WCPSS Sees Impact of State Raising Reading Standards
November 6, 2008 - More than six out of 10 third- through eighth-grade Wake County Public School System students achieved reading proficiency on the state End-of-Grade tests in 2007-08 after the State Board of Education established significantly higher reading standards, according to reports being released today by the state.Parentvision |
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“The State Board of Education has adopted more rigorous standards and whenever that happens, fewer of our students are deemed proficient,” said Donna Hargens, WCPSS Chief Academic Officer. “We are working to support our teachers to move from this new starting point and build on our students’ skills to achieve these new, higher standards.”
Elementary and middle schools’ reading results reflect significantly higher proficiency standards for the state’s new End-of-Grade reading assessments approved by State Board of Education in October. As a result of the new proficiency standards, the state’s standards more closely align with proficiency standards of the National Assessment of Educational Progress.
The state End-of-Grade testing is administered to all NC third to eighth grade students to measure growth in learning the NC Standard Course of Study, the objectives the State Board of Education determined students should learn at each grade level. The National Assessment of Education Progress is used by the US Department of Education as a measure for the Nation’s Report Card, but it is not tied to the state’s learning objectives and is administered to a small sample of students in North Carolina school districts.
With the higher standards, WCPSS had 66 percent of students in grades three through eight earn proficiency on the 2007-08 state reading test. That’s 25 percentage points less than the 91 percent of WCPSS students who achieved proficiency in 2006-07.
WCPSS students continued to outperform the rest of the state. The 66 percent of WCPSS students reaching proficiency was nine percentage points higher than the state average of 57.
WCPSS students continued to outperform other urban districts. The 63.8 percent of WCPSS students achieving proficiency on the third grade reading End-of-Grade test compared with 56.8 percent of Charlotte-Mecklenburg students, 54.2 percent of Guilford County students, 52.9 percent of Forsyth County students and 41.6 percent of Durham County students.
Hargens said a letter will be sent to parents explaining the state action, the impact on students and the assistance teachers can provide. Families will receive a report on their student’s performance on the reading test.
“You have to remember that the test is one moment in time under a certain standard,” said Hargens. “As a parent, you have a lot of information from the teacher on how your student is doing, and you are also reading with your student so you know how well your student can read.”
In preparation for the higher standards, the WCPSS literacy team worked with schools throughout 2007-08 to strengthen reading instruction. Teachers have been provided new instructional tools that focus on balanced literacy instruction and essential literacy objectives, as well as formative assessments for higher order thinking.
As schools receive this new reading test data, they will identify students who need assistance. Schools will provide these students up to 80 additional hours of reading instruction over the course of the school year. They will help students through electives and small group instruction at school and in afterschool and intersession instruction.
“There’s no question in my mind that our students can master every objective in the Standard Course of Study. What that will take is some extra time and some extra support for some of our students,” said Hargens. “Learning and being proficient in reading is what we want for every student.”
The state’s release of End-of Grade reading data today follows the partial release of state testing information in August.
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