Fewer Than Half of Talbot's K-3 Students Started the Year at the Early-Reading Benchmark

EASTON, MARYLAND — Fewer than half of Talbot County Public Schools students in kindergarten through third grade began this school year at or above the benchmark on DIBELS, the district's early-reading screener. The figure was 43.6%, according to beginning-of-year data Assistant Superintendent Helga Einhorn presented to the Board of Education on Oct. 14.

Einhorn told the board that the benchmark is where students would be expected to be at that point in the year for their grade level, according to minutes of the meeting. She said DIBELS, short for Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills, is a screening tool that measures foundational reading skills, and that the district uses it for the state's screening requirement. Maryland regulations require schools to screen kindergarten through third graders for reading difficulties in the fall, winter and spring and, when a screening shows a child is at risk for reading difficulties, to notify the parent or guardian in writing within 30 days. These are fall screening results, not the state's MCAP proficiency scores.

By grade, 46.5% of kindergartners, 41.6% of first graders, 39.4% of second graders and 46.9% of third graders scored at or above benchmark.

The district also gave MAP, a nationally norm-referenced test, in reading and math. In grades 1 through 8, 55.4% of students scored average, high average or high in English language arts, and 59.2% did in math. Math results were lower in the upper grades: 69.0% of first graders scored average or higher, compared with 42.2% of eighth graders. Einhorn said the beginning-of-year math results were higher overall than the district's end-of-year results last spring, and that staff had not yet analyzed the data in depth.

The gaps between student groups are wide. On DIBELS, 14.8% of students with disabilities scored at or above benchmark, compared with 47.7% of students without disabilities. On MAP, 18.5% of students with disabilities scored average or higher in English language arts and 26.3% in math. On DIBELS, multilingual learners were at 17.6%, compared with 49.1% for other students. Among economically disadvantaged students, 35.2% met the benchmark, compared with 54.9% of students who were not economically disadvantaged. By race and ethnicity, 24.6% of Hispanic or Latino students, 36.8% of Black students and 53.0% of white students met the benchmark. The slides leave out groups with fewer than 10 students.

Einhorn said schools use the results to plan instruction, to form WIN, or What I Need, intervention groups, and to target small-group tutoring. Every elementary school now has a WIN block, she said. The district gives MAP three times a year, so a mid-year round comes next, followed by end-of-year testing. She told the board she would bring more of the data back during the review tied to the district's Align by 2029 strategic plan.