Amplify, a company that creates next-generation curriculum and assessment programs, announced that the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) approved its mCLASS literacy assessments for the state-mandated dyslexia screening in kindergarten and first grade. Amplify’s mCLASS assessments were already approved for Mississippi’s universal early literacy screenings for grades K–3, making Amplify and mCLASS the only assessment provider approved on both lists.

“We’re excited to be able to further support Mississippi educators with mCLASS,” said Krista Curran, SVP and General Manager, Assessment and Intervention, at Amplify. “Having both universal screening and screening for dyslexia on the mCLASS platform should make it easy for Mississippi schools to address two different needs in one tool. We continue to evolve mCLASS to better support our teachers and students – these mCLASS advances to support the early identification of students at risk for dyslexia have been embraced in schools across the country.”

Researchers estimate that 5-15% of students struggle with dyslexia. The recent trends in legislation across the country are a great step forward for early screening and identification of students at risk. As of of this writing, 21 states have have enacted dyslexia screening legislation, and more states are positioned to do to in the coming years. These states recognize that early screening, along with early intervention in areas like phonological awareness and decoding, are essential in providing students with the support they need, closing any gaps, and preventing further difficulty.

mCLASS delivers what educators need to help every student read fluently and confidently. Based on over 30 years of research, mCLASS assessments dive deep, giving educators a complete view of each student and insight into student response patterns. Unlike other programs that rely on inferences, mCLASS lets educators know exactly which aspect of a skill a student is struggling with. mCLASS instruction, driven by mCLASS assessment results, provides teachers and students with targeted lessons and activities to support students on their journey to become confident readers.

In addition to MDE’s recent approval of mCLASS assessments, Amplify has served the state since 2014 through the Mississippi Data Coaching Program. The Program is designed to address the varied needs of teachers and leaders to strengthen their understanding and use of data to enhance instruction and improve student outcomes. As a result of Amplify’s work in Mississippi, third grade reading assessment pass scores have increased by 8.9% and high school graduation rates have increased by 12.4% in participating schools. Amplify is committed to to continuing to support vital initiatives designed to strengthen K-12 education in the State of Mississippi. To learn more about the MS Data Coaching program, please visit the following link. For more regarding Amplify’s mCLASS assessment programs, click here.

About Amplify
A pioneer in K–12 education since 2000, Amplify is leading the way in next-generation curriculum and assessment. Our captivating core and supplemental programs in ELA, math, and science engage all students in rigorous learning and inspire them to think deeply, creatively, and for themselves. Our formative assessment products turn data into practical instructional support to help all students build a strong foundation in early reading and math. All of our programs provide teachers with powerful tools that help them understand and respond to the needs of every student. Today, Amplify serves more than three million students in all 50 states. For more information, visit amplify.com.

Contact: media@amplify.com

MetaMetrics®, developer of The Lexile® Framework for Reading, and Amplify, provider of mCLASS®:DIBELS Next®, are excited to announce their partnership and identify the reading gains that students have achieved. In the past year, more than 1.3 million students in kindergarten through sixth grade received Lexile® measures from Amplify’s mCLASS DIBELS Next assessment. The addition of Lexile measures to mCLASS:DIBELS Next Composite Scores provides supplementary information for selecting reading materials that support students’ reading behaviors and the development of literacy skills. In the past year, more than 90% of students in every grade, K-6, improved in their Lexile measures from beginning to end of year.

mCLASS:DIBELS Next is an early literacy assessment used to monitor the development of students’ foundational reading skills. It is the only licensed mobile version of the research-based DIBELS Next® assessment. DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills) provides brief indicators of the essential skills that every child must master to become a proficient reader. mCLASS:DIBELS Next allows educators to quickly identify the needs of each student and inform next steps with instant analysis, reports and instructional planning tools. By making Lexile measures available to DIBELS Next test takers using the mCLASS system, educators can further personalize instruction with resources that match their students’ unique reading levels.

“Since the majority of reading growth occurs in the early grades, it is vital that struggling readers are identified early and receive the instruction needed to prevent them from falling behind,” said Malbert Smith, CEO, President, and Co-founder of MetaMetrics. “We are thrilled that, through this partnership, Lexile measures will be used to build and sharpen literacy skills for over a million students across the country.”

Lexile measures are used at the school level in various capacities in all 50 states. More than 35 million Lexile measures are reported from reading assessments and classroom programs annually. Recognized as the standard for matching readers with texts, tens of millions of students worldwide receive Lexile measures to help them choose targeted readings from more than 100 million articles, books and websites that have been measured. Lexile measures are also used as a tool for monitoring reading growth and progress towards college and career readiness.

mCLASS DIBELS Next provides an efficient and effective way for educators to know where their students are, what goals they need to attain to be proficient readers, and their ongoing progress toward those goals. The Lexile measure evaluates the quantitative dimension of text complexity to report the reading skills of students and the readability of text on the same scale. Together, DIBELS Next Composite Scores, instructional reading levels, and Lexile measures provide a rich pool of information to draw from when selecting reading materials that are appropriately challenging and complex to support students’ reading habits and the development of literacy skills.

About MetaMetrics MetaMetrics is focused on improving education for learners of all ages and ability levels. The organization develops scientific measures of academic achievement and complementary technologies that link assessment results with real-world instruction. MetaMetrics’ products and services for reading (The Lexile® Framework for Reading, El Sistema Lexile® para Leer), mathematics (The Quantile® Framework for Mathematics) and writing (The Lexile® Framework for Writing) provide unique insights about academic ability and the potential for growth, enabling individuals to achieve their goals at every stage of development. Connect with the organization at: http://blog.lexile.com.

About Amplify Amplify is reimagining the way teachers teach and students learn. Our products and services lead the way in data-driven instruction, one-to-one mobile learning and next-generation digital curriculum and assessment. Amplify is led by a team of digital education experts and has provided innovative technology to the K-12 market for more than a decade. As a pioneer of mobile assessments and instructional analytics, we have supported more than 200,000 educators and 3 million students in all 50 states as they begin their digital transition. For more information, visit www.amplify.com.

Contact: media@amplify.com