Summary
How are schools using literacy screening data to identify students for reading support under Alaska’s early literacy policy? The Alaska Reads Act requires districts to screen students in grades K–3 and assign Individual Reading Improvement Plans (IRIPs) to students who score well below benchmark. The Regional Educational Laboratory Northwest partnered with the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development and the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District to examine how schools use screening data and other information to assign students to IRIPs and determine when students exit those supports within a multi-tiered system of supports for reading.
Key findings include:
- Most schools rely primarily on mCLASS literacy screening scores to assign IRIPs, though many consult additional data sources —including other assessments and student work — as well as input from parents, teachers, interventionists, and principals, when deciding whether students should exit IRIP supports.
- Students who scored in the “Well Below” benchmark mCLASS performance level had about a 90 percent probability of receiving an IRIP, indicating close alignment with Alaska Reads Act requirements.
- About a third of K–3 students in Kenai were assigned an IRIP during the 2023/24 school year.
- More than half of students assigned an IRIP exited the plan by the end of the school year.
- End-of-year mCLASS benchmark levels were strongly associated with IRIP exit decisions, suggesting schools rely heavily on screening results when determining when students no longer need additional support.
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