Part 3 of 4: Not Teaching to the Test Editor’s Note: This is the third of a four-part series on the IREAD program and its effects on students.
At Akron Elementary School, faculty and staff aren’t letting IREAD-3 put any additional pressure on them, and they’re not putting any more pressure on third-graders because of it.
“We’re not going to teach to the test,” said Principal Blaine Conley. “It’s all about instruction and working with the kids.”
In March 2010, the Indiana General Assembly passed Public Law 109 requiring the evaluation of reading skills for all third-grade students. This legislation was developed to ensure students can read at grade level prior to fourth grade, according to Indiana Department of Education information.
Third-graders who fail the IREAD-3 test in March must be retained in third grade the next school year under Indiana law, unless a student qualifies for one of three waivers or they retake and pass the test in the summer.
After the state passed PL109, Conley said it was brought before Akron’s School Improvement Team.
“Collectively, we really continue to be aware of information the Department of Education sends out. Anytime we find something new, we send it out to the staff,” Conley said.
Chrissy Mills, reading interventionist at Akron, said they also attended a state informational meeting on IREAD-3 in Plymouth.
At the same time the state was rolling out IREAD-3, literacy coach Kristen Horrell said, it also was rolling out the Indiana Reading Framework.
According to the IDOE website, “Indiana’s Reading Framework is a research-driven model for reading instruction developed in partnership with the Indiana Reading Advisory Council, IDOE reading specialists and the Consortium of Reading Excellence. The framework comprises six chapters: goals, instruction, assessment, professional development, leadership and commitment.”
Horrell said that at Akron they’ve been pushing instruction instead of the IREAD-3 test. The Reading Framework added a 90-minute reading block to the school schedule.
“We’ve made it a priority so it’s the first thing of the day,” said Horrell. “There’s been no change in our curriculum, but it’s enhanced our instruction.”
Last spring, Conley said, Akron Elementary sent out a letter to second-grade parents about the assessment and what was known about it at that point. For second-graders who were identified as needing extra help, they were told about the Reading Camp that has taken place every summer for the past five years.
Reading interventionist Inga Omondi said the Reading Camp this year had the highest attendance ever. Conley said they have enough data in terms of assessment from the end of second grade that they don’t need to test this year’s third-graders again to prepare for the IREAD-3.
“For this school, we don’t just focus on the test,” Horrell said. “What we’re all about is getting kids to read and think. We hate to put that pressure on kids. If they can read and think well, the test will take care of itself.”
Mills said the Akron faculty and staff knows its students well enough that it knows what they need.
Horrell said they have many things in place to help Akron’s students. Instead of teachers cramming test preparation two weeks in advance, teachers work with students all year long.
“We want to start from day one with effective instruction,” said Mills. And that’s with every grade, not just third grade, she said.
This year’s third-graders at Akron was the first class to have full-day kindergarten, Conley said.
“We feel really good about the reading program and how everyone has worked together to improve reading ability,” he said.
Full-day kindergarten, Conley said, has really forced Akron’s teachers to change their instruction because students are more prepared for the full-day program.
“The foundation is stronger,” said Horrell.
“Students who move in who haven’t had full-day (kindergarten) or the consistent instruction we have here, we feel like we’re trying to close the gaps with those students,” Conley said.
Also helping Akron Elementary ready students is that the Tippecanoe Valley School Corp. provides tons of collaboration time and curriculum maps for teachers, Horrell said.
Last year, Conley said, the teachers association agreed to lengthen the teachers’ day. Teachers now have two 40-minute sessions before the school day corporation-wide to meet. There’s a master schedule where grade-level teachers have prep time together to work with each other.
Mills said that allows teachers to meet with the reading interventionists or literacy coach and have their questions answered about reading, IREAD-3 or anything else.
“We communicate quite well with each other and make sure all knows what is coming,” Mills said.
During parent-teacher conferences this week, Horrell said, teachers will talk to parents about IREAD-3 as well as any concerns they may have about a student’s learning. Information about IREAD-3 also will be sent home with the parents.
“The nice thing is we’ll know they got it because we usually get about 100 percent attendance,” Horrell said.
