This article is part two of a three-part series focused on early literacy instruction in Hockinson School District. In this article, HSD Director of Teaching & Learning Jennifer Sawyer shares an update on Spring 2026 literacy assessment results.
Part one of the series highlighted how Hockinson School District updated its elementary reading program to better align with current research on how students learn to read. In part three later this school year, we will explore how strong reading skills in elementary school support student success in middle school, high school, and beyond.
The latest literacy assessment data was collected during March and April, with a final round of assessments scheduled for the end of the school year.
“Our commitment to explicit, systematic literacy instruction is paying off,” said HSD Director of Teaching & Learning Jennifer Sawyer. “These snapshots show our students making incredible strides in the critical skills they need to become proficient readers.”
Student Growth Highlights
This spring’s literacy assessment results show a strong trend of growth for young students across multiple early literacy measures.
In the kindergarten letter identification assessment, students meeting or exceeding the standard grew from 59% in Fall 2025 to 98% in Spring 2026.
In the third grade fluency assessment, students meeting or exceeding the standard grew from 52% in Fall 2025 to 72% in Spring 2026.
In the first grade decoding survey, students meeting or exceeding the standard grew from 40% in Fall 2025 to 78% in Spring 2026.
In the first grade decoding survey, the percentage of students testing below standard decreased from 29% in Fall 2025 to just 4% in Spring 2026. These students will continue to receive extra support and focused learning resources.
Just 1% of kindergarten students scored below standard in letter identification in Spring 2026. These students will continue to receive extra support and focused learning resources.
Supporting Literacy Growth at Home
Families play an important role in helping students maintain reading progress over the summer months.
“The biggest thing that families can do with their students to maintain these incredible gains over the summer is to read with their child every day,” Sawyer said. “Without daily reading, these skills will lapse and students will spend precious time relearning skills.”
Families are encouraged to support literacy at home throughout the school year and over the summer:
Read to and with their child regularly
Talk together about books and stories
Visit the library or bookstore together
Sing songs and play rhyming games
Practice letters, sounds, and high-frequency words
Build vocabulary through everyday conversation
Encourage creativity through storytelling and play
Model a love of reading at home
“Our hope is to pick back up in the fall and keep growing forward,” said Sawyer.