In the Spring and Summer of 2023, a committee of teachers, Reading Specialists, ESOL teachers, SPED teachers, and Instructional Coaches came together to revise the Progress Report Power Standards that are included on the Progress Reports. Changes were made to better align standards with the ways in which literacy skills are taught and assessed by teachers within FCPS. Here is a comparison between the old and new standards, as well as a guide for what teachers look for when evaluating student progress toward mastering the standard. Families with questions are encouraged to reach out to their child’s teacher for support in understanding their child’s progress report.

The Original Standards and the New Standards

Standard 1

Original: The student listens and speaks for specific purposes.

New: The student listens and speaks for specific purposes.

Nothing has changed about this standard.

What the teacher is looking for: students interacting appropriately in a variety of activities, including morning meeting, interactive read-alouds, number talks, content discussions (social studies/science), and specials (PE, art, music, etc.).

Standard 2

Original: Locates and uses information from a variety of sources.

New: Uses background knowledge and vocabulary to communicate ideas when listening to or reading texts.

What the teacher is looking for: students applying background knowledge and vocabulary during morning meeting, interactive read-alouds, independent reading, partner reading, number talks, content discussions (social studies/science), and specials (PE, art, music, etc.).

Standard 3

Original: Reads with accuracy and fluency.

New: Uses phonemic awareness and phonics to read fluently and accurately.

What the teacher is looking for: students applying understanding of phonemic awareness and phonics in order to decode unfamiliar words and aid in reading fluently.

Standard 4

Original: Reads with understanding.

New: Understands texts read aloud and texts read independently.

What the teacher is looking for: students applying background knowledge, word meanings, and context clues to comprehend text read aloud and comprehend text read independently.

Standard 5

Original: Writes with purpose, clarity, and expression.

New: Writes with clarity and expression to convey a purpose.

What the teacher is looking for: students applying different writing styles to meet the purposes of entertaining the reader (including via poetry, realistic fiction, and fantasy/science fiction stories), conveying information/facts (including via biographies, science reports, personal narratives, and reports on countries, events or key moments in history), and persuading the reader.

Standard 6

Original: Edits for usage and mechanics in own writing.

New: Uses writing conventions in handwritten or digital work.

What the teacher is looking for: students applying editing and revising skills to improve readability of writing, strengthen arguments, and express ideas coherently.

How can you help at home?

Families are encouraged to support literacy at home in a variety of ways. You can:

• Read with your students (in any language)!
• Explore new topics together!
• Ask your students questions about their day, what’s going on in the world, anything!
• Get beyond “yes/no” questions! The more opportunities students have to think and express themselves the better!
• Read a variety of genres together!
• Get “caught” reading! Modeling is important!