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PGCPS shows benchmark gains; kindergarten phonemic‑awareness and third‑grade comprehension remain focal gaps
Summary
District staff told the Academic Achievement Committee that DIBBLES and benchmark results show multi‑year gains in reading and math but persistent weaknesses in kindergarten phonemic awareness, first‑grade nonsense‑word fluency and third‑grade reading comprehension; the district plans coaching, vendor supports and rubric alignment.
Prince George's County Public Schools told the Academic Achievement Committee on May 11 that its DIBBLES universal screener and benchmark program show measurable gains over recent years, but officials flagged persistent skill gaps that will shape next season’s interventions.
District presenters said the four‑year DIBBLES trend shows an average increase of about 10 percentage points in students scoring at or above benchmark across the grades reviewed. For the latest cycle, the district reported gains of roughly 6 to 9 percentage points in both reading and mathematics benchmarks and said math gains over three years average about 8.5 percentage points.
Officials called out three persistent subtest weaknesses: kindergarten phonemic awareness (phoneme segmentation), first‑grade nonsense‑word fluency and third‑grade reading comprehension — the latter of which has direct bearing on MCAP performance because the third‑grade assessment requires passage reading and constructed responses.
On kindergarten phonemic awareness, the presentation cited a mid‑year proficiency around 57% while noting the four‑year data series has recorded values as high as 74% at points in the trend; presenters emphasized the need for targeted instruction in phoneme segmentation and scoring fidelity. The district said it will continue partner coaching (including work with vendor Amplify), scoring refreshers for teachers, and increasing exemplar student responses to improve the automated scoring engine used for benchmarks.
The district also said it intends to revise math items for an upcoming state scope‑and‑sequence change, align benchmark rubrics with classroom expectations and expand high‑dosage, in‑person tutoring options to complement digital interventions.
Staff noted that DIBBLES is administered using time‑limited, paper‑and‑pencil subtests rather than being exclusively screen‑based, and that plans to reduce screen time emphasize a balance of high‑ and low‑tech strategies and bringing human tutors into schools. There were no formal votes on these measures; the committee requested continued updates as the district pilots CitySpan and other vendor supports.
The committee will next meet June 15; the May 11 meeting recording is available on the PGCPS YouTube channel.
