Schools Won't Know Passing Requirements Until Students Take IREAD
Posted
David Slone-dslone@timesuniononline.com
Part 4 of 4: Data Driven Editor’s Note: This is the fourth of a four-part series on the IREAD program and its effects on students.
School systems all across Indiana are preparing their students for the IREAD-3 test in March.
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 retakes and passes the test in the summer.
Tom Kline, Warsaw Community Schools chief accountability officer, said there have been quite a few studies done on retention.
“You won’t find any that says retention is good,” he said.
Student retained one year have a higher drop-out rate. The drop-out rate reaches 90 percent for students retained for two years.
While retention is not good, Kline said, social promotion isn’t either.
Warsaw Community Schools started preparing for IREAD-3 last spring after the state passed the legislation.
“We do believe literacy skills first and foremost are critical, one of the most critical areas of education,” said Dave Hoffert, chief academic officer. “If the test hasn’t done anything else, it’s encouraged us to look at and make sure interventions are in place.”
WCS has constant monitoring in place of students’ skills, he said. If a student is lacking in an area or has an area in need of growth, WCS makes sure resources are put in place to bolster that area.
There are three literacy coaches at WCS, including Kelly Meeks, Lisa Carpenter and Ethel Ringle. Each is responsible for three schools.
The coaches have worked within the state-released blueprint to come up with pre-tests for third-graders.
Last spring, said Meeks, the literacy coaches and third-grade teachers came up with a formative assessment built on the state’s blueprint.
Form A was administered at the beginning of this school year to track student data of each skill the state said would be on the IREAD-3 test. Those skills include beginning sounds, ending sounds, middle sounds, antonyms, synonyms, context clues, analogies, composition fiction and composition nonfiction.
To help remediate students in areas where students needed it based on the Form A pre-test, WCS has Leveled Literacy Intervention by Fountas and Pinnell and small groups, said Meeks. During LLI and small groups daily, students deficient in a skill get the practice they need to improve.
Meeks said they have data broken down by skill for each student.
“We collaborate with anyone who works with third-graders,” Meeks said. “We collaborate once a month and go over student data and how each student is doing with each skill.”
By January, Meeks said, all the skills to be tested by IREAD-3 will be covered, and students will be given the Form B pre-test. Teachers and literacy coaches then will have until the assessment test March 19-21 to further help students where they need to improve.
“The literacy coaches really turned this into a scientific process,” said Hoffert. “The goal at the end of the day is to make sure all the students are prepared.”
Waivers won’t be determined until after testing.
“We’re treating every student exactly the same in the process whether they’re eligible for a waiver or not,” said Hoffert. “Our focus is not the test but literacy skills.”
Since this is the first year for IREAD-3, Hoffert said they don’t know when the results will come back. Right now, the goal is to make sure all students pass it. Once the data comes back, however, Hoffert said they will then work on a remediation program as needed.
The state gave one third-grade class in each school corporation in the state a pilot test last year. It was created to provide baseline data for IREAD-3 this year. It created a cut score and an idea of the validity of the questions asked, Hoffert said.
However, schools were not provided any information on the results of that pilot test. The test in March could look completely different than the pilot test.
Hoffert said they don’t know what it will take for a student to pass, and they won’t know until students take the test.
Meeks said the state recently released two new skills that will be tested on IREAD-3. Those skills are homographs and suffixes. They were not on the pilot test last spring, but WCS will incorporate them into what they are doing to help third-graders prepare for the IREAD-3.
For parents, Hoffert said, constant communication between them and teachers is critical. Teachers are working hard, and they know specific data areas parents can work on with their children at home. During parent-teacher conferences, third-grade teachers shared that information with parents.
“It’s a new concept to have a high-stakes test. We’ve received a number of phone calls. The best thing we can say is Warsaw and its programs are ahead of the curve to improve skills to push toward success,” Hoffert said.
Meeks said that while IREAD-3 is a third-grade test, many of the skills students being tested on are learned in the years prior to third grade, so all parents, not just third-grade parents, need to be involved and ask questions.
Wendy Wildman Long, director of instructional support services, said WCS is not going to leave any child behind. The focus is on the whole child. The literacy coaches are working very hard to help every student.
Meeks said the administration has been very supportive in their endeavors.
“It’s been impressive to go to meetings and conferences in the state and see how far ahead we are than other schools,” Meeks said.
“The are some things legally we can’t change,” said Hoffert. “They are outside our control. Our mission is to make sure the students of Warsaw Community Schools are prepared. We highly encourage parents to be involved. We want parents to ask questions and be informed about this. We’d be more than happy to answer any questions.”
