Specifications include, but are not limited to: a research partner who will work with existing early literacy screening assessment data from early literacy assessments to inform DESE’s efforts to improve early literacy instruction and achievement in the Commonwealth.; conduct analysis using data from up to 14 currently non-comparable early literacy assessments that would inform DESE’s understanding of early literacy progress and outcomes across Massachusetts, and the ways in which DESE can best support improvements in these. DESE is interested in questions including, but not limited to, trends in student early literacy attainment in MA; factors associated with variation in student reading achievement and benchmark status; associations between early literacy screening assessment results and grade three state assessment scores; and comparisons of early literacy levels between Massachusetts students and national samples; The following are examples of the types of research questions DESE is interested in addressing, : What are the trends in student early literacy attainment within and across grades K-2? Are there particular point(s) in the K-2 timeline when more or fewer students fall off track (i.e., a decrease in the proportion of students meeting benchmark across the population)? At what age or grade does the proportion of students failing to meet benchmarks peak? Are there trends in component skill attainment among students failing to meet benchmark (e.g., which skill(s) are more responsible for students failing to meet benchmarks)?
