As Surry County students have returned to the classroom, the state’s Department of Public Instructions announced last week the youngest students across the state made strong gains in early literacy skills during the prior school year. The gains outpaced the performance of students in other states where the same assessment was used to measure student progress throughout the year.
These literacy gains were achieved during the first full year of a far-reaching statewide initiative to support elementary school teachers with extensive training in instruction based on the “science of reading,” a phonics-based approach that the state DPI felt had strong evidence of effectiveness.
State education leaders were encouraged by last year’s assessment outcomes, which they say are an early indication that schools across the state embraced the science of reading in the classroom. These achievements occurred even as many teachers are still learning about the new curriculum initiative through a two-year professional development program, Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling, or its clever acronym LETRS.
The early literacy evaluation, which is an updated version of an assessment called mCLASS, measures students’ proficiency in such key skills as phonemic awareness and phonics. It was used with all kindergarten through third grade students in North Carolina for the first time in the 2021-22 school year.
Assessment results showed students in all four grades made greater gains from the beginning of the school year to the end than students in other states using the same assessment. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Catherine Truitt said the results show that the state is using the best approach to boost the literacy skills of all students.
“North Carolina took a huge step forward with the passage of the Excellent Public Schools Act in the spring of 2021, ensuring that all students learn to read based on the principles outlined by the science of reading,” she said.
“We still have a long way to go, but the results we’re seeing from last year are clearly pointing in the right direction. We’re going to reach the goal of getting students to be proficient readers by the time they finish third grade.”
The gains made by students last year were compared with the gains of 1.6 million K-3 students elsewhere in the nation whose progress was also tracked with the same assessment, according to the education company that provides the mCLASS assessment under contract with the Department of Public Instruction.
The assessment that North Carolina schools used during the previous school year more closely matches the science of reading’s emphasis on five critical components: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Consequently, comparisons from last year’s results to past years are not compatible as a new standard is being utilized.
It should be noted that these assessment results are not comparable to the state’s end-of-grade reading tests, which are administered beginning in the third grade. Those EOG exams measure whether a student has mastered grade-level standards, from a basic level to more rigorous comprehension, whereas the mCLASS assessment measures the essential, foundational skills that students need to become successful readers.
Teachers administer the new assessment with students individually at the beginning, middle and end of the school year. They are also encouraged to use it at other times to monitor student progress. In addition to student progress data, the various components of the assessment also help guide teachers in their literacy instruction and interventions for students in need of assistance.
Amy Rhyne, who leads the state’s early literacy program as director of the Office of Early Learning at the Department of Public Instruction, said she believes the state gains last year can be attributed to strong leadership and the commitment of teachers in school districts across the state to help drive the significant shift in early literacy teaching and learning.
“With the statewide focus in North Carolina on the science of reading, many districts jumped ahead of the formal LETRS training so they could learn more about the science of reading and establish aligned processes,” Rhyne said. “
She went on to say that in many cases the state is seeing positive trends where teachers and school leaders are onboard and advocating for this shift to the new standard, “As well as clear processes to support the implementation.”
Mount Airy librarian Rana Southern recalls her love of reading started incredibly early, “With my mama, Glenda Southern. She read to me and my brother every night, she made sure we always had books. My mama would read the stories with different voices, she would get gruff sounding for the big, bad wolf and sweet sounding for the little pigs, and I learned to use this in my story times – it makes the book come alive and develops a love of reading very early.”
Her suggestion for parents is, “Start them early, read to them every night, read a book yourself to model how enjoyable reading can be. And always take them to the library, to story time and any other literary event.”
Southern quoted children’s author Mem Fox, “The fire of literacy is created by the sparks between a child, a book and the person reading.”
Source: https://www.mtairynews.com