PALS assesses the foundational skills that students need in order to achieve the language arts goals outlined in state academic standards. By “identifying” students who do not have these foundational skills, PALS makes it possible to ensure that these students receive needed intervention to catch up. Both PALS assessments and PALS Electronic Lesson Plans are closely aligned with most state curricula. To make sure students reach end-of-year goals, use PALS data to determine students’ specific areas of instructional need. If you are using the most current PALS data to create small group lesson plans that target students’ needs with developmentally appropriate instruction, then students will progress at a faster rate, and be better prepared to meet the end of year reading goals.