Arizona Department of Education Names i-Ready® Assessment an Approved Universal Literacy and Dyslexia Screener

NORTH BILLERICA, Mass., January 27, 2022—The Arizona Department of Education (ADE) recently named Curriculum Associates’ i-Ready Assessment as an approved universal literacy and dyslexia screener for the 2022–2023 school year. With this approval, schools across the state can use the online Diagnostic and offline literacy assessment tasks to screen for risk factors associated with dyslexia. This dyslexia screening process is part of Arizona’s Move on When Reading policy, which is designed to provide students with evidence-based, effective reading instruction in order to position them for success as they progress through school, college, and career.

“As a longtime partner to the Arizona education community, Curriculum Associates developed dyslexia screener items specific to the needs of Arizona students as required by state law,” said Rob Waldron, CEO of Curriculum Associates. “This recent approval by the ADE reinforces the power and validity of our assessment in identifying potential risk factors for dyslexia, which is necessary so educators can provide the specialized supports students need to succeed.” 

According to the ADE, Arizona students in Grades K–3 will be given a universal literacy and dyslexia screener within the first 45 calendar days of the school year and will also be screened during the winter and spring benchmark periods. Each benchmark data set will then be submitted to ADE’s Move on When Reading team during specified dates throughout the school year.…Read More

Arizona Department Of Education And ASU Prep Digital Develop Three-Year Partnership To Bolster Math Outcomes

ARIZONA – July 12, 2021 – ASU Prep Digital today announced a new $9 million, three-year partnership with the Arizona Department of Education to address challenges students are experiencing with math education in the state. The key focus of the partnership is a new Math Momentum program, designed to help middle schools increase math learning outcomes.

The current AzMERIT passing rate percentage for eighth-grade math overall (Arizona students who scored as proficient or highly proficient) was only 41% in 2020, according to the Arizona Education Progress Meter, a measuring tool that uses a series of metrics to show where there is work left to do with education in the state. Co-created by Expect More Arizona and the Center for the Future of Arizona, the Arizona Education Progress Meter has a goal of boosting the eighth-grade math AzMERIT passing rate percentage to 69%.

“With year after year of stagnant math proficiency growth, it is time for Arizona to invest in next-generation learning environments and student math literacy,” said Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman. “By succeeding in math, students also build important critical thinking skills. This exciting partnership with ASU Prep Digital will allow students from across Arizona to catch up and thrive.”…Read More

Arizona Common Core Standards spur focus on parent involvement

The Republic reports that school course material in Arizona will be more difficult this year, not only for students but for their parents. It is two weeks into the school year in the Chandler Unified School District, and teacher Karen Meyer already has sent home three newsletters to the parents of her Tarwater Elementary School third-graders. They contained instructions for reinforcing what the kids learned during the day: Number sequences, phonics, grammar, spelling words and a 20-minute independent reading assignment…

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