Catoosa County, like many districts, focuses on equipping all emerging readers. But between detecting dyslexia, equipping parents with at-home reading strategies, and choosing proven curriculum, they needed specific literacy data that supported these vital decisions.

Early literacy begins at home—and continues with K–3 learners as they learn phonological awareness (sounds), phonics and word recognition (connecting those sounds to symbols), and fluency (reading fluently enough that comprehension can occur).

Without the development of these skills, learners are at a serious disadvantage as they progress through later grades.

While the MAP® Growth assessment provides essential insights into K–12 reading comprehension, Catoosa needed more surgical information for their emerging readers. How could they make instructional decisions to support their youngest learners?

Solution

Catoosa chose MAP Reading Fluency to supplement their assessment solution because of the detailed early literacy reports and ongoing progress monitoring. No longer limited by subjective one-to-one score sheets, MAP Reading Fluency provides objective data about a student’s reading journey, including oral reading recordings and a built-in dyslexia screener to flag students for subsequent testing.

Future

Haynes and the Catoosa team are intent on keeping the “why” at the forefront. Their team plans on increasing district-wide professional learning communities to keep teachers trained and involved in the conversation of student literacy achievement using results from MAP Reading Fluency. Catoosa understands that the biggest gift they can give to their teachers is clear communication, and to their students, a rigorous reading program for their future success.