SPS pilots new reading program at SMS

Jan. 25—More than 800 Stillwater Middle School students were tested for math and reading skills in December 2023 — and the results provided Stillwater Public Schools with a game plan to help sixth- and seventh-graders in reading skills.

Janet Vinson, assistant superintendent of educational services, and Ashley Moore, director of secondary education, have a passion for helping students succeed. In October 2023, they piloted a program through Northwest Education Association's Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) to screen all sixth- and seventh-graders for reading skills.

Moore presented results from the screening at the Jan. 9 SPS Board of Education meeting.

By the end of the fall 2023 semester, they had trained teachers in the new screening program and had tested all middle schoolers.

"The MAP growth is the diagnostic screener," Moore said. "It's the, 'Where are you right now?' It's the check-in."

Of the more than 800 students who were screened, approximately 35 percent had low reading scores. Vinson said SPS is in the early stages of screening, and the March screening results will give a fuller picture of what level students are at.

Oklahoma students have a 75 percent proficiency score (with a set score of 300 out of a total 399 possible points). Those "proficiency" scores reflect that students are on a trajectory to be college-ready, Vinson said, while "basic" scores simply mean students are on track with their peers.

In the past, the Achieving Classroom Excellence Act mandated that school districts screen for reading proficiency in secondary grades, and it provided funding for screening and intervention for students. That funding has since been archived, and SPS has had to pivot to meet the literacy needs of students who are struggling with reading.

For K-third grades, the Reading Sufficiency Act mandates that all students have support with reading and math skills, and schools have access to funding to provide the needed reading specialists and curriculum.

"When we get to secondary, which is sixth-12th, there is no legislative mandate, and thus, there's no funding, as well," Moore said. "Well, that doesn't mean that students stop having those needs and supports."

Moore said the SPS district does all it can to identify, screen and serve students in K-third grade.

"But if you're a student who has characteristics of dyslexia, (you'll) likely have characteristics of dyslexia your entire life," Moore said. "... It's like anything else — what starts out as a slow or very small gap at the elementary (level), as you get into the secondary (level), that gap widens significantly, because as you get into the older grades, the reading complexity gets harder ... Reading is not just in English class anymore, it's in science and social studies, it's in math."

Assistant Superintendent Vinson said the district is putting the screener in place so they can find the gaps where students struggle and address those gaps.

"Once we can start addressing the gaps, we expect that it will improve student performance across the board," Vinson said. "And honestly, the NWEA screener, for us, is a more accurate measurement than even our state tests. State tests is one time, one day."

The NWEA MAP screener focuses on three tiers. Tier 1 means a student is reading well, Tier 2 (small group) means the student needs intervention and Tier 3 (one-on-one) means the student needs even more help, or may have a special need. Students can be helped either through intervention or enrichment at any level.

"Having a screener like this breaks it down very granularly," Moore said. "The teachers can know exactly what those specific needs are, and that's a level that our teachers have been needing ... It's the 'How are we going to help?' — that's the support system."

In addition, those students in Tier 2 have access to Reading 180, a prescriptive reading guidance with intense intervention, much like the district is using in elementary grades with Istation and IXL Learning. Stillwater Junior High School is also piloting the program Math 180 with smaller groups.

The diagnostic screening is new for some gifted students, Moore said, who are used to mastery skills where they score 100 percent on tests. But the screening is meant to challenge any student, and it shows exactly where they are so teachers and students — especially those who need intervention — can adjust.

Students can also set their own goals with the program.

She said SPS teachers quickly grabbed the concepts of the new screening and have adapted well. In addition, the MAP program provides data to help teachers learn from each other and modify their classroom instruction.

Vinson and Moore said although there is currently no funding for the MAP program, SPS administration has worked to find the necessary funding from other areas, such as General Funds and Title 2A funding, to help provide professional training for teachers and the student screening software in this pilot program.

"We really want to start with (sixth- and seventh-graders) so we can get that longitudinal data," Moore said. "The hope is that next year, we would move to all sixth-12th (grades)."