Validation of the Assessing Classroom Sociocultural Equity Scale (ACSES) in Pre-Kindergarten to Third Grade Classrooms

• In Event: The Measurement of Sociocultural Equity in Preschool through Elementary Environments

Abstract

Introduction
Recent definitions of quality in early childhood (EC) education emphasize racial equity and cultural responsivity in teacher-child interactions (NAEYC 2020; Souto-Manning & Rabadi-Raol, 2018). However, programs that seek to measure the quality of equitable, sociocultural interactions in the classroom lack precise observational measures, and widely used measures are limited because they do not specifically measure the classroom experiences of racially marginalized learners (RMLs), defined as children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. ACSES (Curenton et al., 2020) measures how teachers communicate with RMLs; challenge dominant male-oriented, Euro-centric knowledge; and use fair and equitable discipline. There is emerging evidence to support the psychometric properties of ACSES (Curenton et al., 2020; Syed et al., 2021). The purpose of this study is to investigate the psychometric properties of ACSES in Pre-K to third grade classrooms.
Aim 1: To examine the underlying factor structure of the ACSES 2.0 in a sample of Pre-K to third grade classrooms.
Aim 2: To investigate patterns of convergent validity between the ACSES 2.0 and the CLASS Pre-K and CLASS K-3.

Hypotheses
For Aim 1, we hypothesized that the factor structure of ACSES would resemble the six-factor structure set forth by the measurement developers (Curenton et al., 2020). For Aim 2, we expected to find some patterns of convergent validity, suggesting that ACSES measures similar, yet distinct, aspects of classroom quality to the CLASS Pre-K and K-3.

Method
Study Population
We conducted a secondary analysis of 348 classroom videos from Pre-K to third grade classrooms across four school districts from 2016-2019. To be included, videos needed to feature at least one RML. Most teachers were White (n = 62, 95.4%), and fewer teachers were Latine (n = 2, 3.1%) or Black (n = 1, 1.54%). The percent of racial and ethnic minority students in each school ranged from 9% to 68%, and the percent of students receiving free or reduced lunch ranged from 38% to 75%.

Measures
ACSES (Curenton et al., 2020) and CLASS (Pianta et al., 2008) were used to measure classroom interactions.

Procedures
For the ACSES training, coders attended a two-day virtual reliability training led by the measure developers. 18.10% (n = 63) of videos were scored by multiple coders to check for inter-rater reliability (mean = 89.32%).

Analytic Strategy
To explore the factor structure (Aim 1), an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted. To investigate patterns of convergent validity between the ACSES and CLASS (Aim 2), bivariate associations between ACSES and CLASS dimension scores were examined.

Results
For Aim 1, an EFA of 38 items was conducted. The results showed seven factors, which resemble the theoretically hypothesized six-factor structure set forth by the measurement developers and also includes an additional dimension, Learning Modalities (Table 1). For Aim 2, there were statistically significant correlations between the ACSES dimensions and CLASS domains, providing evidence for convergent validity (Table 2). Inequitable Discipline was negatively correlated with all CLASS domains, and Personalized Learning Opportunities was positively correlated with all CLASS domains.

Authors

• Molly J Goldberg, University of Nebraska - Lincoln
  Presenting Author

• Dalhia Lloyd, University of Nebraska - Lincoln

• Gullnar Syed, SRI International - District of Columbia

• Greg Welch, Buffett Early Childhood Institute

• Stephanie Michelle Curenton, Boston University