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District expands assessment cadence and intervention tools to boost literacy
Summary
Yakima presented fall STAR Renaissance and DIBELS screening data, described three annual assessment cycles and school‑level inquiry processes, and outlined use of Read 180 and MAP for intensive middle/high‑school interventions.
Jamie Lee, executive director of teaching and learning, presented the district’s literacy strategy and fall diagnostic results on Oct. 21.
Lee framed instruction using Scarborough’s reading rope and explained the district’s use of Smarter Balanced, STAR Renaissance (now administered three times per year), and DIBELS early screenings for K–5. The STAR fall data provide an early national percentile benchmark and allow grade‑level, standards‑aligned grouping and intervention planning. Lee said fall STAR is a baseline that will generate student growth percentiles when repeated in winter and spring.
To respond to diagnostic results, schools are implementing guaranteed standards, units of study, action plans and progress monitoring in building inquiry cycles. For middle and high school students performing well below grade level, the district uses Read 180 with MAP placement tests and provides targeted phonics/code instruction in scheduled Read 180 periods; special‑education classrooms also use parts of Read 180 where appropriate.
Board members asked about middle‑ and high‑school interventions for students arriving far below grade level; Lee described the MAP‑based placement and the code‑level phonics instruction available inside Read 180.
