Microsoft Word - DPS Memorandum #05-019.doc

MEMORANDUM

FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

JIM WARFORD

K – 12 Chancellor

TATE BOARD OF EDUCATION

F. PHILIP HANDY,

T. WILLARD FAIR,

Vice Chairman

SALLY BRADSHAW

LINDA J. EADS, ED.D.

CHARLES PATRICK GARCÍA

JULIA L. JOHNSON

WILLIAM L. PROCTOR, PH.D.

LINDA K. TAYLOR

Commissioner of Education

Contact Persons

Wanda.Akisanya@fldoe.org

Cathy.Bishop@fldoe.org

TO:

District School Superintendents

School Readiness Uniform Screening System - 2004-05 Implementation

The purpose of this memorandum is to inform you regarding changes to the School Readiness

Uniform Screening System (SRUSS) for the 2004-05 school year. As of this date, we are

pleased to report that materials for the SRUSS 2004-05 administration have been shipped to all

districts and that district-level planning is well underway. Additionally, the

Administration Manual-2004-2005 School Year

has been posted on the Department’s website.

This manual may be accessed by going to http://www.firn.edu/doe/sas/srushome.htm.

325 W. GAINES STREET • SUITE 514 • TALLAHASSEE, FL 32399-0400 • (850) 245-0509 • www.fldoe.org

School Readiness Uniform Screening System - 2004-05 Implementation

Early Screening Inventory-Kindergarten

will be continued as a part of SRUSS and will be administered to all kindergarten

students entering public school for the first time. This represents the third year of administration and

the final year of the current contractual agreement with Pearson Educational Measurement (PEM) for

the procurement and scoring of this instrument. There have been no changes to the content of this

instrument. In lieu of regional training meetings, an on-line tutorial site for the

made available through Pearson Early Learning to all kindergarten teachers. This on-line tutorial is

expected to be available in the very near future. Given that this is the third year of administration, we

believe that there is adequate training capacity in districts to train new kindergarten teachers on

administration. The on-line tutorial will provide an excellent resource to supplement district

training and to “refresh” experienced

administrators. As soon as this website is launched,

we will inform district assessment coordinators.

Social/Behavioral Screening Instruments

The Work Sampling System

and the Ready-for-School Behavioral Screener, (

instruments used to screen social/emotional skills, have been discontinued for use during the 2004-05

administration. The contracts for these two instruments with the vendors (PEM and The

Psychological Corporation, respectively) were not renewed for a third and final year.

However, although we will not be formally assessing this domain of development in the coming year,

the ability of young children to regulate their behavior and establish positive relationships with peers

and adults is critical to school success. Kindergarten teachers should continue implementing

strategies and activities that promote positive social/emotional skills. Information about a child’s

skills in this domain should be shared with parents during the course of regularly scheduled

parent/teacher conferences.

Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills

(DIBELS™)

™, originally developed by Dr. Ruth Kaminski and Dr. Roland Good at the Early Childhood

Research Institute on Measuring Growth and Development at the University of Oregon, is composed

of five brief measures of the important skills that form the basis for early reading success.

SRUSS purposes, the first two measures of

™ will be utilized. These measures include

Letter Naming Fluency (LNF) and Initial Sound Fluency (ISF). The administration time for both

measures is approximately five minutes.

Reading First

schools in Florida for children in grades kindergarten through

third grade for both screening and progress monitoring purposes. A more complete description of the

™ measures follows.

Letter Naming Fluency

measures a child’s proficiency in naming uppercase and lowercase

letters. Children are presented with a page containing letters in random order and are asked to

name as many letters as possible within one minute.

School Readiness Uniform Screening System - 2004-05 Implementation

Initial Sound Fluency

determines a child’s ability to recognize the beginning sound(s) in an

orally-presented word. Children are shown pictures of objects and asked to identify the picture

that begins with the sound presented by the examiner. Children are also asked to produce the

beginning sound for an orally-presented word that matches one of the pictures.

These measures provide teachers with critical information on a student’s literacy skills for the

purpose of planning instruction and intervention. Department of Education (DOE) staff members

have worked closely with the Florida Center for Reading Research and Just Read, Florida! to ensure

that the statewide implementation of

will occur in a manner that corresponds to guidance

already established for

Reading First

We understand that future Universal Prekindergarten Program (UPK) legislation will have significant

implications for SRUSS. As new requirements emerge, the DOE will continue its efforts to

effectively implement SRUSS.

For additional information, please contact Ms. Cathy Bishop, Program Specialist, Bureau of

Instructional Support and Community Services; or Ms. Wanda Akisanya, Program Specialist,

Assessment and School Performance. Ms. Bishop may be reached by calling 850/245-0478 or via

electronic mail at cathy.bishop@fldoe.org. Ms. Akisanya may be reached by calling 850/245-0513

or via electronic mail at wanda.akisanya@fldoe.org.

District Coordinators of Assessment

Exceptional Student Education Administrators

Student Services Directors

Members, Florida Partnership Board for School Readiness