Contact Information
Pursuant to authority granted under W.S. 21-3-401, Reading Assessment and Intervention, the Wyoming Department of Education has drafted rules as directed by this statute. The statute directed the state superintendent, in consultation with Wyoming school districts, professionals in the area of reading difficulties, including but not limited to dyslexia, and other appropriate stakeholders, to promulgate rules in order to assist each school district to administer a reading assessment and intervention program and to address skills in the areas of phonological awareness, decoding and phonics, oral reading fluency, and reading comprehension / vocabulary.
Chapter 56 Rules are finalized and available here under the Education Section. These rules include the following:
- Develop criteria for instruments which screen for signs of reading difficulties.
- Approve screening instruments district use for the screening process.
- Support districts in providing evidence based intervention and curriculum in the teaching of early reading foundational skills.
- Ensure guardians are notified of screening results and if appropriate individual reading plans are established.
- Establish minimum reading assessment and intervention professional development requirements and collect district professional development plans.
- Collect data from the approved screening process as required to be reported to the Wyoming Department of Education in the predictive areas of phonological awareness, phonics, decoding words and nonwords, oral reading fluency, and reading comprehension.
- Directly support school and school districts in meeting the goals of improvement plans as required by statute in the area of professional development in evidence based literacy instruction and intervention and in identifying the signs of reading difficulties.
Informational webinars have been recorded and are available to view at the WDE PD Portal under the K-3 Reading Assessment and Intervention Informational Webinars and Office Hours course. Please register for the course, then you will be able to view all of the recordings and access the materials. Once you register, you will also receive email updates with scheduled office hours and other K-3 Reading informational opportunities.
Guidance and Support Documents
- Screening Process Rules
- Screener Rules and Process Guidance
- Screening Indicator Chart
Screening Tools Assessing the Defined Criteria must be approved by the WDE. Approved screening tools:
DIBELS 8
Acadience
Amplify
FastBridge
AIMSWeb
CUBED
Screening Tools that have been reviewed and not initially approved:
Reading Horizons Discovery
Mississippi College Dyslexia Screener
MAP Reading Fluency
STAR Early Literacy
PAST (Kilpatrick)
iReady
Early Bird Dyslexia Screener
Heggerty
Benchmark Assessment System
Please contact Kim Lane at kim.lane@wyo.gov, 307-777-7673 for questions or more information.
Screening Assessment Rating Rubric
Professional Development Rules
Professional Development Guidance
Professional Development Summary
Competency Area Requirements
Embracing Literacy Presentations/Competency CrossWalk
A K-3 Professional Development Plan template is available. Contact Kim Lane at kim.lane@wyo.gov for the template or with questions regarding the professional development plan
District Reporting Requirements and District Literacy Plans
WS 21-3-401 requires data collection on K-3 Reading Assessment and Intervention. By the third week of June each year, each Wyoming district will submit a K-3 reading report to the WDE in the form of the WDE 626 report on the state Data Collection Suite. This report will include the following requirements:
- Reading screening and progress monitoring tools
- Tier 1 core curriculum and Tier 1, 2, and 3 intervention curriculum.
- Data regarding the number of students who may be at risk of reading difficulties and those at the proficient level.
- How staff are being utilized to teach K-3 reading skills.
- Assurances regarding appropriate professional development, reports to parents, and the use of a MTSS process.
Districts are not required to submit supporting documentation. They are required to retain documentation for review if chosen for periodic monitoring. This submission takes the place of the submission of a District Literacy Plan document.
MTSS and Assessment
The early reading skill screener process is required to be embedded in a larger MTSS system of core instruction, intervention, progress monitoring, and other assessments; the assessment to intervention process. The WDE works closely with the WDE MTSS Center and suggests that districts utilize the resources and information provided in the development of an MTSS process that supports literacy development.
The WDE K-3 Literacy Guidance Framework contains information regarding early reading skills, MTSS, and other valuable information.
The WDE K-3 Literacy Guidance Framework is being updated and will be posted here when complete.
Wyoming Individual Reading Plan
The Wyoming Individual Reading Plan Template has been updated. Districts are not required to use this template. If a different format is used, it must contain elements of the assessment to intervention process including screening, consideration of other data, diagnostic and target setting, how progress monitoring will be done, and the intervention plan to meet the target. Please refer to the WY MTSS page for support, or contact Kim Lane.
Please remember it is also required to share this plan with a student’s guardian.
For more information regarding Chapter 56 and the K-3 Reading Assessment and Intervention statute: The WDE will be working to provide further guidance regarding the K-3 Reading Assessment and Intervention Rules and subsequent requirements. Please check back here for updates or contact Kim Lane for further assistance.