The Idaho Department of Education announced this week the 2007 Idaho Reading Indicator showed "the majority of Idaho students are reading at grade level in the early years," said Melissa McGrath, public information officer for the Department of Education.
The announcement came on the heels of spring 2007 Idaho Standard Achievement Test results showing a statewide decline in scores for language skills.
"Language took a hit in every district in the state," said Margo Healy, the state Board of Education Idaho Standard Achievement Test program manager.
"The good news is the spring 2007 IRI (Idaho Reading Indicator) scores show most of Idaho's students are reading at or above grade level," said Tom Luna, superintendent of public instruction. "However, our goal must be to get every student reading at grade level, and I am concerned that one-third of our third-grade students have still not reached that goal."
The Idaho Reading Indicator measures students' reading skills in kindergarten through third grade and is designed to help "teachers quickly identify students who are struggling in reading so they can provide them with the remediation necessary to bring them up to grade level," McGrath said.
The Idaho Legislature allocates $2.8 million a year for the test, more than $1 million of which goes toward providing assistance for students who struggle. The test is administered three times a year.
Results from spring 2007 show that in kindergarten 80 percent of students read at grade level. That number drops to 71 percent in first and second grades and by third grade 61 percent of students statewide read at grade level.
Luna noted the high score among kindergarten students and "applauded the dedicated parents in Idaho for getting their students ready for kindergarten," McGrath said.
"Reading is the cornerstone of all learning," Luna said. "And we know if students are not reading at grade level by the time they leave third grade, seven out of eight will never catch up despite our best efforts."
In June, the State Board of Education approved a new Idaho Reading Indicator exam and a new company to administer the test for the 2007-2008 school year. The new exam was piloted in schools last year. A committee of department officials, teachers, testing coordinators, principals and reading specialists recommended the change, McGrath said.
"The new IRI reflects more current research in reading education and will help teachers better measure students' growth throughout the year," McGrath said.
