Montgomery Township leaders report gains in K–3 reading skills, flag vocabulary gap

Montgomery Township curriculum leaders presented a multi-year shift toward evidence-based early literacy on May 19, telling the Board of Education that local screening and classroom measures show substantial gains in foundational skills even as the district works to raise expressive vocabulary scores.

"We are seeing important growth in our early readers," said Amy Monaco, K–4 supervisor of language arts and social studies, as she reviewed universal-screener and curriculum-based measurement results. Monaco told the board that 100% of current kindergarten students scored above the 40th percentile for letters and sounds on the district's screener and that nonword-reading ability in kindergarten was at about 81%.

The presentation, led by Fiona Borland, director of curriculum, instruction and staff development, described the district's approach after the 2023 New Jersey ELA standards change: preserve high-quality elements of existing units of study while adding or replacing foundational-reading resources where needed. Borland said the district implemented Lively Letters in kindergarten (year three of implementation) and phased in Really Great Reading/HD Word in grades 1–3 to strengthen systematic phonics and multisensory instruction. The district also adopted Word Love for explicit vocabulary instruction (K–4) and continues to use decodable texts, small-group instruction, and a reading-workshop model.

Monaco cautioned that the district's various measures are not identical to state assessments but argued the multiple local data points give a clearer picture of student growth. "At the beginning of the year, 80% of our first graders were at benchmark on the comprehensive score; in spring 83% were at benchmark even though the benchmark cut score rose," she said, explaining how scaled benchmarks can change between administrations.

The one consistent area of concern the presenters flagged was expressive vocabulary. Monaco said only 42% of kindergarten students scored above the 40th percentile on expressive vocabulary in the most recent local measure (up from 26% at the beginning of the year). The district hired a vocabulary consultant in March and has added targeted professional development and interventions to address oral language and vocabulary growth, she said.

Board members questioned reliance on parts of the "units of study" curriculum and the district's decision not to adopt a single large packaged program (for example, CKLA or Arts and Letters). Borland answered that the district used the state's high‑quality instructional materials rubric and retained unit lessons that aligned to standards while replacing phonics instruction where the rubric demanded it. She noted concerns about heavily scripted programs that can reduce teacher autonomy and student choice.

The presentation emphasized NJTSS (New Jersey Tiered Systems of Support) components: evidence-based core instruction, universal screening, progress monitoring and diagnostic assessment. Borland and Monaco said Montgomery had been using Renaissance STAR and other local screeners prior to the state's 2024 universal-screener rule and that the district had phased in assessments for grades K–10 ahead of the law.

The board called for continued transparency on how local measures map to state assessments and asked administrators to present additional triangulated data when the state releases its new outcomes. Presenters said they will continue to track spring data and follow up with the board about intervention impacts and plans to bolster vocabulary instruction.

The board's next step: administrators said they will supply the board with further data and return with information on implementation fidelity, targeted interventions, and timelines for expanding teacher training in vocabulary and oral-language supports.