Assessment of Reading Readiness

Overview

Wis. Stats. 118.016 required each pupil enrolled in 4-year-old kindergarten to 2nd grade in a school district or in a charter school to be annually assessed for reading readiness. Each school board and the operator of each charter school selected the appropriate, valid, and reliable assessment of literacy fundamentals to be used. The school board or operator ensured that the assessment evaluated whether a pupil possessed phonemic awareness and letter sound knowledge.

Blended models of instruction requirements for the administration of a Reading Readiness screener.

• Who to Screen: Each school district and each charter school was required to annually assess each student enrolled in four-year-old kindergarten (4K), five-year-old kindergarten (5K), first grade and second grade for fundamental literacy skills.
• Community-based 4K: The requirement for four-year-old kindergarten included community based 4K programs that are part of a school district, as well as traditional elementary school based 4K programs.
• When to Screen: DPI does not have a state mandated screening window. Districts were free to establish their own screening window. Some vendors utilized a screening window and established benchmarks based on students screened during the vendor-prescribed window.
• How Often to Screen: Districts were required to screen each student at least once per year. There is no upper limit on the number of times a student may be screened.
• Virtual Screening: Each district was authorized to determine the method in which screening may took place. Several vendors allowed for virtual administration of their screener. Users of purchased screeners verified with the vendor the conditions upon which virtual screening occured.
• Who Should Administer: It was highly recommended that classroom teachers administer the screening to each student. Classroom teachers typically had received training and had the most experience administering a Reading Readiness screener. In general, the most accurate and informative results will be obtained when the classroom teacher administers all parts of the screening.
• Sharing information with Parents: Literacy screener results were required to be shared with parents/guardians. Districts choose their preferred method of communicating the results to parents/guardians.
• Students Identified as Being at Risk: If a student's score on the literacy screener indicated the student was at risk of reading difficulty, schools and districts were required to provide interventions or remedial services. Wis. Stats. 118.016 and Wis. Stats. 121.02(1)(c) state that the interventions or services provided to the student were scientifically based, and addressed all areas in which the student is deficient, in a manner consistent with the state standards in reading and language arts.
• Interventions and Remedial Services: Students who were identified as at risk of reading difficulty should continue to receive high-quality core instruction. In addition, targeted small-group and individual interventions may have be necessary based on the obtained results. Teachers were also encouraged to work with other professionals (other classroom teachers, reading specialists, special education teachers, ELL teachers, psychologists and principals) to develop intervention plans. The RtI Center provided guidance for how to develop a tiered system of instruction and support.
• School districts and charter schools were responsible for the cost of administering the assessment of reading readiness chosen by the district or charter school. However, school districts and charter schools were eligible to seek reimbursement from DPI for the costs of the assessment, provided the assessment meets the criteria established in state law (described above). These state aid payments were prorated if the total reimbursement claims submitted by school districts and charter schools exceed the amount appropriated for this purpose.

Accommodations and Supports

PALS was designed to be flexible, responsive, and accessible. PALS included allowable practices for administration that were built into the assessment. Teachers were able to use these allowable practices with any student during a PALS administration. There were no time limits for any of the PALS tasks. Students with disabilities accessed PALS through these allowable practices similar to their non-disabled peers. The use of these allowable practices did not require an IEP team meeting or IEP documentation.

Because PALS was a tool to guide instruction, accommodations and modifications were considered supplementary aids, services, and supports provided to or on behalf of the student. Any accommodations and modifications used during a PALS administration were to be consistent with those that were provided during a student’s daily instruction and generally should not have been introduced for the first time for the sake of screening.

Accommodations and modifications beyond allowable practices were to be documented on I-9, IEP Summary, Supplementary Aids and Services. Supplementary aids and services included frequency and amount and be stated so that the level of the LEA’s commitment of resources was clear to parents and other IEP team members. The statement were to be appropriate to the specific service and stated in a manner that could be understood by all involved in developing and implementing the IEP.

Using Data

The Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening (PALS) is a research based screening, diagnostic, and progress monitoring tool for students in grades 4K through 2nd grade. Wisconsin teachers use PALS to identify students at risk of developing reading difficulties, diagnose students' knowledge of literacy fundamentals, monitor progress, and plan instruction that targets students' needs. In addition to these uses, PALS data may play other roles in the education of students. This document identifies the main uses for PALS data and suggests situations where the use of PALS data should be limited.