Read to Achieve Update for the Superintendents’ Quarterly Meeting June 24, 2019 NC Superintendent Mark Johnson & Dr. Tara Galloway Director, K-3 Literacy Requirements in Law • Kindergarten, first, second, and third grade students shall be assessed with valid, reliable, formative, and diagnostic reading assessments (G.S. 115C-83.6) – – – • Assessments shall yield data that can be used with EVAAS to analyze student data to identify root causes for difficulty with reading development and to determine actions to address them Formative and diagnostic assessments and resultant instructional supports and services shall address oral language, phonological and phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension using developmentally appropriate practices. Assessments may be administered by computer or other electronic device. Evaluation Panel shall consider (S.L. 2017-257): – The time required to conduct formative and diagnostic assessments with the intention of minimizing the impact on instructional time. – Level of integration of assessment results with instructional support for teachers and students. – Timeliness of reporting results to teachers, administrators, parents/guardians. – Assessments shall demonstrate close alignment and predictability re: State assessments. • One vendor shall be selected for implementation in 2019-20 by an internal DPI evaluation panel and approved by the State Superintendent (S.L. 2017-257, as amended by S.L. 2018-5) Procurement Process • RFP #1 was issued on December 6, 2017. Two vendors responded. The RFP was cancelled due to issues that jeopardized the legality of the procurement. – Legislation was amended to extend the deadline for implementation from 2018-19 to 2019-20 • RFP #2 was issued on September 6, 2018. Four vendors responded. The RFP was cancelled due lack of consensus by the panel and issues that jeopardized the legality of the procurement. • With approval from the NC Department of Information Technology, per 09 NCAC 06B.0316, a negotiation process was conducted with the sources of supply in order to have a solution in place as required by law for 2019-20. – Request for Negotiations were sent to the top two ranked vendors (ranked by the RFP #2 evaluation committee) in March 2019. – Negotiation meetings were conducted in April 2019. Cost Comparison Selected for 2019-20 2018-19 Recurring Cost/Student $5.70 per student $13 per student Annual Recurring Cost $2.8 M $6.3 M Initial Training Cost $76,103 Total (3-year) Contract Cost $8.5 M Startup Expenses Headsets High Contrast Reports $1 M (4/class) $100,000 (one time setup) Devices n/a $18 M n/a Goal is to have 4 devices (less than 4 years old) in each classroom. Comparison to Current Assessment Selected for 2019-20 2018-19 Time to administer a benchmark assessment 20-40 mins/student; multiple students may be assessed at once 45 mins/student(low end); students assessed one at a time Teacher Class Time Initial set-up time, Optional - listen to recording or sit with student during read-aloud portion Teacher sits with each student individually for each assessment. Additional class time is needed for students who need to be reassessed. Example: 1 struggling student can require 30-60 min. of progress monitoring every 10 days. Training Model Vendor trains everyone: Face-to-face (district/school leads) and online training in multiple formats (all personnel) Vendor trains DPI K-3 Literacy Team; K-3 Literacy Team trains the Districts, Schools, and Master Literacy Teachers Adaptive Content Yes No Curriculum/Lessons Available Yes – teacher-directed lessons (option to purchase a full curricular package) Yes – teacher-directed lessons Other Considerations Home and after school access/ use available Implementation Update (as of June 24) Training Schedule • Two parallel training schedules for: (1) educators and (2) technical support • Webinars begin today, June 24 -> 10 already scheduled • Regional face-to-face trainings -> 13 already scheduled – Begin July 2; earliest priority for year-round and early-start schools – For district/school leads (train the teacher approach); stipends provided. Virtual option offered for additional team members. – Participants may cross regions to suit their schedules. • Podcast modules begin July 15 (self-paced learning); additional modules will be released through April. Read to Achieve Funding DPI is purchasing the diagnostic assessment directly, as before. DPI has Read to Achieve funding available for implementation of the new diagnostic assessment: • Devices – each classroom should have sufficient devices to implement a work station approach (4 is a recommended guideline) – In addition to this funding, DPI has iPads available to distribute • Accessories – for example, each device should be equipped with a headset with microphone • Training expenses such as summer stipends Policy Options - Funding With changes to State Board allotment policy, DPI could make available implementation funds and future Read to Achieve funds for the following purposes: • Devices (included in current policy) and accessories as needed for refresh, etc. • Instructional supports aligned with K-3 literacy • Literacy training and personnel • Funding would be allotted based on ADM ➢ Would local superintendents like for us to pursue this policy change? Policy Options - Other • Schools may keep all Atlas books for teachers to use in their classrooms • These leveled readers may be used in conjunction with any diagnostic assessment that provides Lexile levels, including Istation ➢ Local superintendents' choice whether to continue to use the Atlas books • EVAAS growth could be determined using MOY rather than BOY for 2019-20 ➢ Would local superintendents like for growth to be determined using MOY to EOY data this coming year to allow time for teachers to become familiar with Istation during BOY?