MOWR FAQs
For commonly asked Move On When Reading questions, please see the appropriate category below:
Question: How do I become a MOWR – ADEConnect participant?
Answer: Before the Move On When Reading portal can be accessed by anyone, they must create an account in ADEConnect.
Question: How do I update my MOWR permissions?
Answer: Your MOWR permissions in ADEConnect are controlled by your ADE Connect Entity Administrator. Permissions cannot be updated by ADE staff.
Once an Entity Administrator is set up for any school/district in ADEConnect, that school or district may have their Entity Administrator add users and assign roles for Move On When Reading.
Question: How are entity administrators assigned?
Answer: Entity Administrators should have received an email from the Arizona Department of Education inviting them to set up their accounts in ADE Connect, if they had previous roles as SAIS and/or Common Logon coordinators.
If they haven’t had previous administrative roles with state systems, and/or haven’t received any communication regarding ADE Connect, then they should contact ADESupport and request an Entity Administrator account in ADEConnect for administering permissions for Move On When Reading.
Entity Administrators must obtain training and support to use ADE Connect
- Please click here: ADEConnect to find general information about ADEConnect.
- Watch the training videos on the ADEConnect webpage for information on using ADE Connect.
To find your site’s Entity Administrator, please click here: http://www.ade.az.gov/edd/.
Question: What permissions are needed to access the MOWR portal?
Answer: There are two available permission levels for MOWR. First, a School Approver at each school within an organization must access the MOWR portal and enter and submit a school-level literacy plan and school-level literacy data to the LEA Approver, which is the district or charter level approver. The LEA Approver then aggregates all school plans for the district/charter system into one plan that is submitted to the ADE. MOWR literacy plans and data can only be submitted to the ADE by the LEA Approver (typically superintendents and charter leaders.) This is the same two-step process for single-site entities.
Question: What if I am the school Approver AND LEA Approver?
Answer: All LEAs, including single-site districts and charters, must follow the two-step submission process. That person must still enter first as the School Approver to submit the literacy plan/data to the LEA level. Then, reenter the portal as the LEA Approver to approve the submission and submit it the ADE.
Question: Where can I find information available on MOWR retention for individual students?
Answer: To protect student privacy, the School Test Coordinator, School Report Viewers, and District level roles can access this information in the Online Reporting System. Visit the AzM2 Reporting Guide for more information.
Question: What is the MOWR cut score?
Answer: You can view the AzM2 Cut Scores Scale Score Ranges. The MOWR cut score only applies to the reading portions of the exam and are not equivalent to the minimally proficient range. A student may be minimally proficient and still MEET the MOWR cut score.
Question: Where can I find information available on MOWR retention for individual students?
Answer: To protect student privacy, the School Test Coordinator, School Report Viewers, and District level roles can access this information in the Online Reporting System. Visit the AzM2 Reporting Guide for more information.
Y= Yes, met MOWR cut score.
N=No, did not meet the MOWR cut score and is eligible to be retained.
Teachers can see the student scores for the students who have been rostered to them via the paper reports for parents. View this Sample Report.
Question: Can a literacy coach or district administrator be the Dyslexia Training Designee?
Answer: Only teachers who work with K-3 students qualify to be the Dyslexia Training Designee.
Question: Can a reading interventionist be the Dyslexia Training Designee?
Answer: Yes, if the interventionist works at one campus and works with K-3 students.
Question: I have selected my Dyslexia Training Designee however, she already has completed coursework for Reading Instruction from a university, is she exempt from this training?
Answer: Only trainings on the approved list have been reviewed to meet the RFI requirements. She can reach out to the university and ask them to submit to the RFI for review or she can complete one of the courses on the list.
Question: I feel the best person for the Dyslexia Training Designee is my 5th grade teacher with her knowledge of reading instruction. Can she be the designee?
Answer: No, per legislation it must a teacher who teaches K-3 students. She can complete the trainings to further her knowledge and support students but she will not be on record as the Dyslexia Training Designee.
Question: Will there be funding to pay for the trainings?
Answer: Currently there is not funding attached to the Dyslexia Training Designee.
Question: What funds can be used to pay for the trainings?
Answer: Any funds that support K-3 reading instruction may be used.
Question: I completed a training that is on the list but I completed it in 2020. Does that count towards filling the requirements of that training?
Answer: Yes, if it is the same version listed on the approved list and nothing has been changed or added.
Question: Does the Dyslexia books study count towards fulfilling the requirements of the Dyslexia Training Designee?
Answer: No, it is a book study not a training course.
Question: Can I be the Dyslexia Training Designee for more than one school?
Answer: No, per legislation there must be one Dyslexia Training Designee per campus.
Question: My school is an AOI (Arizona Online Instruction), do we need to have a Dyslexia Training Designee?
Answer: Yes, per legislation all schools who serve K-3 students need to have a Dyslexia Training Designee.
Question: Can we have one teacher complete the trainings then use the TOT model to train other teachers in the district?
Answer: No, per legislation one K-3 teacher on each campus must complete the trainings on the approved list.
Question: What role does the Dyslexia Training Designee have with testing/diagnosing dyslexia?
Answer: The Dyslexia Training Designee will not have the credentials to test/diagnose dyslexia. They will serve as a resource to students and teachers.
For frequently asked questions about the K-3 Universal Literacy and Dyslexia Screeners, please see section 4 of this document.
Question: How does the funding for Move On When Reading work?
Answer: The LEA must submit a budget form to the ADE School Finance Department with its K-3 funding. Monies are funded to districts/charters in their Maintenance and Operations (M&O) budgets. The K-3/MOWR funds appear as a separate budget line item titled K-3 Reading. Funds are released for all LEAs upon the submission, review, and approval of their literacy plans by the Arizona Department of Education. Current school year funding is approximately $145.00 per K-3 student as shown on the 100 day count.
Question: When is MOWR funding released?
Answer: Once a district/charter literacy plan and data are reviewed by the ADE MOWR team, the district/charter entity will be placed on the new State Board consent agenda. Any release of funding must be approved by the Arizona State Board of Education. Once the consent agenda has been approved, the ADE MOWR team informs the ADE School Finance division and funds will then be released at the next available payment.
If you have questions about the K-3 reading distributions, please contact ADE School Finance (602)-542-5695
Question: When is the K-3 Literacy Plan due?
Answer: K-3 Literacy Plans are due by October 1st, along with the first assessment data submission. LEAs that do not submit plans by the October 1st deadline will be in danger of losing MOWR funding for the year.
Question: What are the deadlines for the Literacy Assessment Data submissions?
Answer: There are three (3) deadlines for the Literacy Assessment Data submissions:
- October 1st
- February 1st
- June 1st
Question: Do we have to compile all school data into one plan from the district level?
Answer: Yes. Each school’s plan will need to be entered electronically. Once the district has approved the school plans, they will be electronically aggregated into one district plan. It is the district’s responsibility to submit the district plan to ADE.
Question: When will the MOWR Literacy Plan application be available to schools and districts?
Answer: The Move On When Reading (MOWR) portal will be open in early August of each year.
Question: Does ADE have a recommended list of core reading programs and/or assessment tools?
Answer: Arizona is a local control state, which means that decisions regarding core reading programs and assessment tools are handled by schools and districts, as they best know the needs of their students. However, ADE does provide guidance for selecting a core reading program or assessment tool on the MOWR webpage.
Question: What are the components of the MOWR statutes?
Answer: There are three main statutes that relate to Move On When Reading and impact any public school in Arizona that serves any kindergarten-third grade student.
A.R.S §15-704 calls for schools to make evidence-based decisions for instruction, curriculum, assessment, and teacher professional development.
A.R.S §15-211 calls for schools to submit an annual literacy plan and triannual literacy assessment data to the Arizona Department of Education. Upon approval, LEAs are eligible for MOWR funding.
A.R.S §15-701 calls for schools to retain any 3rd grade student should they fail to meet the MOWR cut score and do not meet one of the four good-cause exemptions to retention. As well as, send home required parent notifications.
Question: What happens if a 3rd grader does not meet the requirements to be promoted to 4th grade?
Answer: A student who fails to exceed the Move On When Reading cut score on the Reading portion of the 3rd grade ELA statewide exam is a candidate for retention. For more descriptive information, view these two resources:
- 3rd Grade Statewide Assessment Guidance (Retention/Promotion/Scores)
- 2021 Assessment and Retention FAQs
Question: What happens if a third grader has completed both Reading Part 1 and Reading Part 2, but not writing. Is this an incomplete ELA score altogether or is MOWR still calculated from the two reading parts?
Answer: This is still an incomplete score because ELA requires Writing/Language, and the two Reading pieces. Our business rules state that there is no scale score without these components. Even though MOWR looks for the Reading component, there is no score for a student who doesn’t submit all three parts of the test, so there is no MOWR score.
Important Statewide Assessment Updates and Information
**3rd Grade Statewide Assessment Guidance (Retention/Promotion/Scores)**
2021 Assessment and Retention FAQs
2021 MOWR & Statewide Assessment Administration
2021 MOWR & Spring Test Administration for Parents
Question: What happens when a third-grade student fails to meet the MOWR cut score?
Answer: As part of A.R.S §15-701, a third-grade student who fails to meet the MOWR cut score on the reading portion of the statewide assessment (and does not meet a legislative exemption) must be retained and provided with more than one of the remediation strategies developed by the State Board of Education.
Question: Can a student be promoted following summer school?
Answer: A student who has been retained and receives summer interventions may be promoted to the fourth grade if sufficient progress is made and demonstrated through appropriate student data (A.R.S. § 15-701(2)(b)(iv)). For more information, visit our Targeted Summer School Intervention Guidance
**The views and opinions expressed in any third-party resource do not necessarily reflect those of the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) and do not imply an endorsement by ADE.
