Thursday, March 14, 2013
March 14, 2013 11:32pm
Just heard an interesting story on the news. South Carolina is trying to pass a new law which states that any child who is not reading on grade level by the end of 3rd grade will be retained and be placed in an extensive reading program. Teachers will also receive more literacy training. The story went on to say that Florida had passed a law similar to this a few years ago and their 4th grade EOG reading comprehension scores increased by about 16 points. I teach 3rd grade ELA, and it really concerns me that so many students are not reading on grade level. I know the achievement gaps increase rapidly after this point for students who are struggling readers. No one wants to hold a child back, but I think SC may be on to something with this proposal. Give these students intensive reading instruction. I'm sure there are people who will disagree, but it seems to me students will be more successful in later grades if they learn to read in K-2, and certainly by 3rd grade. There is really no time to teach a student to read in 3rd grade, especially with the new Common Core Standards. If students can't read the information, they certainly aren't going to comprehend it!
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I think there are a few states that have adopted the 3rd grade retention with Florida being one of the first and doing some major research. Of course, I can't get on my soapbox about this because there isn't enough space on the blog for me. LOL
ReplyDeleteWow, I haven't heard this but I know there is a huge push in our district for reading. All students that are below reading level in 7th grade (which I think something should have been done before that age) have to take a reading class until they are able to pass the MAP and PAWS testing at grade level. Reading is such an important part of education. If you can't read you will struggle in every subject.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds really interesting. I feel your pain about teaching reading. I teach high school students and I find that each year the reading literacy drops. Every once in a while I will have my students read aloud in class, just to see where they are at in their reading. Because students are not rending at their level it causes me to have to work three times as hard, just to get them along.
ReplyDeleteThis is really interesting and thanks for sharing. I agree that something must be done to increase student's literacy, and this might be a viable option. Many opponents would argue against it as it does not promote socialization and social "growing" as the students progress in grades. I am a supporter. Social passing in my opinion is not the answer. We need to make sure our students are ready to move to the next level before they progress. Jeff
ReplyDeleteI'm sure there will be a lot of opponents to this. I understand the age issue, and how typically schools try not to retain a student more than once, but reading is such a life long skill. Whatever the outcome, more concentration needs to be placed in the area of reading. I personally feel that more reading specialists should be placed in schools to help with these struggling readers, especially in the elementary grades. Thanks for you comments on this topic. Hopefully there will be more updates on this soon.
DeleteI need to start watching to news more often! I live in South Carolina and haven't heard of this yet. Ever since I got rid of cable, I feel like I am behind with things that are going on around me. I know that not having cable shouldn't be an excuse this day in age!!! I do agree that students really need to be able to read on grade-level by the end of second grade. It's such a jump between second and third grade as far as what is expected...in work-load and independence level. I teach second grade at a Title one school and we are fortunate enough to have a Reading interventionist who pulls kids out to work on a program called English in a Flash. We were also just funded to have a program called Reading Assistant in our classrooms. Students work on it weekly. We have had growth with both of these programs. I've had students go from a re-kindergarden level to on grade-level in just a few months. I'll have to look more into this law, Nancy. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting, Lauren. The law hasn't been passed yet. I did a quick search tonight to try to find out if there was any updates, but was unsuccessful. I agree with what you said about the huge jump between second and third grade. It's not so much the content, but as you said, the work load and level of independence. I taught 2nd grade before coming to third and didn't realize how much this change affected children. It is a big adjustment for them, as well as their parents, especially that first quarter of a new year. I'll post anything new if I find it. Keep checking back!
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