CMS midyear literacy report shows first-grade benchmark gap; district says pace can be accelerated
Summary
At its May 13 meeting, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools officials reported midyear DIBELS results showing 58.6% of first-graders at or above benchmark and said targeted interventions and progress monitoring are in place to meet an annual target of 76%.
At the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education meeting on May 13, Dr. Hill, the district superintendent, presented a midyear student outcomes monitoring report showing first-grade early-literacy performance below the district's annual target.
The report said 6,092 of 10,394 first-grade students (58.6%) were at or above the DIBELS benchmark at midyear; the district's end-of-year target for first grade is 76%. Dr. Hill said, "If that rate of increase in student performance continued this year, our end of year performance would be 72%. Therefore, in order to meet this year's 76% target for first grade students, we need to accelerate our rate of growth by 4 percentage points for first grade students over last year's pace." Dr. Hill added, "We feel very confident that we will be able to meet the target for first grade" based on recent progress monitoring.
Why it matters: the board has set a multi-year goal to boost early literacy so more students are "enrolled, employed, or enlisted" after graduation, and DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills) results are the district's primary benchmark for K—2 early reading progress. The superintendent told the board the district will continue targeted supports in classrooms and for families to accelerate growth between the middle- and end-of-year assessments.
Key details from the presentation: the district reported 10,394 first-graders took the midyear DIBELS; 6,092 were at or above benchmark, leaving 1,808 additional students who would need to reach benchmark to hit the 76% annual goal. For second grade, the district reported 10,537 students assessed at midyear with 59.8% at or above benchmark and said current trends put second grade on track to meet the year's 70% target.
How the district plans to close gaps: presenters described a mix of classroom and family-facing strategies. Those include continued use of MTSS (Multi-Tiered System of Supports) progress monitoring, focused work on nonsense-word fluency and oral reading fluency during skills blocks, use of DIBELS Home Connect reports and district'provided extra practice materials (decodable readers, phonics speed drills, fluency passages), and instructional coaching by literacy master teachers. On district supplements, Dr. Hill said schools are moving from monitoring only the lowest enabling skill to monitoring the next skill up so students do not stall once the initial skill improves.
Board members pressed for specifics. Board member Byers Bailey asked why nonsense-word fluency matters; Dr. Hill replied, "If it's a nonsense word, it forces the student to focus on each individual phoneme ... and then also blend and put it together," explaining the assessment avoids sight-word guessing. On oral reading fluency accuracy (reported at 41% for first grade accuracy), Dr. Hill said schools will emphasize differentiated small-group instruction, scaffolded practice and progress monitoring, and family supports tied to the DIBELS Home Connect report.
Technology and supplemental programs: the presentation noted I-Ready as a supplemental program; second-grade students who used I-Ready regularly (30 minutes or more and roughly three lessons a week) had higher pass rates, the presenters said. Dr. Hill cautioned I-Ready is a supplement and not a replacement for strong core instruction.
Mandates and reporting: the superintendent said Individual Reading Plans (IRPs) are required and reported to the state; schools are required to create and monitor IRPs when applicable. The district said IRP completion and progress monitoring are audited at each school.
What the board asked for next: trustees asked for clearer impact reporting. Dr. Hill told the board that next year the district will shift from reporting isolated projects to reporting on integrated initiatives and outcome-focused indicators so the board can link adult practices (observations from core action walks, professional development and coaching) to student results.
Ending note: district leaders said midyear DIBELS is several months old but that recent progress monitoring done closer to the meeting date shows improvement; the superintendent said that based on more recent checks the number of first-grade students needing to meet benchmark was reduced from about 1,800 to roughly 700'800, though the DIBELS midyear numbers remain the formal reference for the midyear report.
