Video: Ackerman Elementary Recognized For Literacy Success

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ACKERMAN, Miss. (WCBI) – State requirements are being raised this year for third grade elementary school students.

They now have to take a new reading assessment to make sure they are ready to advance to the next level.
That test begins Friday for many but one local school district is getting attention for their efforts in preparing their students for the mandated test.

This is the first year third graders will take the required reading state test.

The assessment is designed to make sure students are reading on the correct level and ready for the fourth grade.

Ackerman Elementary School started demanding more from its younger students.

Now, that planning is paying off.

“We have kind of upped our requirements. About five years ago we changed to where in first and second grade, people were changing to a 10 point scale to where failing was a 60. What we did was changed in the first and second grade to where you have to have an 80 in order to pass,” said Ackerman Elementary Princpial, Glen Blaine.

Third graders are taking weekly practice tests, similar to the one they’ll see on Monday.

The school has also implemented an early intervention program for struggling students.

Principal Blaine says early detection is key to future success.

“Regardless of a state test, we want to make sure they’re prepared for fourth grade. So, if anybody has any type of weaknesses, we’re pulling those out and we have an interventionist, so they’re going to the regular reading teacher as well as coming out to a reading interventionist,” said Blaine.

With the new strategies in place, Blaine says teachers were prepared when the new requirements were announced.

“We had no idea this test was coming, so when we were told about the test, we all kind of looked at each other here in Choctaw and said ‘ well we made a great move 5 years ago when we upped our standards,'” added Blaine.

Students who do not pass the test the first time will have two opportunities to retest.