least two soft elements and a source of

light.

4. A large authentic furniture piece should be added to the classroom, such as a wooden

dresser or a hanging lamp.

6. Learning centers should be defined by arranging the furniture and rugs at unique angles

with the rest of the room.

8. Authentic and child created items, such as buildings or neighborhoods, should be in the

designated building area.

9. In the designated art area, child should be able to view artwork and authentic items.

10. The designated science area should include ways for the children to test theories and

record their findings.

11. The designated music area should include multicultural instruments and recording

devices.

12. One more authentic element should be added into the quiet reading area.

Texture Adds Depth

1. Different types of flooring should correspond to the area it is placed in. Also, one type of

flooring should reflect nature.

2. Natural and unconventional items should be used to create visual interest through texture.

3. Child work should add texture to the classroom through textiles, weaving, and sculpture.

Displays Enhance Environment

1. All commercially prepared materials should be taken down in the classroom.

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2. The supporting elements of the displays in the classroom should not have any patterns

and should be neutral.

3. Child-made projects should be created artistically with the use of clay or tiles. These

projects should be displayed in ways that are unexpected or authentically inspired.

4. When children’s work is displayed, it is important to arrange it by content and provide

white space between each display.

5. Signs in the classroom should use appropriate uppercase and lowercase letters and be

computer generated.

6. When displaying children’s work, it should be framed so that edges are hidden.

7. Wall displays should have commercially purchased frames and be group together

according to topic, style, or subject.

9. Displays should be visible on at least 4 surfaces in the classroom.

10. Some supplies and materials should be displayed in unique ways and raised to an art

form. For example, paper could be set in a hanging show box or scissors could be displayed

in a brick.

11. Some of the children’s framed artwork should be placed at eye level for the children and

others at eye level for the adults.

12. Containers throughout the classroom need to be the same color and neutral-colored.

Elements Heighten Ambiance

1. Hanging light fixtures or floor lamps should be put up in the classroom and also create

various ambiances.

2. It is important to not only have lighting for illumination, but also for creative purposes,

such as garden lights or lanterns.

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ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT
3. One source of lighting should be able to be dimmed instead of just being on or off.

4. Shadow play elements should be used to intentionally support learning experiences with

additional props, such as blocks or puppets.

5. When using sounds in the classroom, they should include multicultural sounds and

elements of nature.

6. Light coming from windows should be used as an educational tool.

Focal Points Attract Attentions

1. All shelving units need to be forward facing or perpendicular to the entry.

2. The interactive focal point of the classroom should incorporate a unique element, like a

buffet in the home-living center.

3. Other elements of the classroom should not distract from the interactive focal point. Also,

the interactive focal point should be clearly defined and have a balance of empty and

filled spaced on the walls to avoid visual over-stimulation.

4. Focal points need to be enhanced by authentic pieces.

Reflection

A benefit of this tool is that it gives steps to achieve an environment at its full potential.

“ROSIE helps you learn what to do to reach the Budding stage and, ultimately, grow to the

highest level of aesthetic beauty, known as Blooming” (DeViney, J., Duncan, S., Harris, S.,

Rody, M., & Rosenberry, L., 2010, p. 5). The tool gives example of what you can add into your

classroom when you are a beginner of this tool, then gives you example of what to add into the

classroom as you become more acquainted with the tool. Another benefit of this tool is that the

examples it provides are easy to implement into the classroom, therefore any teacher can reach

their class environment’s full potential. Although tool does a great job at addressing the physical
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environment, such as “color, focal points, texture, lighting, displays, and the use of space and

nature” (DeViney, J., et al.,2010, p. 5), it has limitations when addressing other aspects of the

environment, like interactions, program structure, etc. Because of this, this tool is limited to only

soring that physical environment of a classroom. A second environmental assessment would

need to be used for the purpose of scoring aspects of the classroom environment other than the

physical environment.

One thing that went well while I was administering this tool is that the because the tool

was fairly easy to complete, I finished it in the amount of time it should take. “The observation

takes at least two hours to complete” (DeViney, J., et al., 2010, p. 8). I spent some time reading

through the tool before I began to score it. Once I began scoring, I finished within the two hours

it should take. Another thing that went well is that the tool is very descriptive of what exactly it

is saying, so I was never unsure if I was administering the tool correctly or not. The tool gives

example for most of the indicators which makes it fairly simple to score, and also fairly simple

for teachers to implement. Something I would do differently is score this tool when the children

are not in the classroom. I could administer the tool when the children are outside or at lunch. I

would do this differently because “it is preferable to conduct the observation when children are

not present” (DeViney, J., et al., 2010, p. 8).

Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS)

General Description of the Instrument

The Classroom Assessment Scoring System focuses on the classroom quality, which for

this tool includes content/structure quality and process quality. The structure quality consists of

what the curriculum is, who is teaching it, and where the teaching is happening. The process
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quality is how it is being implemented, relationships, academic interactions, and social

interactions. The goal of this tool is to measure aspects of the classroom that are beneficial for

children’s development. This tool measures 3 different domains that are made up of 10

dimensions. The domains are emotional support, classroom organization, and instructional

support. The dimensions that make up these areas are positive climate, negative climate, teacher

sensitivity, regard for student perspectives, behavior management, productivity, instructional

learning formats, concept development, quality of feedback, and language modeling. Each

dimension has indicators that determine how it is scored. When administering this tool, it is

important to score based off of the experience of the average student in the classroom. A single

student or incident should not affect the way you score and both the teacher and the students to

be taken into account when scoring this tool. Also, when administering the whole observation

time needs to be taken into account. When scoring, all indications should be considered equally,

but not all indicators apply to ever segment of the classroom. The steps to scoring are to take

extensive behavioral notes, read the manual, and assign a score.

Reliability and Validity

Professional administering this tool have been through training protocols to be qualified

to do so. This makes this tool reliable because “observers were regularly seeing and rating

children’s classroom interactions in parallel fashion” (Downer, Booren, Lima, Luckner, &

Pianta, 2010). Any two people who has been trained should see the same things while observing

a classroom. This tool is valid because it has been used in over 100 Pre-K classrooms for several

large studies. This tool is associated with children’s academic and social development.

Environmental Objectives/Recommendations
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I administered this tool is two different classroom setting. The first classroom I observed

is my placement classroom at Prairieville Primary School. The classroom at this school received

an overall score of 5.8. The dimension that this classroom received the best score on was

negative climate, which was a score of 1, and the lowest score was for behavior management,

which was a score of 4. Then, I administered this tool on the video library on the Louisiana

Department of Education Website. These classrooms received an overall score of 6.3. The

dimensions they scored the best on were positive climate, regard for student perspective,

behavior management, and quality of feedback, which all had a score of 7, and the lowest score

was for productivity, which had a score of 5. These videos did not have videos for negative

feedback so that dimension was non-applicable. Below I have provided recommendation for both

classrooms for any dimension that did not receive a 7, or a 1 or negative climate. In Appendix D,

I have placed the CLASS tool that I have scored.

Placement Classroom

 Positive Climate

o There should be frequent displays of positive affect by the teacher or students.

 Teacher Sensitivity

o The teacher should be consistently effective at addressing students’ problem and

concerns.

 Regard for Student Perspectives

o The teachers should be flexible in the plans and go along with the ideas of the

students. There should be many opportunities for student talk and expression.

 Behavior Management
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o The teacher should be consistently proactive and monitor the classroom

effectively to prevent problems. The teacher should work on effectively

redirecting misbehavior by making use of subtle cues. There should be few

instances of student misbehavior in the classroom.

 Instructional Learning Formats

o Students should be consistently interested and involved in activities and lessons.

 Concept Development

o Activities that encourage analysis and reasoning should be used often by the

teacher.

o Teacher should be relating concepts consistently to the students’ actual lives.

 Quality of Feedback

o It is important for the teacher to often provide additional information to expand on

the students’ understanding or actions.

 Language Modeling

o The teacher should often repeat or extend the students’ responses.

Louisiana Department of Education CLASS Video Library

 Teacher Sensitivity

o Teacher needs to be consistently aware of students who need extra support,

assistance, or attention.

 Productivity

o The teacher should be providing activities for the students and deal efficiently

with disruptions and managerial tasks. Teacher should also be fully prepared for

activities and lessons.

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 Instructional Learning Formats

o The teacher needs to use a variety of modalities, movement, and materials to

effectively interest students and gain their participation.

 Concept Development

o The teacher needs to consistently related concepts to the actual lives of the

students.

 Language Modeling

o The teacher should consistently map his or her actions and the students’ actions

through language.

Reflection

A benefit of the CLASS tool is that it provides a thorough rating scale. For this tool,

“observers rate each dimension on a 7-point scale, from low to high” (Use of Classroom

Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) in Head Start, 2020). This tool is scored with a scale

ranging from 1-7 and under each range there is set requirements to reach that score. This is very

beneficial because it shows teachers exactly what they did correct, what they missed, and why

they received the score they did. A limitation to this tool is that it takes into account only one

sections of an effective early childhood classroom. This tool “does not measure other important

components of high-quality teaching and learning” (Use of Classroom Assessment Scoring

System (CLASS) in Head Start, 2020). Some things that this tool does not cover is the

curriculum used, the process of child assessment in the class, and individualized teaching.

Something that went well during my administration of this tool was the actual scoring

process. The CLASS assessment comes with tools that make scoring pretty simple. Also, scoring

the videos went well because I knew exactly what dimension I needed to be scoring. Something
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that I would have done differently in my placement classroom would be to score the dimension

that I saw in that moment. I had trouble flipping through the dimensions to score the one that was

happening at that time. I was trying to score them in order of how they were on the scoring sheet,

but I will not do that next time.

Early Learning and Literacy Classroom Observation (ELLCO)

General Description of the Instrument

The Early Learning and Literacy Classroom Observation is an early childhood

observation tool that focuses on literacy and language in the classroom. This tool is split up into

three components: literacy environment checklist, classroom observation, and literacy activities

rating scale. The literacy environmental checklist is about observing the reading and writing

materials in the classroom. This section takes about 15 minutes to administer. The categories in

this component are book area, book selection, book use, writing materials, and writing around

the room. There are 24 items within all of these categories together. There are three items in

book area, four items in book selection, five items in book use, six items in writing materials,

and six items in writing around the room. The classroom observation component includes 14

items, which are split into 2 categories, and a brief interview. The first category is general

classroom environment, which includes 5 items: the items organization of the classroom,

contents of the classroom, opportunities for child choice and initiative, classroom management

strategies, and classroom climate. The second category is language, literacy, and curriculum,

which include the next 10 items: oral language facilitation, presence of books, approaches to

book reading, reading instruction, approaches to children’s writing, writing opportunities and

instruction, approaches to curriculum integration, recognizing diversity in the classroom,

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facilitating home support for literacy, and approaches to assessment. This component takes about

45 minutes to administer. The last component is literacy activities rating scale, which includes

two categories: book reading and writing. There are only 9 items total in this component. This

component takes about 10 minutes to administer. The whole tool should take about 70 minutes to

administer.

Reliability and Validity

Based on research on the administering of the ELLCO tool, it has shown a 43 percent

increase in the quantity of literacy behavior during free play for preschool children. In the

literacy environment checklist component of the tool, there was found to be an inter-rater

reliability of an average of 88 percent agreement. For the literacy activities rating scale

component, there is an 81 percent inter-rater reliability. For the classroom observation

component, the inter-rater reliability is 90 percent agreement within one point, with a score of

0.90 for Cronbach’s alpha.

Environmental Objectives/Recommendations

I completed this tool at Prairieville Primary school in a preschool classroom. The scored

ELLCO tool can be found in Appendix E at the bottom of this document.

 Literacy Environmental Checklist

o Book Selection

 5. There should be 26 or more books available to the children.

 6. 6 or more of the books that are available to the children should

convey factual information.

o Book Use

 8. There should be 4 or more books available in the science area.

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 9. There should be at least 1, but more than 4 books in the dramatic

play area.

 10. The block center should include 4 or more books.

 11. The math center should include 4 or more books.

o Writing Materials

 13. There should be an alphabet visible to the children at their eye

level.

 15. Templates or tools to help the children form letters should be

included in the class writing materials.

 16. There should be 3 or more different varieties of paper for writing.

 18. There should be a distinct area set up for functioning writing.

o Writing Around the Room

 21. In the classroom, there should be a variety of children’s writing on

display, 6 or more.

 22b. The dramatic play or block center should include props that

prompt children to write.

 23. In the puzzle center, alphabet puzzles should be present.

 24. The puzzle center should also include puzzles with words.

 Classroom Observation

o General Classroom Environment

 2. Children’s work that is on display should convey originality and

reinforce children’s sense of their own contributions to the classroom.

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 3. Regular use of technology should be encouraged in the classroom.

The teacher should plan for the children’s use of technology to go

along with the lessons.

 5. Children need to internalize the rules and routines of the classroom

in order to decrease the need for the teacher to reinforce them.

 8. Books in the classroom should include racial and cultural groups.

 10P. There should be more opportunities and materials available to

further develop writing skills.

 12. Diversity in the classroom should be used as a basis for further

learning and used meaningfully and regularly in the program.

 Literacy Activities Rating Scale

o Book Reading

 2. The teacher should spend more than 10 minutes on full-group book

reading lessons.

 4. The teacher should engage in one-to-one or small-group book

reading with the students.

 5. There should be time set aside for children to look at books alone or

with a peer.

o Writing

 The adults should engage in helping a child write more than twice.

Reflection

A benefit of this environmental observation tool is that it is very simple to administer.

The items in this tool are very straightforward, which causes no confusion when administering
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the tool. A limitation of this tool is that it only scores the language and literacy aspects of the

classroom. Because of this, this tool alone would not give an accurate description of a classroom

as a whole. Another limitation of this tool is how it is scored. I was confused on quantity aspects

on how this tool was scored. Also, the teacher interview section is not accounted for in the

overall score at the end. Something that went well was the classroom observation section of the

tool. My teacher scored in the upper range for this whole component. Something that did not go

well was the items that discussed writing or diversity. My mentor teacher’s classroom is lacking

in both of these. Overall, this tool is a great way to measure language and literacy in the

classroom.

Summary

Environmental Assessment tools create opportunities for growth and improvement.

ECERS, NAEYC, ROSIE, CLASS, and ELLCO all are unique and provide different types of

feedback for classroom environments. Using one of these tools frequently in the classroom

provides constant feedback on how the classroom environment can be improved. All four tools

can be used to try to create the best possible environment for every student.
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References

Copple, C., & Bredekamp, S. (2013). Developmentally appropriate practice. Washington, D.C.:

National Association for the Education of Young Children.

DeViney, J., Duncan, S., Harris, S., Rody, M., & Rosenberry, L. (2010). Rating observation

scale for inspiring environments: A companion observation guide for Inspiring spaces for

young children. Silver Spring, MD: Gryphon House.

Downer, J., Booren, L., Lima, O., Luckner, A., & Pianta, R. (2010). The Individualized

Classroom Assessment Scoring System (inCLASS): Preliminary Reliability and Validity of

a System for Observing Preschoolers' Competence in Classroom Interactions. Retrieved

October 09, 2020, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3501735/

Harms, T., Clifford, R., & Cryer, D. (2015). Early childhood environmental rating scale (Rev.

ed.). New York: Teachers College Press.

Kostelnik, M. J., Soderman, A. K., Whiren, A. P., & Rupiper, M. L. (2019). Developmentally

appropriate curriculum: Best practices in early childhood education. NY, NY: Pearson.

ROSIE-rating observation scale for inspiring environments. (n.d.). Retrieved October 07, 2020,

from https://prezi.com/g5ddqnpmenws/rosie-rating-observation-scale-for-inspiring-

environments/

Use of Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) in Head Start. (2020, September 29).

Retrieved October 09, 2020, from https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/designation-renewal-

system/article/use-classroom-assessment-scoring-system-class-head-start
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ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT

Appendix A

Early Childhood Environmental Rating Scale – Third Edition

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1C-wVba1wciwc2juKwYvp-0ce-O_S8eve/view?usp=sharing

Appendix B

NAEYC Accreditation Tool

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dZv78FZFH0OmG6fAJkNPHcAsTZsukD7O/view?

usp=sharing

Appendix C

ROSIE

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PgKNq9y15GFJaD6j5aWZMJ2EqKFtbdDa/view?

usp=sharing

Appendix D

CLASS

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sMoQveWN2OPBnoDom0VKEZ9faVGChz0M/view?

usp=sharing

Appendix E

ELLCO

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1R1PbW_6DYMhaKkRgGRAunlGKS3fvHHwI/view?

usp=sharing
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