South Carolina Department of Education Approves NWEA MAP® Reading Fluency™ for Use by Public Schools
Contract adds MAP® Reading Fluency™ to list of approved universal screeners that South Carolina public schools can use for early detection of reading difficulties, including dyslexia.
Portland, Ore. – March 11, 2020 – NWEA, the not-for-profit provider of assessment solutions, announced today that the South Carolina Department of Education has approved MAP® Reading Fluency™ to be used as a universal screener to identify and address early reading difficulties in grades K – 3. NWEA is already a strong partner with South Carolina schools who have been utilizing its flagship assessment solution called MAP® Growth™ to measure what students know and are ready to learn next. The addition of MAP® Reading Fluency™ to the list of approved universal screeners will provide South Carolina educators with a quality tool to effectively measure reading fluency and comprehension in both English and Spanish.
The approval is part of South Carolina’s Act 213, which was signed into law in 2018. It implements a multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) that addresses the needs of the whole child – academically, behaviorally, socially and emotionally. A core component of the law is focused on universal screeners in the early grades that detect difficulties in reading such as dyslexia. National research shows that students who are not proficient in reading at the third grade are four times less likely to graduate from high school. Early detection and intervention are key.
MAP® Reading Fluency™ is an assessment solution that efficiently measures oral reading fluency, literal comprehension and foundational skills for both English and Spanish speakers. It can assess an entire class in just 20 minutes freeing up valuable instructional time. Because of automatic scoring, educators have results right away that helps them understand what’s needed to advance each student’s reading skills. The innovative assessment tool is powered by LanguaMetrics™ and includes EduSpeak® speech recognition software under license from SRI International®.
“A targeted focus on early literacy and academic growth – that’s how we want to work with South Carolina and educators nationwide,” said Chris Minnich, CEO of NWEA. “We already have great partnerships with many of South Carolina public schools and I’m excited at what’s ahead that will effectively impact early literacy for students in this state and across the country.”
About NWEA
NWEA® is a mission-driven, not-for-profit organization that supports students and educators worldwide by creating assessment solutions that precisely measure growth and proficiency—and provide insights to help tailor instruction. Educators in more than 10,000 schools, districts, and education agencies in 146 countries rely on our flagship interim assessment, MAP® Growth™; our progress monitoring and skills mastery tool, MAP® Skills™; our reading fluency and comprehension assessment, MAP® Reading Fluency™ ; our personalized learning tool powered by Khan Academy, MAP® Accelerator™; and our new assessment solution that combines growth and proficiency measurement. Visit NWEA.org to find out how NWEA can partner with you to help all kids learn.
Contact: Simona Beattie, Sr. Manager, Public Relations, simona.beattie@nwea.org or 971.361.9526.