Academics · Subject Resources

Watch the room,
not the brochure.

Sit in a classroom for half an hour and mark seventeen things as you see them: how adults talk with children, whether children choose what to do, handwashing, exits and more. Count the children and adults; the checklist works out the ratio for that age group and compares your visits side by side, with what to ask about next.

Start a visitWhat you get

Classroom visits

The worked example is made up, and the programs in it are invented: a calm room of threes, a crowded room of fours and a parent co-op. Saved on this device only.

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What you get

Academics · Subject ResourcesFree

What you finish with
A record per classroom visit: program, date, age group, minutes watched, children and adults, seventeen things to look for marked saw it, did not see or could not tell, the licensing record status and your impressions. Works out children per adult against NAEYC accreditation ratios, counts what you saw and flags what to ask about or look into.
Who it is for
Parents and caregivers choosing a preschool or child care classroom for a child aged two to five.
Format
Browser checklist with a saved record per visit. Prints one visit, every visit in a table or a blank checklist to take along; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
Free. No account, no sign-in and nothing to install. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Subject Resources space in Caveat Academics.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Ask to watch for 30 minutes.
  2. Count children and adults.
  3. Mark what you see.
  4. Check the licensing record.
  5. Compare your visits.

Start a visit

What to count, and what to watch

Children per adult NAEYC accreditation allowsAge groupChildren per adultLargest groupTwos (21 to 36 months)up to 612Threes (30 to 48 months)up to 918Fours (48 to 60 months)up to 1020Kindergartenup to 1224Children per adult NAEYC accreditation allowsTwos (21 to 36 months)Children per adult: up to 6Largest group: 12Threes (30 to 48 months)Children per adult: up to 9Largest group: 18Fours (48 to 60 months)Children per adult: up to 10Largest group: 20KindergartenChildren per adult: up to 12Largest group: 24
These are the upper ends of the accreditation ranges; smaller is better. State licensing minimums are often looser.

Talk is the thing to watch

Studies of preschool quality keep finding that the back-and-forth between adults and children, more than materials or the building, predicts what children gain. Watch whether adults get down to the children’s level, answer questions, extend what a child says and handle a conflict by giving children words rather than only stopping it.

Ratios and records

Fewer children per adult gives each child more of that talk. NAEYC accreditation sets tighter ratios than most state licensing rules, so a program can be fully licensed and still above them. Every state posts licensed programs and inspection reports online; read the recent ones and ask how any problem was fixed.

Sources

  1. NAEYC. Early learning program accreditation standards and assessment items: teacher-child ratios within group size (naeyc.org).
  2. Pianta, R. C., La Paro, K. M., and Hamre, B. K. (2008). Classroom Assessment Scoring System manual, pre-K. Brookes Publishing.
  3. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families. Find child care and state licensing information (childcare.gov).
  4. Center on the Developing Child, Harvard University. Serve and return interaction shapes brain circuitry (developingchild.harvard.edu).

The worked example is made up and the programs are invented. A visit is a snapshot; ratios here are NAEYC accreditation figures, not your state’s licensing rule. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.