1. Grade Levels A. The universal literacy screener must be appropriate for students in kindergarten through grade 3. B. Inclusion of assessment measures appropriate for PreK will be considered favorable. 2. Technical Adequacy A. Evidence must be submitted to show the screener: 1) Accurately and reliably identifies students at risk for poor learning outcomes, including but not limited to, identifying students with characteristics of dyslexia; 2) Is developmentally appropriate; 3) Is economical to administer based on time and cost; 4) Uses norm-referenced or criterion-based scores; and 5) Demonstrates strong reliability (minimum 0.80 reliability coefficient), strong validity (content, construct, predictive), and clear-cut points/decision rules for identifying risk levels. B. Evidence must include peer-reviewed validation studies. C. Evidence must provide current normative data (within the past 5 years). 3. Assessed Domains by Grade Level A. Per COMAR 13A.03.08, the appropriate grade-level screening instrument shall measure, at minimum: 1) Phonological and phonemic awareness, 2) Sound-symbol recognition, 3) Decoding, 4) Fluency, and 5) Rapid automatic naming. 4. Administration Requirements A. Assessment is designed to be administered 3x a year (Fall, Winter, Spring). B. Administration time shall be brief and delivered per student. C. Assessment should include both teacher-administered and/or digital administration options and aligned guidance. D. Administration and scoring guidance provided for Multilingual Learners and English dialect speakers...
