Update: Universal Reading Screening in California
In 2023, the California legislature passed SB 114, which included two key features: a requirement for annual universal reading screening of students in California schools in grades K-2, and the creation of a list of approved screening instruments. With passage of the bill, California became the 41st state to adopt a universal screening initiative to identify young students at risk for reading difficulties. Here is a look at the state’s implementation timeline and how screening results will be used.
What is the state’s timeline for implementing screening?
A panel of nine people was selected by the California State Board of Education to review and choose a list of screening instruments. According to the Board’s website, the deadline for the panel to select the approved assessments is December 31, 2024. After that, school districts and other local education agencies (LEAs) will have until June 30, 2025, to adopt the assessments they will use. Screenings are to begin no later than the 2025-26 school year. In addition, $25 million has been approved in the state budget for professional development surrounding the implementation of these annual reading screenings.
How are the screening tools being evaluated?
According to information on the California Department of Education website, the screening instruments will be judged on a variety of criteria. They must be evidence-based and culturally, linguistically and developmentally appropriate. The screenings must assess pupils for risk of reading difficulties by targeting appropriate underlying skills. The screenings must also be brief tools that can be administered by a trained school employee.
How will the screening findings be used?
Screenings will be part of a school’s comprehensive strategy to inform individualized instruction, measure a pupil’s progress, identify learning needs, and enable parents and teachers to discuss students in a more informed way. The screenings will be part of a broader process that further evaluates a student’s needs and progress, identifies support for classroom instruction, including possible individual intervention, and allows for further diagnosis if concerns are not resolved.
Is screening a diagnostic tool?
State education leaders have made it clear that these screenings will not be considered an evaluation or a diagnostic tool for eligibility in special education. School districts will be tasked with notifying parents of the screenings, handling requests for exemptions, and using the results appropriately, including defining next steps. Districts and other LEAs will also make decisions about when to conduct the screenings and how to notify parents of the results. Students who are identified as English learners can be screened in their primary language, if the instrument is available. If that is not possible, educational and developmental histories as well as literacy progress will be used to make decisions about these students.
What happens if a screening identifies an at-risk student?
After screening, local educational entities will be responsible for providing supports and services for those at risk. These services may include evidence-based literacy instruction, progress monitoring, one-to-one or small group tutoring, and if needed, further evaluation or diagnostic assessment.
More to come!
California has made a great step forward by initiating universal literacy screening for all K-2 students by the 2025-26 school year. Research has shown that the rapid growth of the brain and its response to instruction in the primary years make the time from birth to age eight a critical period for literacy development (Nevills & Wolfe, 2009). Consequently, it is essential to identify struggling students as soon as possible to “catch them before they fall” (Torgesen, 1998).
Check the IDA NorCal website for updates on the approved screeners as they become public. Information is also available at https://www.cde.ca.gov/be/cc/rd/.
–by Nancy Redding, M.Ed.