Literacy assessment is the possession of knowledge about the basic elements of sound assessment practice and includes terminology, use of techniques and methodologies and awareness with standards of quality in assessment ( Walsh, 2009 ). It aims at improving how teachers and students respond to information. This essay seeks to expound on literacy assessment Duval County Public Schools.
The district employed universal screening, evidence-based intervention, and progress monitoring to determine literacy levels. In the 2014-2015 academic year, a Get Ready to Read screener (GRTR) was employed three times in a year to identify students for intervention as well as to track their progress (Duvan County, 2016). The assessment screened all students in the pre-kindergarten in order to identify children exhibiting difficulties in reading and ensured that all these students are provided with evidence-based interventions that aligned with their needs. The progress monitoring plan that the county used was designed and implemented at students who do not meet the performance expectations as determined by the district’s flow chart. In the assessment, 1317 children in 75 pre-kindergartens across 53 schools were screened using 20 items early literacy screening tool, GRTR (Duvan County, 2016). The outcome involved 721 whose intervention level had been identified through post and pre-test screening assessments (Duvan County, 2016). Out of these, 147 received classroom intervention. In the K-2 grade, i-Ready was used in progress monitoring. The tool determined that intentional small group instruction was crucial in improving achievement. Data taken from the 2014-2015 literacy assessment indicated that though at the beginning of 7 percent of the kindergarten began school year meeting grade-level proficiency expectation the figure had risen to 66 percent at the end of the year (Duvan County, 2016).
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Administering the assessments was relatively easy as the literacy-based test was a manual scoring. The assessment was used native and non-native English speakers making it suitable for all students. Moreover, the fact that it was designed for the assessment of low-level reading skills means that both pre and pre-tests were easy to administer. The assessor tool was designed as a complete protocol. This, coupled with trained test administrators means that there was ease in administration and standardization of tests.
The knowledge gained can be used to improve literacy skills in schools. Teachers will be provided colored image cards that are in line with the new Duval Reads curriculum ( Jenkins, 2016 ). This will reinforce the vocabulary knowledge in reading, writing and speaking. Additionally, color flip books whether digital or printed will allow the projection of images that will aid the student in remembering events and information from oral reading class. The recommendation from the curriculum guide asserts that the new development will be interactive. This will be supported by Find the Evidence clips as well as the Magnetic Literacy and Informational Graphic Organizers manipulatives. In the K-2 grade, teachers will be equipped with data chat forms to aid in data tracking ( Jenkins, 2016 ). With assistance from district specialists, the teachers will review the data and set instructional goals aligned with the need to address deficiencies in the class.
From the essay, Duval County can leverage on the gaps identified in the results as well as the recommendations put forward by the authors. Consequently, they should aim at improving literacy across the body rather than a larger emphasis on kindergarten. The improvement will have a positive impact on their performance.
References
Duvan County. (2016). Annual Literacy Plan 2015-16. Retrieved from https://dcps.duvalschools.org/site/handlers/filedownload.ashx?moduleinstanceid=31284&dataid=37487&FileName=Literacy%20Plan%20September%202015.pdf
Jenkins, M. (2016). Comprehensive Research Based Reading Plans District: Duval. Retrieved from https://app5.fldoe.org/ReadingPlansSSO/CompleteReport1516.aspx?DID=16
Walsh, A. (2009). Information literacy assessment. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science , 41 (1), 19-28. doi:10.1177/0961000608099896
