Indicator
Description: While literacy is only one educational goal, children who achieve basic literacy skills prior to kindergarten have been shown to be more likely to do well in school. While literacy does not necessarily predict success, it is highly correlated with other factors that do, such as more advanced educational opportunities later in a child’s life.
Performance Measure: Percent of Kindergarten Students Meeting Early Intervention Reading Initiative (EIRI) Benchmark – measures the percentage of a subset of Fairfax County Public School (FCPS) kindergarten students who are assessed for early literacy and have met the EIRI benchmark. The EIRI—established by the Virginia Acts of Assembly in 1997— was designed to reduce significantly the number of children with reading problems through early diagnosis and immediate intervention. Not all FCPS kindergarten students receive this assessment. FCPS has guidelines for schools and teachers to determine students that may opted out from this assessment, including children with limited English language proficiency, Individual Education Program (IEP), and/or other factors.
Data:
Interpretation: This indicator has been revised from the previous reporting year. Starting on School Year 2017, and approved by the Virginia Department of Education, FCPS is administering a new adaptive assessment protocol for kindergarten literacy. The new protocol consists of a combination of two complimentary assessments, offering a more holistic evaluation of student performance and growth. This assessment protocol enables teachers to systematically observe, record, and evaluate changes in each student’s reading performance, and provides actionable insight into student needs. The indicator reported in this report is based on the Fall Assessment, which measures student literacy upon entry to Kindergarten.
Source: Fairfax County Public Schools