Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) has shown progress in its goal of preparing students to read by the time they reach third grade, however, significant gaps remain among Black and brown students according to the Fall 2023 literacy assessment results released in December.
While the results show a clear increase in the percentage of Black and brown students who are reading at or above the benchmark, 38.5% of Black or African American students and 65.3% of Hispanic/Latino students were still below or well below the benchmark. Compare that to 31.3% of white students, 30.1% of students of two or more races and 22.6% of Asian students, below or well below the benchmark.
In the 2022-2023 school year, 34.6% of students enrolled at MCPS were Hispanic/Latino, 24.4% were white, 21.7% of students were Black or African American, 13.8% were Asian and around 5% were two or more races. Over 160,000 students are enrolled at MCPS.
“If you look at this data—yeah, we can talk about improvement—but I’ve got 40% of black kids and 60 to 70% of Latino kids are failing,” said Byron Johns, the co-founder of Black and Brown Coalition for Educational Equity and Excellence (BBC). “… We certainly can’t call that anything but alarming.”
The coalition is a county-based group made up of more than 30 organizations to advocate for educational equity for Black and brown MCPS students, according to its website.
Johns explained that students from kindergarten through second grade are primarily in school to learn to read, but once they reach third grade, students are reading to learn. According to Johns, students who fall behind should receive intensive support and intervention.
In December, MCPS touted the improved Fall 2023 literacy results: “More MCPS students in kindergarten through second grade are meeting or exceeding reading benchmarks this fall, according to the latest state assessments,” the district wrote in a press release.
To track literacy rates the district utilizes tools such as the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) and Lectura (made for students in one-way and two-way immersion programs). The assessments play a big role in how educators understand student progress and identify areas for intervention and support.
According to Fall 2023 DIBELS assessment results, the percentage of kindergarteners at or above benchmarks in the assessment increased 2.9 percentage points (47% to 49.9%) from Fall 2022 to Fall 2023. For first graders that percentage increased 5.5 percentage points (52.5% to 58%). And for second graders the percentage increased 4.4 percentage points (56% to 60.4%).
At One-Way Immersion and Two-Way Immersion programs, students K-2nd grade who took Lectura assessments saw positive gains as well. In Fall 2023, 58.3% of kindergarteners (9.8 percentage point increase), 50.6% of first graders (11.7 percentage point increase) and 51.% of second graders (5.6 percentage point increase) scored at or above benchmarks.
According to Melaika Brown, a supervisor of Elementary English language arts in the department of Pre-K-12 Curriculum, the assessments are administered three times per school year: once in the fall, winter and spring. Early literacy is a vital and “foundational” skill for the youngest learners, Brown said, and “sets the tone for [students’] educational trajectory.”
Johns, who is the chair of the Education Committee and Parent’s Council of the Montgomery County chapter of the NAACP, called the latest literacy data from MCPS “troubling” but warned that the improvements shouldn’t overshadow the areas where support is needed.
In November, the BBC hosted a community forum highlighting the need to increase the levels of Black, brown and low-income reading on grade level. According to Johns more than 800 Black and brown families and caregivers attended the forum.
In a statement to MoCo360, MCPS spokesperson Aisha Mbowe wrote that “there is still room for improvement. … We have seen gains across the board including for our black and brown communities. We will continue to apply these strategies and partner with our families and stakeholders to continue building on those gains.”
Mbowe wrote that this year, the district has homed in on three areas to address their challenges: professional learning, instruction and assessment. According to Mbowe, the district has already made investments in the first two areas by providing training to thousands of elementary school teachers over the summer in new approaches to reading instruction.
“As part of the ongoing training, teachers are supported with intentionally looking at student data and identifying the strengths and needs of students to plan instructional next steps,” Mbowe wrote. “This includes looking [at] specific groups of students including Emergent Multilingual Learners, students receiving special education services and our [B]lack and brown students. Schools also receive support with how to actively plan for and engage students in the learning.”
Johns and BBC co-founder Diego Uriburu published an opinion piece on MoCo360 highlighting a handful of ways the district could aid parents and guardians in preventing their children from falling behind. One of the main calls to action was an early warning system that helps parents understand their child’s report card, reading levels and where intervention is needed.
The BBC also urged MCPS to “develop detailed reading success plans for any elementary or secondary student not meeting grade level reading benchmarks,” and, “establish more direct communication channels with parents to keep them updated and informed.” Overall, the coalition’s recommendations aim to increase parent engagement and advocacy in their child’s education, Johns explained.
Changes in literacy instruction
The latest improvements in literacy development are a testament to changes the district has made to its literacy instruction within the last school year, according to Brown. Those changes include:
- Adoption of the Science of Reading to instruction and implementation Really Great Reading.
- The Science of Reading is a body of research that informs “how proficient reading and writing develop; why some have difficulty; and how we can most effectively assess and teach and, therefore, improve student outcomes through prevention of and intervention for reading difficulties,” according to The Reading League.
- Really Great Reading is an evidence-based reading instruction that aims to help students master foundational reading and vocabulary skills
- Providing training to all teachers from pre-K through grade five in the new reading/development skills.
- DIBELS assessment gives insight into student literacy rates but also highlights areas of mastery or needed improvement for individual students.
Through adopting the Science of Reading approach, Brown explained that the new body of research has helped MCPS shift instruction to focus on having students (K-2) master foundational literacy skills.
The Science of Reading combines multiple fields of research—such as cognitive psychology, communication sciences, developmental psychology, linguistics and neuroscience—to understand the brain as it learns how to read, according to The Reading League.
Brown said that according to the research, for about 40% of children, learning to read and write comes quickly, while the other 60% of students are expected to need explicit instruction.
Brown acknowledged that it was clear from MCPS’ early literacy data that many Black, brown, Hispanic and Latino students from kindergarten to second grade have not demonstrated proficiency. However, she is hopeful that the district can continue to improve literacy rates and close the gap through improved instruction.
“What the research says is that with the right type of instruction, the majority of children will learn to read. And so that’s what we’re moving towards,” Brown said.
There is also a growing number of young students for whom English isn’t their first language – MCPS categorizes these students as emerging multilingual learners (EML). Brown said the growth of MCPS’ EML population has influenced the district to seek increased investment ensuring teachers know how to teach them.
“We also recognize, particularly with our emerging multilingual learners, that oral language development is incredibly important because they’re now learning a second language. And so that second language plays into it,” Brown said. “… As they’re engaging in learning they may not necessarily understand right away what’s happening so teachers need to be able to support around their oral language development.”
Winter DIBELS and LECTURA assessments are administered by teachers throughout the first month of the year from Jan. 3 to Feb. 2, according to an MCPS assessment calendar. Mbowe did not provide the date on which those results will be released.
Johns hopes that MCPS will focus on investing in intervention and support systems for students, especially older students who read below grade level, such as in-school and after-school reading programs. He said that some interventions may look like repeating a grade level but believes the district must also think creatively to help students.
“We’ve got a long, long way to go to get these students on track and that’s going to take dedicated, focused effort by the district, by our teachers. And it’s going to take investment in managing and monitoring,” Johns said.
“And that’s where, you know, we are really pushing. Pushing to make sure that parents are aware and are advocating for their kids to get the kind of support they need.”