About 6,000 3rd-Graders Won’t Meet Reading Goal

By Jeff AmyAssociated Press

JACKSON – About 6,000 Mississippi third graders may not advance to the fourth grade, after the Mississippi Board of Education set a passing score on the state’s third-grade reading test.

The board voted Thursday to adopt a score that means about 15 percent of the state’s 38,000 third graders didn’t pass the April test administration of the 50-question computerized test.

Students who fail will get two more chances to take the test, one later this month and one during the summer. They must show a basic level of reading skill, but don’t have to reach national standards of proficiency.

“This is not a measure of proficiency and I think the public should be very clear about this,” said state Superintendent Carey Wright. Department of Education staff members said some students who pass will still need extra help in fourth grade.

It’s the first time the requirement to pass the test, enacted by the Legislature in 2012, will take effect. Lawmakers and Gov. Phil Bryant have said it’s preferable to hold back students who can’t read at a basic level to give them special attention. Some researchers disagree with that approach, though, saying failing a grade leads to higher dropout rates and the harm outweighs the benefit. Others say the support the plan but say Mississippi needed more time to prepare.

“I applaud the concept, but I think the process has been stampeded, and I’m not sure it’s in the best interest of children,” said board member Wayne Gann of Corinth.

Some board members, though, worried that Mississippi was setting its score too low. The test given was written only for Mississippi, but other national tests show Mississippi students have among the lowest achievement levels in the nation.

On the state’s old standardized tests, about 6,500 students failed to reach even basic achievement levels last year. Last year’s results may not be indicative, though, because there was a mismatch between the old test and Mississippi’s new Common Core-linked standards.

Many districts plan summer school programs to help struggling students cross the bar on that third administration. The W.K. Kellogg Foundation announced earlier this week that it would give $2.4 million to help improve teachers, as well as to provide tutoring in summer schools. The money, which will be channeled through the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, is expected to pay for up to 30 board-certified teachers to work at 10 to 15 sites this summer. Up to 100 noncertified teachers would be paid to attend and be mentored by certified teachers.

Mississippi has spent more than $38 million to help train teachers in advance of the mandate taking effect. Some other states have relied on reading coaches to work alongside teachers in classrooms to help them improve their methods. Mississippi initially struggled to recruit literacy coaches, though. The state has 53 coaches in 78 schools this year, although some districts have hired their own coaches above that level. That number is scheduled to rise to 78 coaches in 125 schools this fall. That’s about 30 percent of the 426 Mississippi public schools that teach students in grades K-3.

STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION PRESS RELEASE

JACKSON, Miss. – The Mississippi Board of Education today approved the passing score for the test that determines whether 3^rd graders are ready for 4^th grade reading instruction.

Students need to score at least 926 on the 3^rd Grade Reading Summative Assessment, which was administered in public schools statewide in April. Statewide, an estimate of 85 percent of 3^rd graders achieved a passing score on the reading test. Local school districts will determine which of their students who did not pass qualify for one of the good cause exemptions for promotion to 4^th grade. The remaining students will be retested before a decision is made about their promotion or retention.

Students who did not meet the passing score will be given two opportunities to retest. The first retest window is May 18-22, 2015. The second retest opportunity will take place between June 29 and August 7, 2015.

Mississippi’s Literacy-Based Promotion Act requires that a student scoring at the lowest achievement level on the 3^rd Grade Reading Summative Assessment be retained in 3^rd grade, unless the student meets the good cause exemptions specified in the law. This school year is the first year that a reading test is required for 3^rd graders to be promoted to 4^th grade.

“These test results clearly identify the students who need additional support and instruction to be ready for 4^th grade reading instruction,” said Dr. Carey Wright, state superintendent of education. “Strong reading skills are critically important for students throughout their education. We must make certain that we are equipping all of our students to be successful in school and life.”

The passing score for the 3^rd Grade Reading Summative Assessment was determined by the standard-setting process. As with all tests that are administered for the first time, the standard-setting process took place after Mississippi students took the test for the first time in April. The 24-member standard-setting committee included Mississippi educators with expertise in 3^rd and 4^th grade reading, school administrators, higher education faculty, members of the Mississippi Reading Panel and community stakeholders.

Key points about the 3^rd Grade Reading Summative Assessment results:

• Students who qualify for a good cause exemption will be promoted to 4^th grade and provided with intensive reading support
• Students who did not pass the test will have two chances to retake the test before the start of 4^th grade
• Students who fail the test after their third try will be retained in 3^rd grade and provided with intensive reading intervention

Key points about the standard-setting process:

• Standard setting involves expert judgment and is informed by data
• Mississippi’s National Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) reviewed detailed plans and procedures prior to and following the standard-setting meeting
• Independent experts from the National Center for the Improvement of Educational Assessment (NCIEA) and Research in Action monitored the standard-setting process

School districts will receive individual score reports for distribution to 3^rd grade teachers and students on May 8. Also, the MDE will release district- and school-level results on May 8.

For information about summer reading programs, contact local school districts. For more information about the Literacy-Based Promotion Act, visit www.mde.k12.ms.us/literacy.