Massachusetts DESE early literacy screening assessment dataset

Product or Programme · All products and programmes
Evidence · 2 claims (2 for) · 2 studies (2 associational), q2 · 0 of 2 report an effect size · 2 claims rest on one study

Description

A multi-year dataset of K–3 early literacy screener results collected and maintained by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education from participating grantee schools and districts.

Components

• Massachusetts DESE literacy screening assessment data collection from grantee schools and districts: Beginning in the 2020/21 school year, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education began collecting literacy screening assessment data from schools and districts participating in certain state grants, drawing on a list of state-approved commercial screener products. The analysis in this brief uses 'More than 4,000 students from the 2021/22 school year, including 28 districts and 63 schools,' with scores from DIBELS 8th Edition, FastBridge aReading, i-Ready Diagnostic, Lexia Rapid, MAP Growth, mClass, and Star Reading. The stated goal is analyzing performance patterns to inform improvement efforts and target resources. (Lemke et al. (2023))

Claims

• Early screening benchmark status predicts later performance: most beginning-of-year at-risk students stay at risk, and meeting benchmarks by end of grade 1 is associated with much higher grade 3 MCAS odds [+W]
• Early literacy screening assessments provide multiple benchmarks or performance levels defined in different ways, with no common definition of 'at risk' [+M]

Related Products and Programmes

• Massachusetts DESE statewide K–3 early literacy screening dataset (2023/24)
• Massachusetts early literacy screening assessment dataset, 2022/23
• Massachusetts early literacy screening assessment longitudinal database
• Massachusetts K–3 early literacy screening longitudinal dataset (2020/21–2023/24)
• Massachusetts early literacy screening assessment dataset linked with MCAS results

Key Sources

• Lemke, M., Murphy, D., Soo Ping Chow, A., Spencer, H., & Zhang, A. (2023). Supporting students early: Findings from initial analysis of student progress in early literacy in Massachusetts. WestEd. https://www.wested.org
• Lemke, M., Murphy, D., Soo Ping Chow, A., Spencer, H., & Zhang, A. (2023). Comparing early literacy screening assessment benchmarks in Massachusetts. WestEd. https://WestEd.org
• Lemke, M., Murphy, D., Soo Ping Chow, A., Spencer, H., & Zhang, A. (2023). Opportunity Gaps: Findings From Initial Analysis of Student Performance in Early Literacy in Massachusetts. WestEd. https://profiles.doe.mass.edu/

Page metadata

Field	Value
type	product
id	massachusetts-dese-early-literacy-screening-assessment-dataset
aliases	massachusetts-dese-grantee-early-literacy-screening-assessment-dataset
title	Massachusetts DESE early literacy screening assessment dataset
description	A multi-year dataset of K–3 early literacy screener results collected and maintained by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education from participating grantee schools and districts.
status	review
product_kind	dataset
generated	by process:settle-candidates on 2026-10-09
trust	unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content

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