The Arizona Department of Education has approved the usage of FastBridge, a comprehensive screening and progress monitoring tool, from Illuminate Education, to support the state’s K-3 literacy initiative, Move on When Reading.
“We’re eager to build upon our existing partnership with districts across Arizona and grateful for the opportunity to be a part of the state’s robust literacy initiative,” said Dr. Shawn Mahoney, Chief Product Officer and Chief Learning Officer at Illuminate. “FastBridge supports educators by painting a clear picture of student progress, ensuring learners have what they need to be successful from an early age.”
FastBridge’s reading assessments, earlyReading and CBMreading, will be available for selection in Arizona’s menu of assessments for K-3 literacy and dyslexia screening. Both assessments can be used to address students’ learning needs with targeted, data-driven interventions and screen for signs of dyslexia.
earlyReading and CBMreading meet the five criteria required for dyslexia screening:
- Brief: Take 10 minutes or fewer to administer.
- Standardized: Are administered and scored consistently to accurately compare performance among individuals or groups.
- Norm-Referenced: Compare a student’s performance to the performance of their peers.
- Valid: Focus on the specific skill areas affected by dyslexia, including phonemic awareness, letter naming and automaticity with sounds and words.
- Easy to Understand: Can be used by educators to quickly identify students who are struggling and their specific risk level.
Over 35 districts in Arizona currently use Illuminate tools for assessment, data visualization and supporting a multi-tiered system of support (MTSS). With the Department of Education’s approval, educators can now opt to use FastBridge to support their district’s literacy plan.
To learn more about FastBridge, please visit https://www.illuminateed.com/fastbridge-arizona/. FastBridge is the only assessment system utilizing both Computer-Adaptive Testing (CAT) and Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM) for universal screening and progress monitoring for reading, math, and social-emotional behavior. FastBridge takes the work out of data analysis by offering robust, reliable reporting that identifies students who are at risk and makes recommendations for timely, targeted supports.
About Illuminate Education
Illuminate Education is the leading provider of integrated K–12 technology systems. Illuminate's innovative tools bridge the gap between instruction, assessment, and data analytics, transforming the potential of teaching and learning. With all the data available within a single platform, teachers can assess learning and link to the right resources, while district leaders can receive a holistic view of students. Headquartered in Irvine, California, Illuminate's team of experienced educators and technology specialists serve 12 million students across all 50 states.
