The Classroom Engagement Scale: Validity Evidence and Implications for Use

The Penn Child Research Center (PCRC) and School District of Philadelphia have partnered to foster classroom engagement skills in kindergarten. As part of this effort, PCRC developed the Classroom Engagement Scale (CES), a research-based measure of observable and teachable engagement skills. The CES is used with all kindergarteners in the District and appears on the kindergarten report card four times a year. It consists of 14 questions about students’ academic and social engagement skills, which teachers rate as improvement needed, satisfactory, or outstanding.

Evidence from a rigorous evaluation of the CES supports the use of the CES by kindergarten teachers with all students to assess their engagement skills at kindergarten entry and monitor their development during kindergarten. This research brief highlights some key findings from the evaluation and next steps for the CES.