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Norfolk Public Schools reviews early-literacy screener VALS, flags moderate-risk group for targeted support
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Summary
Division staff presented early results from the VALS screener, explained how students are placed in low/moderate/high risk bands and described next steps including targeted PD, reading plans required under the Virginia Literacy Act, and monitoring of a volatile "moderate" group.
Kristin McGarity, a Norfolk Public Schools staff member, presented Goal 2.1 interim measures and preliminary data from the VALS early-literacy screener at the school board workshop.
McGarity said the VALS “is a screener” and cautioned that the test’s items change across administrations, so scores show students’ changing risk bands rather than a static proficiency measure. She and Lisa Nash, identified in the meeting as the senior coordinator for the elementary English department, explained that VALS places students in three bands — low risk, moderate risk and high risk — and that the division is using fall-to-fall and quasi-cohort comparisons as well as beginning-to-end-of-year comparisons to understand patterns.
The presentation placed the district’s long-term aim on third-grade SOL reading outcomes, while using VALS results for K–2 early-literacy monitoring and resource targeting. McGarity noted the division’s third-grade SOL target for 2024–25 was 67 percent, and that last year’s pass rate was 59 percent. "So we have not met the annual target," she said.
Nash described how the Virginia Literacy Act shapes required reading plans for students in the high-risk band. "As required by the Virginia Literacy Act, the high risk band are required to have individualized student" plans, Nash said, adding that plans specify instructional indicators, interventions, frequency, implementers and family communication. Nash said the division tightened alignment this second year of implementing reading plans and is inviting more staff (teachers, Title I staff, interventionists), families and reading specialists into plan development and progress monitoring.
Both presenters highlighted a recurring finding: the moderate-risk band is volatile. McGarity said moderate-risk students often sit near the top of the high band or the bottom of the low band, producing large movement between administrations; the division plans professional development to help teachers analyze VALS subtest profiles and use that information in small-group instruction.
Speakers and board members questioned the presenters about subgroup patterns and next steps. McGarity and Nash said two student groups merit further investigation: English learners (ELs) and students with disabilities. McGarity estimated EL enrollment has grown from about 600 to roughly 1,600 students and said many are early language learners. Nash noted that students with disabilities may take longer to acquire literacy and require tailored supports.
Next steps listed by staff included continued longitudinal monitoring, deeper subgroup analysis, coaching and PD for principals and teachers, monitoring master schedules to keep Tier 1 instruction separate from intervention blocks, and targeted supports for the moderate band. Dr. Poehler, referenced by presenters as the leader who helped establish the early literacy tutoring program, was cited as already overseeing division-level tutoring resources for identified high-risk students.
The presentation and board Q&A also covered vocabulary and background-knowledge concerns, the division’s shift from PALS to VALS, and the state’s changing SOL cut scores and accountability timeline. McGarity and Nash repeatedly framed VALS as an early-warning tool to identify instructional needs, not as a final measure of third-grade reading success.
The board thanked the presenters and asked staff to return with continuing analyses, including the subtest-driven instructional strategies that are proving effective and more precise subgroup breakdowns.
