Glossary

Benchmark: Assessments that measure progress towards an end of year desired outcome. They are typically administered three times per year, at beginning (BOY), middle (MOY), and end of year (EOY). 

Curriculum:  Curriculum refers to an overall plan and sequence of content, curriculum answers what students should learn and why. 

Diagnostic: Intended to help teachers identify what students know and can do in different domains to support their students' learning. These kinds of assessments may help teachers determine what students understand in order to build on the students' strengths and address their specific needs. 

Intervention:   A targeted and systematic approach aimed at providing additional support, resources, or strategies to address the specific learning needs or challenges of individual students or groups. 

Evidence-Based Reading Instruction (EBRI): Evidence-based reading instruction (EBRI) is a program of structured literacy that aligns with the Science of Reading; includes explicit and systematic instruction in phonemic awareness, the alphabetic principle, decoding, encoding, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, and building content knowledge. EBRI may NOT include three-cueing, which is a model of teaching students to read based on meaning, structure, syntax, and visual cues (MSV). 

Reading Curriculum Materials: The materials used to deliver the content of what students should learn and why.  Curriculum materials answer the question of how the instruction in implemented in the classroom. They must align with the PA Standards and the Science of Reading, include a logical scope and sequence, incorporate phonemic awareness, the alphabetic principle, decoding, encoding, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, and building content knowledge. 

Reading Instructional Coach: An educator who supports educators in delivery high-quality reading instruction. Reading Instructional coaches must have at least three years of experience in the teaching of reading and be skilled in instruction and intervention of students with dyslexia and other language-related disabilities. 

Reading Universal Screeners:

• Align with the essential components of evidence-based reading instruction. 

• Include phonemic awareness, the alphabetic principle, decoding, encoding, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. 

• Administered to all students in early elementary to determine if a student is at risk for developing reading difficulties and may be in need of further diagnostic assessment for targeted intervention. 

• Measures students' reading knowledge and skills against national norms. 

• Used as part of a tiered support system, such as multi-tiered system of support (MTSS).