Posted: 5:06 p.m. Wednesday, June 18, 2014

1 in 8 fails to pass third-grade reading test

Ohio students have 2 chances left this summer; many won’t fully advance to fourth grade in the fall.

By Eric Schwartzberg

Staff Writer

    One of every eight Ohio third-graders has yet to pass the state reading test, according to preliminary data released Tuesday by the Ohio Department of Education.

    Under Ohio’s new Third-Grade Reading Guarantee, those 16,068 students are at risk of repeating third grade unless they qualify for a waiver, or pass the state reading test or an approved alternative test this summer.

    “These preliminary results show that most Ohio students have mastered the reading skills they need to be successful, but more needs to be done,” said State Superintendent Richard Ross. “We need to continue and in some cases increase our efforts to ensure every boy and girl in Ohio will have the skills necessary to be lifelong learners.”

    Hamilton City School District saw 87.4 percent of its third-graders pass the test, matching the state average, according to ODE.

    “The district was proud of the job third grade students did on the reading OAA this year, and there was a great deal of growth in third grade scores between the 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 school years,” said Keith Millard, Hamilton’s assistant superintendent of instruction.

    Middletown City School District saw 82.1 percent of its third-graders pass the reading portion of the OAA.

    “We’re right in there then,” said Debbie Houser, curriculum coordinator for the district. “If the state average is 87.4 that means that you had quite a few above that and quite a few below that, so we’re within five percent.”

    In Butler County, Talawanda School District had the highest passage rate. Of its 196 students, 185 passed the test, a 94.4 percent passage rate.

    The New Miami school fared the worst with just 39 of its 55 third graders, or 70.9 percent, passing the test.

    In Warren County public schools, Wayne Local School District had the highest passage rate. Ninety-nine of its 101 third grade students passed the test, a 98 percent passage rate.

    Franklin schools finished with 88.9 percent passing, the least amount among Warren County’s eight districts, but still outpaced half of Butler County districts.

What happens next?

    Three categories of students are exempt from repeating third grade regardless of their reading test scores —“limited English proficient” students who have had less than three years in an English as a Second Language program; special education students on certain Individualized Education Programs; and students who were retained in a previous grade.

    ODE spokesman John Charlton said schools can give third-graders one more crack at the OAA exam in reading during the week of July 7. In addition, students can also take one of the alternative tests — the Iowa Assessment, Terra Nova 3, or the Measurement of Academic Progress — at any time during the summer.

    Hamilton and Middletown school districts this week are contacting parents of third grade students who did not earn a minimum qualifying score of 392 on the fall third-grade reading OAA to inform them of their child’s results.

    “We have to turn right around and test those children that haven’t made the cutoff the week of July 7, so that’s a quick turnaround,” Houser said.

    Still, some students will not pass the reading exam this summer. Under Ohio law, those students can still take fourth-grade classes in all other subjects next fall if they are ready, but they are required to get 90 minutes of reading instruction each school day, and work with a “high-performing reading teacher.”

    If the student’s reading improves, he or she can be tested and moved fully into the fourth grade in the middle of the year.

    Hamilton students who need additional supports in third-grade reading will be enrolled in the district’s summer school program that will begin on Monday, Millard said.

    “These students will have the opportunity to take the reading OAA again in the summer, as well as the Terra Nova 3 in order to earn a qualifying score to potentially be promoted to fourth grade,” he said.

    Middletown students who haven’t made the 392 cutoff will take part in a test prep intervention program, then take the OAAs again in July, Houser said.

    Millard said Hamilton City School District strategically scheduled summer school this year to accommodate the return date of the test results.

    “While there is a short window for intervention, the district feels strongly that the interventions in place during summer school will aid in helping students grow and be successful on the summer reading assessments,” he said.

    School starts on Aug. 13. Those Hamilton third graders who earn a passing score on the Terra Nova will be eligible for promotion to fourth grade, and that score will be available at the end of summer school, Millard said. For those who do not pass the Terra Nova, promotion decisions will have to wait until the summer OAA scores are returned on Aug. 15, he said.

    Middletown will turn to the results of Measures of Academic Progress — or MAP — for its alternative assessment, Houser said.

    “Those students who have not made criteria up until this point, they could possibly hit that 392 when the test scores come back at the beginning of the next school year and then they could be promoted to the fourth grade,” she said.

Staff Writer Jeremy P. Kelley contributed to this report.