New Hanover County Schools Equip
Teachers with 21st Century Tools to Help All K-2 Students
Advance in Reading
Continuing its commitment to 21st century teaching and learning,
New Hanover County Schools has partnered with Wireless
Generation, a leading education and technology company, to help
all of its K-2 students make progress in reading. This spring,
elementary teachers in 25 schools will begin using Wireless
Generation's mCLASS:Reading 3D, a handheld computer-based
assessment that enables them to easily and efficiently monitor
students' learning progress, understand their strengths and
challenges, and provide the right instruction at the right time
for every child.
In the past, New Hanover County teachers have given short
assessments during the school year to track student progress - a
widely used practice known as "formative assessment."
Traditionally, these assessments are given using paper and
pencil, a labor-intensive process that takes significant
instructional time away from the classroom. Research shows that
doing formative assessment leads to significant learning gains,
if it is done frequently during the school year.
With mCLASS:Reading 3D, teachers can easily and efficiently
conduct formative assessments, as often as every two weeks for
students at risk. Teachers receive step-by-step guidance through
the assessment right on the screen of a handheld computer. While
students perform various reading tasks with books or other
materials, teachers record responses on the handheld. The
handheld device automates timing and scores the assessments
instantly, providing "real-time" information on student
instructional needs. When the handheld is "synced" to a
web-connected computer, the data is uploaded to a secure website
where teachers and administrators access clear, detailed reports
on individual students, classes, grades, and schools.
mCLASS:Reading 3D provides New Hanover County schools with two
assessments that together support the teaching and learning of
K-2 students at every level of skill development, from beginning
reading to proficiency and beyond. The research-based Dynamic
Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS(r)) alerts
teachers when students are at risk, and enables close, frequent
monitoring of their progress toward mastering basic skills.
Reading Records enable teachers to probe the reading
strategies and comprehension of students at all levels as they
read authentic fiction and non-fiction text. Teachers also use
Reading Records to monitor progress and promote the ongoing
development of skills and comprehension that students need to
transition from "learning to read" to "reading to learn."
In addition to making formative assessment feasible for busy
teachers, New Hanover County is focused on helping educators use
student data to make good decisions about the right instruction
for each child. Teachers will use mCLASS Now What? Tools, online
tools which assist in interpreting data and grouping students
for appropriate follow-up instruction. mCLASS Item-Level Advisor
analyzes each individual student's DIBELS responses and shows
his or her teacher the significant error patterns and what they
mean. mCLASS Small Group Advisor places students in groups based
on what assessment results reveal about their needs, and the
teacher can adjust the groups based on his/her judgment and
knowledge. Finally, mCLASS Home Connect helps teachers explain
to parents in clear terms what assessment results mean and
suggest appropriate reading activities to do at home.
"Our teachers are experienced with both reading records and
DIBELS. As a result, we recognized both the power of the
assessments and the power of the mCLASS system, which is truly a
21st century teaching tool in its efficiency and the richness of
the information it provides," said Emma H. Jackson, Executive
Director of Instruction for New Hanover County Schools. "mCLASS:Reading
3D is the ideal solution for us, helping us to take our proven
practices to the next level and raise the level of achievement
for every child, from the struggling learner to the student
reading above grade level."
"We are honored to partner with New Hanover County Schools, a
district with an unwavering commitment to excellent teaching and
successful learning in every classroom," said Debbie Owens,
Executive Director of Educational Partnerships at Wireless
Generation.
