---
title: What Does the Research Say About CLASS and Cognition?
description: High quality teacher-student interactions and the CLASS tool can help develop cognitive skills.
image: https://info.teachstone.com/hubfs/girls-playing-with-blocks.jpg
---

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- The CLASS Framework
  
    - [What is CLASS](https://teachstone.com/class/)
    - [CLASS 2nd Edition](https://teachstone.com/class-2nd-edition/)
    - [For Leaders](https://teachstone.com/leaders/)
    - [For Observers](https://teachstone.com/for-observers/)
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    - [For Educators](https://teachstone.com/for-educators/)
    - [For CLASS Affiliates](https://teachstone.com/for-class-affiliates/)
    - [For Head Start](https://teachstone.com/headstart/)
    - [Research](https://teachstone.com/research/)
- Products and Trainings
  
    - [Getting Started with CLASS](https://teachstone.com/getting-started-with-class/)
      
          - [CLASS® 2nd Edition Infant-Toddler](https://teachstone.com/class-2nd-edition-infant-toddler/)
          - [CLASS® 2nd Edition Pre-K-3rd](https://teachstone.com/class-2nd-edition-pre-k-3rd/)
          - [CLASS Overview for Leaders](https://teachstone.com/a-class-overview-for-leaders/)
          - [CLASS 2nd Edition Intro to Interactions for Educators](https://teachstone.com/intro-to-interactions-for-educators/)
    - [CLASS Environment](https://teachstone.com/class-environment/)
      
          - [CLASS Environment Observer Training](https://teachstone.com/class-environment/#environment-observer-training)
          - [CLASS Environment Overview for Educators](https://teachstone.com/class-environment/#environment-educator-training)
    - Observer Training & Certification
      
          - [CLASS Train-the-Trainer Affiliate Program](https://teachstone.com/class-train-the-trainer/)
          - [CLASS Affiliate Trainer Recertification](https://store.teachstone.com/trainer-recertification-new/)
          - [CLASS 2nd Edition Measurement Trainer Program](https://teachstone.com/class-2nd-measurement-trainer/)
          - [CLASS Observer Recertification](https://store.teachstone.com/observer-recertification-new/?showHidden=true)
          - [CLASS Observation Certification Training](https://teachstone.com/class-observation-training/)
    - [Transition Supports](https://teachstone.com/class-observer-supports/)
      
          - [CLASS Group Coaching Transition Training](https://teachstone.com/class-group-coaching-transition-training/)
          - [CLASS 2nd Edition Observer Transition Training](https://teachstone.com/class-2nd-observer-transition-training/)
          - [CLASS 2nd Edition Trainer Transition Training](https://teachstone.com/class-2nd-edition-trainer-transition-training/)
          - [CLASS Trainer Add-Ons](https://teachstone.com/trainer-add-ons/)
    - [Program Services & Support](https://teachstone.com/program-services-support/)
      
          - [CLASS Coding Support](https://teachstone.com/coding-support/)
          - [CLASS Quality Improvement Subscription **New!**](https://teachstone.com/myteachstone/)
          - [CLASS Observation Services](https://teachstone.com/class-observation-services/)
          - [Custom Events by Teachstone](https://teachstone.com/custom-events/)
          - [Meaningful Interactions at Home](https://teachstone.com/meaningful-interactions-at-home/)
    - Coach Trainings & Certification
      
          - [CLASS Group Coaching](https://teachstone.com/class-group-coaching/)
          - [1-1 Video Coaching](https://teachstone.com/1-1-video-coaching/)
          - [Instructional Support for Coaches](https://teachstone.com/coach-feedback/)
          - [Interaction Essentials Trainer Program](https://teachstone.com/interaction-essentials-trainer-program/)
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          - [Banking Time: Investing in Relationships](https://teachstone.com/banking-time/)
          - [CDA with CLASS](https://teachstone.com/cda-programs/)
          - [Instructional Support Essentials for Teachers](https://teachstone.com/instructional-support-essentials-for-teachers/)
          - [Interaction Essentials for Educators](https://teachstone.com/interaction-essentials-for-educators/)
    - [CLASS Supplies](https://teachstone.com/class-supplies/)
      
          - [CLASS Dictionary](https://store.teachstone.com/class-dictionary/)
          - [CLASS Interactions Dimension Guide](https://store.teachstone.com/class-dimensions-guide/)
          - [CLASS Manuals](https://store.teachstone.com/class-2nd-edition-pre-k-3-manual-options/)
          - [CLASS Observation Score Sheets](https://store.teachstone.com/score-sheets/)
          - [CLASS Strategy Cards](https://store.teachstone.com/class-strategy-cards/)
          - [CLASS Support Kits](https://teachstone.com/class-support-kits/)
- Resources
  
    - [Resource Library](https://teachstone.com/resources/)
    - [Blog](https://info.teachstone.com/blog)
      
          - [Blog (Spanish)](https://info.teachstone.com/blog-en-esp?hsLang=en-us)
          - [Blog (French)](https://casiope.org/categorie/class/)
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# What Does the Research Say About CLASS and Cognition?

 February 1 2018 by [Sarah Hadden](https://info.teachstone.com/blog/author/sarah-hadden)

- [Research](https://info.teachstone.com/blog/topic/research)
- [CLASS in Practice](https://info.teachstone.com/blog/topic/class-in-practice)

![](https://info.teachstone.com/hs-fs/hubfs/girls-playing-with-blocks.jpg?width=519&height=300&name=girls-playing-with-blocks.jpg)

Strong cognitive skills in early childhood are associated with later school success. Cognitive skills are the mental processes that help us think, analyze, reason, and solve problems. These mental processes are complex and include a number of sub-skills that include attention, perception, memory, use of language, problem solving, and creativity – a set of skills referred to as *executive function.* 

While cognitive skills may look very different as children grow and develop, the importance of these skills cannot be understated. The toddler who is trying out different puzzle pieces to figure out where they fit is developing cognitive skills, as is the high schooler who is examining graphed data to identify trends. In both cases, they are building on cognitive processes that will help them continue to learn throughout their lives. 

To be successful learners, children must learn to attend classroom activities, understand that other people have different feelings or points of view, manipulate information in their heads, effectively communicate, and develop problem skills to solve problems. Children who have difficulty with any of these skills may find school too challenging. Fortunately, research shows that parents, teachers, and other adults can help children develop their cognitive processes through deliberate actions like those measured with CLASS. 

The types of educator-student interactions identified by the CLASS have been associated with the development of specific cognitive skills that underlie learning. For example, the domains of Emotional Support, Classroom Organization, and Instructional Support all positively predict to executive functioning; the cognitive processes that include working memory, cognitive inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility.  

In a 2013 study, Weiland, Ulvestad, Sachs, and Yoshikawa explored the relationship between classroom quality and children’s receptive vocabularies and executive functioning skills. Their sample included 414 children who were enrolled in the city of Boston’s public pre-k program. They found a significant association between the three domains of the CLASS and children’s scores on the Pencil Tapping task, a widely used measure of cognitive inhibitory control and memory. During this test, children are directed to tap a pencil once after the adult taps the pencil twice. This test requires that children hold two pieces of information in their minds and also tests the child’s inhibitory control over the natural impulse to repeat the actions of the adult.

Rimm-Kaufman, Curby, Grimm, Nathanson, & Brock (2009) also examined the impact of classroom quality on children’s self-regulation. They used four subtests of the Preschool Self-Regulation Assessment, which included the Pencil Tapping task, to assess the self-regulation skills of 172 kindergarteners. They learned that higher levels of Classroom Organization and Instructional Support were positively associated with cognitive and behavioral self-control. In addition, students who entered kindergarten with better self-regulation displayed greater behavioral self-control and work habits at the end of kindergarten. 

The relationship between cognitive skills and longer-term outcomes is clear: students who develop their analytic and executive function skills early in life tend to do better in school and, in turn, the workforce. Supportive relationships between children and adults can help bolster these skills. 

*Citations: *

*Rimm-Kaufman, S. E, Curby, T. W, Grimm, K. J., Nathanson, L., & Brock, L. L. (2009). The contribution of children’s self-regulation and classroom quality to children’s adaptive behaviors in the kindergarten classroom. Developmental Psychology, 45(4), 958–972.*

*Weiland, C., Ulvestad, K., Sachs, J., & Yoshikawa, H. (2013). Associations between classroom quality and children’s vocabulary and executive function skills in an urban public prekindergarten program. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 28(2), 199-209.*

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