Ready to Read Act
About the Ready to Read Act
Allegany County Public Schools wants every student to be ready to read. We follow guidelines created by the Ready to Read Act 2019 (Senate Bill 734) for school systems to screen, intervene, and support students with reading difficulties.
Who gets screened: Schools must check students for reading problems. This includes all kindergarteners, first graders who weren't screened in kindergarten or struggled with reading then, and new students transferring in (unless the school can tell they're reading fine). Students who already have special education plans (IFSP or IEP) may not need screening since they've already been evaluated.
What the screening looks for: Schools must use a test (a Universal Screener) that checks basic reading skills, especially how well students hear and work with sounds in words.
Who does the screening: A trained educator does the screening - this could be the classroom teacher, school psychologist, special education teacher, speech therapist, reading specialist, or another qualified staff member.
What happens if a child struggles: If the screening shows a student is at risk, the school must provide extra reading help. This help must be research-based and systematic, focusing on specific skills like recognizing sounds, reading words correctly, building vocabulary, and improving reading speed and understanding.
Keeping parents informed: Parents must be notified if their child is at risk for reading difficulties. They'll receive the screening results and information about what extra help their child will receive.
Reporting: Schools must send their screening data to the Maryland State Department of Education every year.
ACPS Elementary Reading: Supplemental Instruction
When determining appropriate tier 2 and tier 3 interventions / supplemental instruction, consideration is given to the students’ identified needs based on screening and classroom data. The practices and principles provided must have a research base and include systematic, sequential instruction aligned with the science of reading principles. Progress monitoring should be administered, analyzed, and used to determine intervention effectiveness and possible need for adjustment or discontinuation once sufficient progress is made.
| Program | Grades | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Superkids Supplemental | K-2 | Program Supplemental Materials - phonics skills, phonemic awareness skill reinforcement |
| Fundations | K-3 (4,5 if needed) | Systematic, intensive phonics program |
| Read Naturally Live | 2-5 | Digital - Structured fluency lessons, practice, reinforcement, word work option |
| Geodes | K-3 (Gr 4 & 5 if needed) | Decodable books paired with Fundations lessons |
| LETRS | K-3 | Lesson activities aligned with The Science of Reading using hands- on manipulatives for phonemic awareness and beginning phonics skills |
| Amplify Reading (remediation lessons) | 3-5 | Digital program aligned with CKLA Individualized student pathways for skill work |
| Amplify mClass Intervention Lessons | 3-5 | Structured skill lessons identified through DIBELS screening data targeted to individual students' skill deficits. |
| Equipped for Reading Success | K-2 | Targeted phonemic awareness lessons based on the PAST assessment (to be used in tandem with an identified intervention program) |
| Phonemic Awareness in Young Children | K-1 | Provides hands-on activities to target early listening/phonemic awareness skills (to be used in tandem with an identified phonics intervention program) |
| Heggerty Phonemic Awareness | K-1 | Additional practice in phonological awareness (to be used in tandem with an identified phonics intervention program) |
| Orton-Gillingham | K-5 | Multi-sensory intensive intervention program |
| Wilson Reading Program | 3-5 | Intermediate intensive intervention program - structured similar to Fundations |
| System 44 | 4-5 | Intermediate intensive intervention program. Online software, independent reading, and small group work incorporating phonics, fluency, and comprehension. |
ACPS Screening and Supplemental Instruction
The Allegany County Public School System conducts screening using the mClass DIBELS 8 screener three times per year with all students in grades kindergarten through three. Students in grades four and five also may be screened. As needed, secondary screeners are used to better identify specific areas of need for supplemental instruction. Each school is staffed with a reading interventionist. The supplemental instruction and intervention programs may be provided by the interventionist or other school staff who have been trained in the reading programs. By conducting collaborative meetings, the staff is able to determine the best course of action for individual students, monitor student growth, document progress, and make program changes when necessary. Parents are notified after screening if their child has been identified as at risk for reading difficulties, are provided information on the supplemental instruction their child will receive, and are informed if the supplemental program changes based on data.
Parents are encouraged to read the included document, Improving Literacy Brief - Understanding Screening, to gain more insight into screening and assessment.
COMAR 13A.03.08 - Students at Risk of Reading Difficulties
The COMAR regulations add to the Ready to Read Requirements. Specifically, COMAR stipulates:
General Regulations
- Previous students in first, second, and third grade shall be included in the screening and the supplemental reading instruction program established by the local school system if they meet the following criteria:
- were not previously screened;
- demonstrated difficulty mastering grade-level reading in the previous
- entered or transferred to a public elementary school.
- Screening is not required for students in first, second, or third grade if the local school system can demonstrate that the student who entered or transferred to a public elementary school has already been screened and demonstrates mastery of grade-level reading.
- The students shall be screened in accordance with the guidance of the selected screener.
- The screening schedule shall be established by the local school system, with initial screening taking place within the first 2 months of the beginning of the school year.
Screening Process
- Upon registration of a student or identification of a student at risk for reading difficulties, the local school system shall provide to the parent or guardian of the student the following:
- A written description of the screening and supplemental instruction process in the school system; and
- Any checklists or screener-specific forms are needed to support the screening protocol and supplemental instruction process.
- The Department will provide a sample of a checklist on their website.
- The screening required under this regulation shall be conducted by any of the following school personnel:
- Classroom teacher
- School psychologist
- Reading specialist
- Special education teacher
- Speech-language pathologist
- Reading interventionist
- Any other educator trained to use appropriate screening instruments.
- A local school system shall select one or more appropriate screening instruments that meet the following criteria:
- Accurately and reliably identifies students at risk for poor learning outcomes;
- Are developmentally appropriate;
- It is economical to administer in time and cost; and
- Use norm-referenced or criterion-based scores.
- The appropriate screening instrument shall be based on foundational reading skills that include phonological and phonemic awareness and processing, including rapid automatic naming.
- Local school systems shall provide school staff with professional learning on age-appropriate, evidence-based, sequential, systematic, explicit, and cumulative instruction or intervention for student mastery of foundational reading skills, including phonological and phonemic awareness and processing, phonics, and vocabulary to support development of decoding, spelling, fluency, and reading comprehension skills to meet grade level curriculum.
Screening Results and Supplemental Reading Instruction
- If the screening results indicate that a student is at risk of reading difficulties:
- Within 30 calendar days of the screening, the local school system shall notify the parent or guardian of the student in writing of the screening results and a description of the supplemental reading instruction that shall be provided to the student.
- The local school system shall develop a supplemental reading instructional plan to address the student’s identified areas of need.
- The supplemental instruction shall take place within the school day.
- Evidence-based supplemental instruction shall be based on data and aligned with the specific areas of deficit for students identified at risk.
- The local school system may revise supplemental instruction based upon progress monitoring and the student’s placement in an appropriate multi-tiered system of support.
Progress Monitoring
- Local school systems shall set an individualized review schedule of the supplemental reading instruction at intervals of not more than 30 days for progress monitoring.
- The student’s parents or guardian will receive written progress reports quarterly or upon revisions to supplemental instruction.
- The local school system may determine whether the supplemental reading instruction plan is completed when the student has achieved grade level reading standards based upon age-appropriate re-screening.
Reporting Requirements
- Each local school system should provide resources on the school system website, which includes:
- Reading screening instruments used in the local school system; and
- A checklist of early warning signs of reading difficulties and dyslexia by age.
- Beginning in the 2021-2022 school year, §C of this Regulation shall apply to students in the second and third grades.
- On or before July 1, each year, all local school systems shall provide a report to the Maryland State Department of Education with the following information for the previous school year:
- The total number of students in kindergarten through third grade, by grade level;
- The number of students in kindergarten through third grade, by grade level, who were screened at each level;
- The number of students in kindergarten through third grade, by grade level, identified through a screening instrument as at risk for reading difficulties; and
- The number of students in kindergarten through third grade, by grade level, are identified as at risk for reading difficulties who received supplemental reading instruction.
Evaluation of Reading Screeners and Reading Interventions
- Local school systems should evaluate the effectiveness of the screeners and the reading interventions annually.
- The Department will provide professional learning to local school systems on effective evaluation procedures.
DIBELS 8
LITERACY ASSESSMENTS OVERVIEW
DIBELS (8TH ED)
SKILLS ASSESSED & DIBELS MEASURES OVERVIEW
✓ Phonemic awareness:
Segmenting words into phonemes - 'Phonemic Segmentation Fluency' measure {PSF)
Students have 1 minute to break words into their sounds.
Note, if you want a measure of phoneme blending, use alternate assessment subtests to supplement the DIBELs e.g. the 'Phoneme Blending part of the Phonemic Awareness subtest in the DDM
✓ Sound/letter knowledge:
Letter naming - 'Letter Naming Fluency' measure {LNF)
Students have 1 minute to say the names of given letters (mixed upper & lower case)
Note, if you want a measure of letter sound knowledge, use alternate assessment subtests to supplement the DIBELs e.g. the 'Letter Sounds' part of the Word Identification subtest in the DDM
✓ Decoding & reading fluency
Reading nonsense words- 'Nonsense Word Fluency' measure {NWF)
Students have 1 minute to read nonsense words (CVCe, CVC, CCVCy, 2 syllable words). Students are scored for the number of sounds correctly sounded out ('correct letter sounds' - CL$) and for their ability to decode the whole word ('words read correctly' - WRC)
Single real word reading fluency - 'Word Reading Fluency' measure (WRF)
Students have 1 minute to read as many real words as they can (including some high frequency words).
Students get one point per word correctly decoded, (even if the student sounded the word out, as long as they then blended the sounds together to say the entire word).
Text level oral reading fluency- 'Oral Reading Fluency' measure (ORF)
Students have 1 minute to read out loud as far through a passage as they can. Students are given a % accuracy score.
One of the strongest measures for capturing growth over time
Reading fluency and simple comprehension - 'Maze' measure (group administered)
Students have 2.5 minutes to silently read a passage and choose the best multiple choice answer for missing words.
TESTING & SCORING
Testing:
- Most measures are collected with students individually, except for Maze which can be collected with students in a group.
- Individual sub-tests / measures can be administered independently from each other.
- All measures (except Maze) are contained in each year group's scoring booklet and student booklets. Maze measure have separate booklets for each year group.
- 'Scoring' booklets are for test administrator to use and record student data.
- 'Student' booklets contain any stimuli students need to use to complete the task (e.g. letters to look at, words to read etc.)