VALLSS (Virginia Language & Literacy Screening System)
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Anonymous
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There are always grade level reading and math benchmarks. It used to be iready. It changed because if the Virginia literacy act
Grades k-2 take VALLS. Students are labeled low, medium, or high risk. If considered high risk, they are required to get a “reading plan” and 2.5 hours of reading intervention per week. Grades 3-6 take reading iready. There is always a reading benchmark. If kids don’t meet benchmark, they qualify for tier 2 or 3 interventions. This is not new. Now the state just mandates certain things. There are some cons to the VALLS |
Anonymous
The teacher has more info on their VALLS. Ask for a ten minute phone call and they can explain. |
Anonymous
Yeah - it replaced PALs which was developed by UVA, but now they are trying to make it align more with SOR. |
Anonymous
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Anonymous
| It VALLSS actually useful? It seems to show deficits well perhaps, but it doesn’t really seem to provide much other information as far as a ceiling goes for anyone else. |
Anonymous
We primarily use it to see who needs the (required)reading plan and daily intervention if found high risk. Depending on the school, moderate and low risk kids don’t get more attention beyond tier 1 but that can be a mistake for moderate kids because they can be easily fall into high risk in January. |
Anonymous
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The I-Ready was always meant to be a screener, to find kids that were not doing well. It is not meant to report to parents whose kids were doing well.
Of course, as a teacher, I could tell you which kids were struggling without all this testing. I also never understood why kids who were reading above grade level in class were forced to complete the I-Ready year after year, even with Pass Advanced SOL scores. Such a waste of time. On top of that, I’ve never had a an I-Ready score report tell me anything I didn’t already know about a student. It would save a lot of time for everyone if teachers were asked in the third week of school what kids were at risk and plans were put in place to help those kids. Principals could be given the teachers’ evidence, and we could all just get to work, but that would mean the companies that make tests would not make tons of money. |
Anonymous
Exactly FCPS spent a fortune on VALLS....and it takes a time suck. |
Anonymous
| Quick question on VALLSS and EMAS at the kindergarten level. My kindergartener received the results of the tests and, for some categories, she had a score above the "max" available score. Other categories were marked as "N/A." Before I bother our very overworked teacher, I thought I'd ask if the results make sense and if there was an easy explanation. Thanks! |
Anonymous
I have not looked that closely at results but not all subtests were done in the winter window so maybe that’s why- not assessed? Did the teacher give the results? The window closes 2/6. |
Anonymous
| it gave a "low risk" to my high iq stealth dyslexia (?? exact contours still not known) kid. so that isn't useful but the lower score (which was still fine!) in Pseudoword Decoding helped identify that there was an issue. if the teacher hadn't really been in tune about the pseudowords being off and I hadn't pushed really hard on atrocious handwriting and writing being completely unaligned with general abilities and classroom observations they wouldn't have evaluated. so somewhat useful but I think in most cases situations like these would be overlooked as low risk, it's fine. |
Anonymous
This K teacher hates it. We finished fall testing on 10/31 and had to start winter on 1/8. Only 30ish school days in between. I am dreading the spring test. |
Anonymous
Good catch! Yes, it was the Winter assessment. The "N/As" make sense as they may not have been administered. But, I'm still baffled how scores for some subsets can be higher than the subsets' max possible score. |
Anonymous
I thought FCPS used iready for 2nd grader as part of AAP screening- is it now vallss instead? |
Anonymous
iReady was still used in grades 7-8 also |