Kathleen Aspiranti, Ph.D., NCSP
Assistant Professor
School Psychology Program
Youngstown State University

David Makara, M.Ed.
Graduate Assistant
School Psychology Program
Youngstown State University

Angela Hilton-Prillhart, Ph.D., NCSP
Associate Professor and Chair
Area of Education
Milligan College

The ability to read is an essential skill enabling access to information and provides the indispensable foundation needed to become an effective thinker and communicator. Unfortunately, in schools across the United States, including Ohio, the reading progress of students have stagnated. According to the Ohio Department of Education (2018), only 38% of Ohio’s fourth graders and 36% of eight graders read at or above the “proficient” level given the results of the 2017 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). These scores have remained constant since the first administration of the NAEP in 2007, with scores fluctuating from 34% to 39% (ODE, 2018).

According to the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2015, schools are federally mandated to assess students in reading, mathematics, and science in the following grade spans: Grades 3-5, grade 6-9, and grade 10-12 (USDOE, 2018). Specifically, in Ohio students in grades K-3 participate in diagnostic assessments to prepare them to meet the requirements set under the 3rd Grade Reading Guarantee. This state initiative is mandate requiring students to perform on grade-level in reading by the end of 3rd grade, and is measured by a state-set minimum score on an approved ELA assessment (ODE, 2018). As an extra support for students in early childhood, Ohio mandates that all students in Kindergarten, Grade 1, and Grade 2 are administered a diagnostic test at least once annually in reading (ODE, 2018). It is the hope that through the administration of early diagnostic assessments, educators will be better equipped to use the data from these assessments to support the individual reading development of all students.