IHAA - Reading Achievement K-3

Emery County School District

Policy: IHAA - Reading Achievement for K-3

Date Adopted: 8 August 2018

Current Review / Revision: 8 August 2018

Purpose of the Policy

The Board adopts this policy to ensure reading proficiency in Kindergarten through grade three.

Reading Assessment

District elementary schools shall administer the State Board of Education approved benchmark reading assessments at the beginning (before September 30), in the middle (between December 1 and January 31), and at the end (between the middle of April and June 15) of grade one, grade two and grade three.

Following each benchmark assessment, the school shall notify parents or guardians of their student's results by October 30, the last day of February, and June 30, respectively. The school shall also report to the student's parents or guardians the student's reading level at the end of grade three.

If a benchmark assessment or a supplemental reading assessment indicates that a student is not reading at grade level, the school shall take the notification and reading remediation interventions outlined below for students not reading at grade level.

Reading Achievement Plan

Each elementary school in the District shall, through its school community council, develop a reading achievement plan as described in Policy GE. The reading achievement plan includes a benchmark assessment, intervention, and reporting components. The school principal shall be responsible to provide leadership and allocate resources and support for teachers and students to implement the reading achievement plan and achieve the reading goals. The Board shall require the reading achievement plan be revised if the Board determines a school's students are not making adequate learning gains.

Goal Achievement Reporting

In addition to the reports provided to parents under the reporting component of the reading achievement plan, the District shall annually provide parents with a copy of the student's comprehensive statewide assessment results, which includes measurements of reading performance.

Reporting to the Board

The Superintendent shall annually report to the Board on the assessment data and other information submitted to the State Board of Education relating to K-3 reading performance in the District at the District level and at the school level. The Board may use this information to work with the Superintendent to review and revise plans to enable the District to meet K-3 reading goals.

Reading Proficiency Plan Submitted to the State Board of Education

The District shall submit a plan to the State Board of Education for reading proficiency improvement that incorporates the following components:

  1. Assessment;

  2. Intervention strategies;

  3. Professional development for classroom teachers in kindergarten through grade three;

  4. Reading performance standards; and

  5. Specific measurable goals that include the following:

    1. A growth goal for each school within the District based upon student learning gains as measured by benchmark assessments; and

    2. A growth goal for the District to increase the percentage of third grade students who read on grade level from year to year.

Report Submitted to the State Board of Education

The District shall annually submit a report to the State Board of Education accounting for the expenditure of program money in accordance with its plan for reading proficiency improvement.

The District shall use program money in a manner that is consistent with Utah code.

The District shall make an annual report to the State Board of Education that includes information on:

  1. Student learning gains in reading for the past school year and the five-year trend;

  2. The percentage of third grade students reading on grade level in the past school year and the five-year trend;

  3. The progress of schools within the District in meeting goals stated the District's plan for student reading proficiency; and

  4. The correlation between third grade students reading on grade level and results of third grade language arts scores on a criterion-referenced test or computer adaptive test; and

The annual report to the State Board of Education may include recommendations on how to increase the percentage of third grade students who read on grade level.

The District will submit its report to the State Board of Education through the Utah eTranscript and Record Exchange (“UTREx”) on or before July 1 of each year.

Reading Below Grade Level or Lacking Proficiency

A student is reading below grade level when the student performs below the benchmark score on the benchmark reading assessment and requires additional instruction beyond that provided to typically developing peers in order to close the gap between the student's current level of reading achievement and that expected of all students in that grade. For any first, second, or third grade student who through assessment is determined to be reading below grade level, the school shall take the following actions:

  1. Notify the student's parent or guardian that the student is reading below grade level;

  2. Provide focused individualized intervention to develop the reading skill;

  3. Administer formative assessments to measure the success of the focused intervention;

  4. Inform the parent or guardian of activities that he or she may engage in with the student to assist the student in improving reading proficiency; and

  5. Provide information to the parent or guardian of the student regarding reading interventions available to the student outside regular instructional time that may include tutoring, before and after school programs, or summer school.