CLASS observer certification is valid for one year from the date of passing your first CLASS Reliability Test. An annual recertification test is required to maintain current Certified CLASS Observer status. Once you complete the recertification test, your Observer certification will renew for one year from the expiration date of your current certification.

No, CLASS Affiliate Trainer certification is required for those wishing to train others on the CLASS tool. You’ll need to attend a Train-the-Trainer program to be eligible for CLASS Affiliate Trainer certification.

You may purchase recertification testing at any time, for one or more people, by visiting the Teachstone store. Your purchase creates one product key per test, which is emailed to you, and may only be activated when a user is eligible for recertification. Product keys do not expire.

A Certified CLASS Observer is a person who has attended a CLASS Observation Training and who has passed a CLASS Reliability Test within the past year. A Certified CLASS Observer has demonstrated a solid understanding of the CLASS tool and is qualified to code classrooms using the CLASS observation tool.

To become a Certified CLASS Observer, you must take the CLASS Observation Training and pass the CLASS Reliability Test. To learn more, please visit our page on certifications.

Teachstone will send a CLASS Observer certification card to you when you pass the CLASS Reliability Test. The card will be used to demonstrate to administrators and teachers that you are certified, meaning you can code classrooms fairly and accurately. Through the use of this card, you are building an understanding of the importance of reliability and fidelity to the CLASS tool. Please allow 6 weeks from the date of passing your test for your card to be delivered.

Upon arriving to conduct a CLASS observation, please take the following steps:

1. Show your certification card to the school administrator and inform him or her that you are a Certified CLASS Observer. If the teacher has questions about observation training or the certification process, feel free to answer their questions.

If your certification card is lost or has errors on it, please contact us for a replacement.

It takes several weeks to process and send certification cards. If it has been more than six weeks since you passed reliability and you still have not received your card, contact Customer Support. Make sure that your contact information and shipping address is up to date in your myTeachstone account. You can update this information by clicking on “My Account” in the drop-down menu next to your name in the upper right corner.

You can find your Proof of Certifications online by logging into your myTeachstone account., Choose Certification on your dashboard, and then click the link to your certificate in the list. All active certifications display a “Download” link to get your Proof of Certification certificate.

Please contact Customer Support for help with recovering older certificates.

Your Proof of Certification will download as a PDF. You will need to open in any tool which can view PDFs such as Adobe Reader or Apple Preview.

1. Click the link to download your certificate to your computer.
2. Open your downloaded certificate.
3. Choose Print from the File menu.

You may purchase recertification testing at any time, for one or more people, by visiting the Teachstone store. Your purchase creates one product key per test, which is emailed to you, and may only be activated when a user is eligible for recertification. Product keys do not expire. Please visit our Certifications page to learn more.

You can purchase recertification testing at any time by visiting the Teachstone online store:

1. CLASS Observer Recertification can be purchased here.
2. Additionally, a link to renew your certification will automatically appear in your myTeachstone account when your certificate is 8 weeks from expiration.
3. Finally, you will receive an email notification reminding you to recertify when the time comes.

Your certification date is tied to when you first took your reliability test after completing Observation Training. You can start testing eight weeks prior to your certification expiration date and continue testing up to 16 weeks after your certification expires (although you cannot conduct observations after your certification expires). The date of your testing period cannot be changed.

Check your observer certification status by logging in to your myTeachstone account and choosing Certification on your dashboard.

Maintaining CLASS certification requires an ongoing commitment. If you haven’t been using the CLASS tool regularly since your initial training, plan to spend additional time reading the CLASS Manual and preparing for the test using the resources available to you on the Reliability Support page and as part of the recertification package:

1. Suggested testing timeline
2. CLASS Video Library access
3. Training video access
4. Recertification Practice Videos
5. Support documents

Training Videos

1. Log in to your myTeachstone account and enter the Certification portal to view these resources and additional information and supports.

Certified CLASS Observers: You have 8 weeks from your training (if you are attempting initial certification) or from the date you purchase the test (if you are attempting recertification) to take the reliability test. 

Certified CLASS Observers: For recertification you have 8 weeks from the time of activation to take the recertification test, including both the CLASS Reliability Test and the Trainer Knowledge Test.

The format of the Reliability Test is the same for both initial certification and annual recertification. During the Reliability Test, you will watch and code five videos. Each video is approximately 15-20 minutes long. We recommend that you not complete all five videos in one sitting; but rather, watch and score them over a period of a few days. The Reliability Test can be exited and then returned to, with your progress saved, not having to start over.

The CLASS Reliability Test must be taken on your own, without assistance from anyone else. You should, however, refer to your CLASS manual and notes while taking the test. You will have three opportunities to pass the Reliability Test.

It is important for reliability testing that your coding is both accurate and consistent across classrooms; for that reason, when you take the Reliability Test, feedback and scores are not provided until you have scored all five videos.

If you are looking for additional practice before taking the Reliability Test, remember to review and code the videos shown during your training and any practice videos available to you.  We also encourage you to review the resources on our Reliability Support page prior to testing.

After completing the CLASS Observation Training, you must take and pass the CLASS Reliability Test without assistance from anyone else. 80% of your codes must be within one of the master code, and within each dimension, at least 2 (out of 5) codes must be within one of the master code.

You have three attempts to achieve CLASS reliability. If you do not succeed on your first attempt, we strongly recommend that you review the feedback on your score report to better understand your coding tendencies.

We also recommend that you take advantage of the resources and supports on your testing instructions page and on the Reliability Support page to strengthen your CLASS knowledge and coding skills before taking your second testing attempt. If you do not succeed on your first and second attempts, we strongly encourage you to email [email protected] for additional guidance and support before beginning your third attempt.

If you are unsuccessful in achieving reliability after all three tests, you must enroll in another CLASS Observation Training. After completion of that training, you can attempt reliability testing again.

The effectiveness of the CLASS tool relies heavily on the accuracy and consistency of its users. Observing and coding reliably with the CLASS tool is more like learning a new language than learning how to ride a bike—it takes ongoing practice and training to retain the skill. Recertification ensures that Certified CLASS Observers remain reliable on the CLASS tool. You will need to recertify annually with Teachstone to continue using the CLASS tool.