“The preliminary results are disappointing and indicate that we have a lot of hard work ahead of us,” said Director of Student Achievement Priscilla Huston. “We are deeply concerned about this year’s test scores and plan to make significant changes to the reading program to reverse the decline.”

According to test results released by the Colorado Department of Education this week, the percentage of third-grade students scoring proficient or advanced on the reading test declined from 84 percent in 2007 to 77 percent in 2008. The percentage of students statewide scoring proficient or advanced remained stable at 70 percent.

Girls’ scores in the district remained stable, dropping from 84 to 83 percent proficient and advanced, while boys’ scores dropped 11 percentage points from 84 to 73 percent proficient and advanced.

The achievement gap between American Indian, Hispanic, and Anglo students widened this year. The percentage of American Indian students scoring proficient or advanced dropped from 71 percent to 56 percent. Scores for American Indian students can vary widely from year to year because of the small group of students tested. Of the 350 third-graders tested, 25 are identified as American Indian. Hispanic scores also dropped this year to 46 percent proficient or advanced. Last year, 69 percent of students scored proficient or advanced.

Third-grade tests are administered in February, about a month before all other tests. The third-grade reading test assesses only one standard – comprehension.

“We are particularly concerned about third-grade reading scores, because reading is the foundation for learning in all other subject areas,” said Director of Instructional Services Sandra Berman-LaFrance. “We’ll be taking a thorough look at every aspect of our reading program to find out why scores have dropped. We’ll be asking teachers to compare this CSAP data with other assessments they have taken over the year.”

Both Huston and Berman-LaFrance met with school principals on Wednesday to assess the current reading program and to identify the steps schools will take to improve.

The district’s current reading curriculum was adopted in 2003 and is based on the Harcourt-Brace Reading Program. Classroom teachers are primarily responsible for reading instruction. Students who need

additional time to learn receive help individually and in small groups from reading specialists. Each elementary school also has supplemented the basic curriculum with other teaching methodologies, including a number of multi-sensory programs that address dyslexia and other learning disabilities.

“We do not have consistency in reading instruction from school to school or from classroom to classroom,” said Berman-LaFrance. “Over the past several years, schools have added special programs to try to meet individual student needs, and we have fragmented implementation. We also need to take a close look at how we are using data – and whether we’re using the right data – to inform instruction.”

Huston, Berman-LaFrance and elementary principals worked Wednesday morning to answer the following questions:

·         Are schools using assessment data effectively to guide instruction for each student?

·         Is the district using the appropriate assessments to determine whether students are mastering reading standards?

·         Are the reading programs schools have chosen effective? How can programs be used more consistently?

·         Are schools following reading programs with fidelity?

·         Are schools using their reading teachers and resources effectively?

·         Are schools setting the right priorities in their Professional Learning Communities to meet reading goals?

Huston said the principals identified several areas of concern, including the use of too many different kinds of specialized reading programs for struggling students; the need for more consistency in instruction; the need for improved training and orientation for new teachers; and the need to determine whether early assessments in first and second grades are effective in helping teachers identify those students who need more time or help to learn.

“We’ve been a high-performing district with the percentage of third-grade proficient and advanced reading scores remaining well above our 80-percent goal for more than eight years,” said Huston. “When we’re doing well, we have a tendency not to change what we’re doing, because what we’re doing is working for the majority of students. But students are constantly changing. Therefore, we must continuously monitor ourselves and our students and not take what we do for granted.”

In addition, the district has proposed to introduce reading coaches for teachers so that quality reading instruction can be embedded in every content area. Reading coaches will be master teachers skilled in data analysis and will coach teachers on they can improve instruction for individual students based on assessment results.

“The No. 1 indicator of student success is the quality instruction in the classroom, not with specialists or tutors or reading teachers, but in the classroom,” said Huston. “Reading coaches will help teachers with their instructional techniques, so that ownership for student achievement isn’t passed solely to the reading specialists or special education teachers; rather, ownership for student achievement in reading stays in the classroom.”

In addition, Huston said, she will analyze this spring how reading teachers and tutors are assigned to schools and plans to reassign teachers where they’re needed most. “We need to make the best use of our resources, and based on the data, I’m not sure we’re doing that right now.”

For more information about the third-grade CSAP reading scores, contact Huston or Berman-LaFrance at 247-5411, ext. 1421.