Berkeley County reports fall diagnostic results, rolls out phonics and tutoring supports

Donald Masters, a district staff member, opened the instructional update at the Berkeley County Schools board meeting on Sept. 22, saying he would present the beginning-of-year diagnostic assessment and the 2025 balance score form.

The district presented fall 2025 I-Ready diagnostic results for grades 1–8 and described how the data will guide instruction, interventions and midyear projections for state tests.

Why it matters: The I-Ready diagnostic is the district’s early-year measure of reading and math that the administration says will inform small-group instruction, identify students for tiered supports and project spring performance on the state assessment (GSA). Board members and staff pressed for clarity on students far below grade level and on plans for middle-school learners who pulled the district average down.

Key findings and context

- Tool and scope: For the first time the district ran a consistent I-Ready diagnostic across grades 1–8 after previously using different products in middle school, district staff said. Kindergarten diagnostic testing is scheduled to finish Sept. 26 and was not included in the current charts.

- Color coding: Staff explained the chart coding used in the packet: dark/ light green = on or nearing grade level, yellow = near/low grade level (expected early in the year), light pink = two grade levels below, dark pink = three or more grade levels below.

- Middle-school impact: Staff told the board that middle school results (grades 6–8) lowered the district average at the start of the year because those grades are taking I-Ready on a diagnostic schedule that is new to many middle school students.

Interventions and next steps

- Phonics remediation for grades 3–5: The district announced a new remedial phonics program that is linked into I-Ready and is intended to provide “one-stop” remediation across three levels (basic phonics through vocabulary and comprehension) for third through fifth graders who miss foundational skills. Staff said books and resources are in and rollout to teachers will be phased so teachers are not overwhelmed.

- Dyslexia screening and grouping: The district is conducting dyslexia screenings now; staff said they will use those results and I-Ready pathways to form small groups and tiered interventions.

- I-Ready Pro and teacher supports: I-Ready Pro will be used to group students by skill paths, generate small-group lesson plans and produce reports teachers or assistants can run in-class. The district said an academic coach and academic specialists will model high-yield practices and support teachers in using the system.

- Cluster grouping policy: Staff described a classroom clustering approach intended to reduce the number of separate lesson plans a teacher manages; teachers will still include some range within classrooms, staff said, and schools will decide on content-area grouping by local needs.

Board concerns and clarifications

Board members asked whether students who score in the red have entered the school’s SAT/MTSS processes. Staff replied students are already in a tiered intervention system and may enter SAT depending on progress and need; not every student in the red has completed an SAT referral at the start of the year.

Board members also pressed about possible retention and the effect that retained or off-track students have on peer classrooms; staff said retention policies are governed by state guidance and that the district will track progress at midyear and end of year to determine growth and supports needed.

Assessment cadence and use of results

Staff said the diagnostic is a baseline to inform instruction; the district will administer a midyear and end‑of‑year diagnostic to measure growth. I-Ready includes predictive analytics that staff said will estimate spring GSA outcomes and help plan pivots in intervention.

Summer and virtual students

District leaders noted the earlier distribution of devices this year allowed diagnostics to run earlier than prior years, which they said enabled teachers to begin small-group instruction sooner. The district said it can disaggregate virtual-school students’ data and will provide that comparison to board members on request.

Quotes

"This evening, I'm here to present the beginning of the year diagnostic assessment and the 2025 balance for our monitoring report," Donald Masters said as he opened the presentation.

"Once you've done that diagnostic ... your groups are built for you," a district staff member said of I-Ready Pro, describing its small-group lesson features.

What the district will do next

The administration said it will roll out the phonics remediation materials in the next weeks, continue dyslexia screening, deploy academic specialists to schools for modeling and report midyear diagnostic results to the board to show growth or needed adjustments. The district also committed to share virtual-school and school-by-school diagnostics on request.

Ending

District staff characterized the fall diagnostic as a first snapshot, not a final judgment, and emphasized that midyear and end-of-year rechecks will measure whether tiered supports and the new phonics remediation reduce the number of students two or more grade levels behind.