Universal screening is an assessment given to all students that helps educators identify students who might be at risk for not reaching grade-level goals. It is typically done three times a year: fall, winter, and spring. Data meetings are held after each screening period to analyze the results and make recommendations about which students need additional support. Progress meetings are held every 6-8 weeks to determine the effectiveness of the intervention. This type of assessment and monitoring of student progress allows us to proactively address learning needs rather than taking a "wait and see" approach.
The Dynamic Indicator of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS 8) is administered three times a year in grades 1-5 and twice a year in Kindergarten as our universal literacy screening tool. DIBELS 8 is a set of procedures and measures for assessing the acquisition of literacy skills. The tool is fully endorsed by DESE as an early literacy screening assessment. DIBELS composite scores are highly effective in predicting risk. It also provides us with measures of processing speed, phonological awareness, and the alphabetic principle, which are important for dyslexia screening purposes.
The Savvas Math Screener and Diagnostic Assessments (MSDA) is administered as a universal math screener for students in grades 1-5 three times a year: fall, winter, and spring. The MSDA measures Numbers & Operations, Algebraic Reasoning, Data & Probability, Fractions, Geometric Reasoning and Measurement.
Kindergarten students are given the AimswebPlus Math assessment twice a year, which measures early numeracy in the following areas: Quantity Total Fluency, Concepts and Applications, Number Naming Fluency, and Quantity Difference Fluency.
The i-Ready Reading assessment is administered in three times a year in grades 6-8 as our universal literacy screening tool. The adaptive test adjusts its questions to suit each student’s needs. Each item a student sees is individualized based on their answer to the previous question. The i-Ready Diagnostic for Reading assesses six domains: Phonological Awareness, Phonics, High-Frequency Words, Vocabulary, Comprehension of Informational Text, and Comprehension of Literature.
The IXL Math Diagnostic Assessment is administered to students in grades 6-8 three times a year: fall, winter, and spring. It measures Numbers & Operations, Algebra & Algebraic Thinking, Fractions, Geometry, Measurement, and Data, Statistics, & Probability.