We hope you found rest and refreshment this summer and feel excited about the upcoming year. Back-to-school season is a busy time, and you probably have a lot on your mind.

As your partner in education, we want you to know that Amplify is here to help. We recognize that schools are operating under a variety of teaching scenarios. The mCLASS^® team is here to provide continued guidance and support for assessing all of your students’ instructional needs.

Whenever possible, we recommend administering teacher-led observational assessments in person. However, we have included guidance for conducting teacher-administered assessments remotely. You’ll find our remote and hybrid resources available for you at start.amplify.com—simply select your state and choose the mCLASS page. 

There, you’ll also find resources to help you access and use the platform, details on materials and setup, caregiver support, answers to frequently asked questions, and more. 

We know your hands and schedule are full this time of year, so we hope this information will be valuable to you in the weeks and months ahead. Watch for lots more to come on start.amplify.com.

A new DIBELS 8th Edition feature is releasing this month—student Lexile scores will be available in classroom reports. The Lexile scores will provide additional insight about the student’s reading ability and growth over the academic year.

And if you're looking for a fun and interactive way to welcome your students back to school in style, just download this fun card for your students to fill out as they return for the school year!

Attention grade 5 teachers using DIBELS^® 8th Edition

The grade 5 Beginning of Year (BOY) Benchmark passage for Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) entitled “Breathing” has been updated. The first sentence has been removed from the passage. Before assessing your fifth grade students, please be sure you are using the latest version, which will be available for download in the weeks ahead from the University of Oregon. You can also find a link to the correct passage when you click the Assess icon for BOY ORF from the mCLASS Dashboard. Alternatively, we ask you to simply cover the first sentence of the original passage before presenting it to students.

Our Amplify Reading + mCLASS Facebook group is a community of educators from across the country. In this space we share best practices, ideas, and support on everything from implementation to instruction. 

Join today and get connected. Who knows, you might have an opportunity to get in on some giveaways! We recently asked what book(s) are on your summer reading list and Patty Gardner was our contest winner!