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Newport-Mesa board adopts MCAS (DIBELS) reading screener after literacy presentation
Summary
After a detailed early-literacy briefing showing gains in TK and first-grade measures, Newport-Mesa Unified School District trustees voted unanimously to adopt MCAS (DIBELS edition) as the district reading-difficulty screener for K 2 and to expand use to grades 3—.
The Newport-Mesa Unified School District board voted unanimously June 10 to adopt MCAS with the DIBELS suite as its K 2 universal reading-difficulty screener after a staff presentation showing measurable early-literacy gains.
Dr. Laurie Hernandez, the district's early-literacy lead, told trustees the district has trained 150 teachers in LETRS and seen strong early indicators: "this year, 80 percent of our students who attended one of our TK programs entered with first sound fluency," she said, compared with "63 percent of students who did not attend our TK program." Hernandez and her team recommended MCAS (DIBELS edition) following a brief pilot that compared four state-approved screeners and eliminated options that lacked kindergarten coverage or repeat assessments. Staff noted the MCAS platform produces normed, parent-facing reports and immediate results.
Staff described practical rollout details: full-time support teachers would serve as the district's first assessors with iPads as the preferred device because they allow assessors to engage with students while collecting results; the district plans three screening windows per year and would use the midyear window for state reporting. Jamie Nye and Maggie Dodge, who participated in the pilot, described MCAS as close to the district Acadience measures but with more automated scoring and parent reports.
Trustees asked about multilingual learners and special education. Krista (multilingual TOSA) explained four pathways for English learners, saying students would be assessed in English if they have sufficient English proficiency, or in Spanish where the student is in a Spanish dual-immersion cohort. Jamie Nye explained IEP and 504 exceptions and noted teams would use alternate assessments where recommended.
Trustee Anderson asked how data would be shared with parents; Hernandez said the vendor provides parent reports in English and Spanish and staff are negotiating additional translations and training for principals to interpret the reports. "The parent reports come in English and Spanish," Hernandez said, and district staff plan supplemental translations where needed.
The board approved the recommendation in item 21A by roll-call vote (five yes). Staff said the system will also be used in grades 3— to create a single longitudinal digital record of students' reading progress and to trigger progress-monitoring suggestions automatically.
The board directed staff to proceed with training plans and communication strategies for parents and principals; no formal motion to change the timeline was offered. The adoption decision is effective for the coming school year.
