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May 15, 2012

State says 84 percent of third-graders passed new reading test

Maureen Hayden CNHI Statehouse Bureau

INDIANAPOLIS — Sixteen percent of Indiana third-graders failed to pass a high-stakes reading proficiency test that could determine whether they can move on to the fourth grade.

Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett announced the final results of the IREAD-3 test at a morning news conference today.

Bennett noted that 33 percent of Indiana’s public, private and charter schools hit the state’s goal of a 90 percent pass rate, while 21 schools had 100 percent of their third-graders pass the state’s first reading proficiency test.

The Indiana Reading Evaluation and Determination assessment, known as IREAD-3, was administered in March. It’s part of Indiana’s sweeping education reform efforts and is aimed at identifying students that need intensive help before they can move on to fourth grade.

“I am proud that so many students demonstrated proficiency in reading this first year of I-READ-3,” Bennett said in a statement released with the final test results, “but I’m more hopeful about what these tests will do to help those students who did not pass.”

Students who failed the test will be offered remediation by their local schools and given the opportunity to take the test again over the summer. Students who fail IREAD-3 a second time likely won’t be able to move on to the fourth grade.

For many schools, the test results released by Bennett are rosier than the preliminary results they received in early April. That’s because the final results exclude students who are exempted from some the IREAD-3 requirements. That includes students with significant learning disabilities, and some students, who because English is their second language, aren’t proficient in English.

Some of the state’s largest and poorest school districts had some of the highest fail rates. The school districts in East Chicago, Indianapolis and Gary, for example, saw less than 67 percent of their students pass the test. But Bennett also noted that nine schools considered “high poverty” schools because of their large number of students eligible for the free and reduced lunch program had 90 percent or more of their students pass the test.

The test has proven controversial in some school districts where officials fear it will mean that many third-graders will be unable to move on  to the fourth grade. That’s because students who fail the test twice would be required to take IREAD-3 again the following school year and also be required to take the third-grade version of ISTEP-Plus, Indiana’s other standardized test.

School officials fear it will be difficult to find a way to move a child on the fourth grade in every subject but reading; they say their default option will be to make those failing students repeat the third grade.

Bennett has defended the test, citing third-grade proficiency as a critical indicator of later academic success. “Our goal is to make sure all students in Indiana gain the reading skills they need to be successful in school and life,” Bennett stated in the release. “We know students who do not have the skills by the end of grade 3 rarely catch up to their peers. The IREAD-3 assessment helps educators and parents ensure all children receive the support they need before moving forward with more challenging reading instruction.”



Maureen Hayden is the Indiana Statehouse bureau chief for CNHI, the parent company of the Tribune-Star. She can be reached at maureen.hayden@indianamediagroup.com.

 

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