During the 2018/19 school year the Goochland County Public Schools (GCPS) technical staff analyzed grade 3 students' reading proficiency with the support of Regional Educational Laboratory Appalachia (REL AP) researchers. One set of these analyses showed associations between students' phonological awareness in grade 1 and their grade 3 reading proficiency. Specifically, students who had higher scores on a measure of phonological awareness in grade 1 (a score of 11 or higher on PALS-1 Spelling) were more likely to pass the grade 3 Standards of Learning reading assessment (71 percent pass). These results prompted GCPS instructional coaches to seek additional information from REL AP researchers about phonological and phonemic awareness to inform their ongoing professional development for K-3 teachers. To support the request, this memo describes the importance of these skills and evidence-based instructional approaches in supporting students' development of phonological and phonemic awareness.
