Local kindergartners need reading boost
By TRAVIS PURSER
Express Staff Writer
A majority of Idaho students in grades kindergarten through third read at
expected levels, according to test scores released by the Idaho Department of Education
last week.
One eyebrow-raising statistic to emerge from the scores from last
falls test is that Blaine County youngsters starting kindergarten have weaker basic
reading skills than their state counterparts.
Superintendent of Public Instruction Marilyn Howard released the first
results from the pilot run of the Idaho Reading Indicator (IRI), a state-mandated
assessment specified by the Idaho Comprehensive Literacy Plan.
The laws enacted by that plan last year require the state to test
kindergartners through third-graders twice yearly to identify students reading below grade
level. The test does not indicate whether students are reading above grade level.
Statewide, about 25 percent of students have fallen behind in their
reading skills by third grade, according to the test, which was administered for the first
time in the fall.
In Blaine County, about 31 percent of kindergartners showed reading skills
below grade level. That number steadily fell for first- and second-graders, with about 20
percent of third-graders reading below grade level.
On average, 26 percent of K-3 students in Blaine County are reading below
grade level, according to the test.
District testing director Blake Walsh said during a telephone interview
that Blaine Countys scores compare favorably to state scores, especially considering
that the district administered the test to students who speak predominantly
Spanishsomething the state did not require districts to do.
Of greater concern for Walsh is the large number of children who are
entering kindergarten apparently lacking basic preliminary reading skills.
"Its surprising in this county that parents arent
preparing their children to read," Walsh said.
However, Walsh emphasized that schools wont begin to have the full
picture until results from the second IRI, given last month, come in.
"I think we need to know a lot more data and we need to see how our
scores increased, hopefully, from fall to winter," Walsh said.
Statewide, Superintendent Howard seemed comfortable with the scores.
"The results from this pilot year are not surprising," Howard
said in a press release. "We designed the scoring of the IRI to identify the lowest
25 percent as specified by law."
The purpose of collecting the data, according to Howard, is to help
districts determine how teachers skills and resources can be used to increase
learning opportunities for struggling readers.
Janet Cantor, a reading specialist at Hemingway Elementary School, called
the IRI an "excellent test," during an interview at the school last Friday.
The school relies mostly on teacher referrals to determine which students
need help, but last weeks scores, according to Cantor, brought to her attention an
additional four or five children needing help.
The IRI scoring provides a wide range of useful information to educators.
Some preliminary findings:
· Girls read better than boys at every grade
level.
· White, black, Pacific Islanders and Asians
score almost equally well at all grade levels, within a five-point spread.
· Students have trouble with the IRI when
English is not their first language or when their families move often.
· More than half of the states
limited-English-proficient and migrant students are among the students scoring below grade
level.
· Although staying in school helps
limited-English-proficient and migrant students, they still are disproportionately
represented in the students reading below grade level.
The department of education plans to use scores from Januarys IRI to
determine the amount of funds it will earmark for helping students who struggle with
reading.