ELA/Reading Department

Supporting Your Student's Success

Welcome to our Reading/ELA program! We're committed to helping every student grow as a reader and achieve success. This page provides resources and information to support your student's learning at home and help you track their progress throughout the year.

Understanding Your Student's Progress

How Growth is Measured? Your student takes standardized assessments three times per year (PM1, PM2, and PM3). Our goal is for each student to show growth from their previous year's PM3 score to their current year's PM3 score—this is how we measure meaningful academic gains.

What the Scores Mean:

• PM1 and PM2 help us understand what your student is capable of and allow the adaptive test to adjust to their level
  • Strong performance on PM1 or PM2 shows capability but does not count toward official gains
• PM3 is the final assessment that determines if your student met their growth goal for the year

Accessing Your Student's Scores: Parents can view assessment scores anytime through Focus, our parent portal. Simply log in to check your student's PM1, PM2, and PM3 results, along with their growth targets.

At-Home Support & Practice

We've provided practice sheets and activities you can use at home to reinforce reading skills and prepare your student for success. These resources align with what we're teaching in class and give your student extra opportunities to build confidence and proficiency.

Figurative Language Practice Sheet 

Common Language used at SHMS

Data Chat Sheets

Want to have meaningful conversations about your student's progress? Our Data Chat Sheets help you understand assessment results and discuss goals with your student. These sheets break down scores, explain what they mean, and provide guidance on next steps.

All Data Chats for FAST 6th Grade 
All Data Chats for FAST 7th Grade
All Data Chats for FAST 8th Grade

You can also view your student's scores directly on Focus and use the Data Chat Sheets to guide productive conversations about their reading growth.

---

Questions? Contact our Reading/ELA team—we're here to partner with you in your student's success!