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Idaho schools prepare to roll out new reading
test in the fall for kindergarten through 3rd
grade students |
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June 26, 2018 |
When school starts anew at the end of summer,
young students throughout Idaho will take a new
evaluation designed to identify how best to help
them maximize their reading readiness and
skills.
 And with the previous school year just ended,
teams of key educators from school districts and
charter schools across the state have been
training on the new reading test so they can
prepare elementary schools to administer the new
online test to all students in kindergarten
through third grade.
“It’s exciting to be so close to the rollout of
our statewide reading test, a crucial way to
assess our youngest students’ skills and needs
to set the stage for lifelong reading and
academic success,” Idaho Superintendent of
Public Instruction Sherri Ybarra said. “These
June sessions will train the trainers, who will
help ensure smooth implementation of this new
reading indicator when school starts.”
The new test, provided by Istation, was piloted
by more than 50 schools across the state last
year, drawing rave reviews from teachers for its
more complete view of students’ skills, Ybarra
said. This past legislative session, Idaho
lawmakers approved a statewide rollout of the
test, which replaces the legacy Idaho Reading
Indicator.
For the new Idaho Reading Indicator, each
district identified a team to attend a regional
training session in June, then lead the
implementation process in their district or
charter school. The training sessions, conducted
by Istation and hosted by the State Department
of Education, began in Lewiston June 11 and ran
through June 22 in Coeur d’Alene, Nampa,
Meridian, Twin Falls, Fort Hall and Idaho Falls.
Idaho kindergarten through 3rd grade students
will take the new test in late August and
September, at the start of the school year, and
the system will monitor students’ progress
through the academic year.
Some of the key features and benefits of the new
Reading Indicator are:
• Provides benchmark and continuous progress
monitoring.
• Assesses 5 critical domains: phonemic
awareness, alphabetic knowledge, fluency,
vocabulary, and comprehension with appropriate
subtests at each grade level.
• Provides teachers with resources.
• Can test a whole classroom on multiple devices
(iPad, Chromebook, Android, Mac, or PC).
• Saves teacher’s instructional time!
• Engaging, game like environment.
• Award winning, valid and reliable.
Some advantages of the new testig system,
according to the Idaho Department of Education:
• It can be administered monthly and
automatically for students receiving
interventions.
• More frequent on-demand assessments can be
given as needed.
• Can assess an entire class in 30-40 minutes;
subtests/probes range from 3-10 minutes.
• Test results delivered immediately
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