Ready to Read Act
Senate Bill 734, Students with Reading Difficulties – Screenings and Interventions, legislation went into effect for the 2020 – 2021 school year. This Bill states that all incoming Kindergarten students need to be screened at the beginning of the school year to determine if they are at risk for reading difficulties.

Universal Screening and Assessment of Reading
Baltimore County Public Schools screens every kindergarten and first grade student to identify if the student is at risk for reading difficulties. The screening occurs three times during the year: the beginning of the year (BOY) in October; the middle of the year (MOY) in January; and the end of the year screener (EOY) in May. The screener used is the eighth edition of the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS). DIBELS measures skills that are necessary for learning to read:

Phonemic Awareness: Hearing and using sounds in spoken words
Phonics: Knowing the sounds of the letters and sounding out written words
Accurate and Fluent Reading: Reading texts easily and quickly with few mistakes

DIBELS is made of short individual sub-tests which each take approximately 1 minute. These sub-tests are used only as indicators. Much like a thermometer is used to take a child’s temperature as an indicator of overall health, each test is an indicator of how well a child is doing in learning early reading skills. The scores tell us whether a child is likely to be “on track” for learning to read or whether a child may need some additional support. DIBELS is not used to grade a child. The information is used to help us make sure every child is on target for reading success.

Core and Supplemental Instruction: Meeting the Needs of All Students
BCPS implemented the Open Court Foundational Skills program in grades K – 3. Open Court is a research-based, comprehensive, foundational skills reading program that uses systematic and explicit instruction to help students master the skills needed for reading and writing fluency. Supplemental reading instruction includes daily instruction using Open Court curriculum with additional small group instruction. Students not meeting the benchmark scores on DIBELS will receive supplemental instruction.