New state reading standards help raise the number held back to more than double last year.
By MELANIE AVE
Published August 30, 2003
TAMPA - More than 1,100 Hillsborough third graders were held back from going on to the fourth grade this year, more than double the number from last year.
Of the school district's 11,800 third-graders, 8.7 percent were held back, compared to 3.3 percent in 2002, according to a report released Friday. Those students must repeat the third grade.
Much of the increase can be attributed to a change in state law that requires third-graders who don't meet state standards in reading to be held back.
"We have a ways to go and we're working on it," said superintendent Earl Lennard.
Though Hillsborough's third-grade retention numbers doubled, they were less than those of most surrounding districts.
Pinellas flunked 13 percent of its third-graders; Citrus, 7.5 percent; Hernando, 12 percent; and Pasco, 16 percent.
Assistant superintendent Mike Grego said Hillsborough fared better than most others under the new law because of its intense focus on reading.
Full-time reading coaches are in place in many schools. Some high-poverty schools also bring students back to school two weeks early and concentrate heavily on teaching reading.
"I'm never pleased with the retention rate," Grego said, "but I'm suggesting that with our reading program, we're quickly making progress."
Reading coaches receive a full year of training. They are sent to schools where they train teachers on innovative techniques to help struggling readers.
"You're creating highly effective teachers," said Marilyn Blackmer, a curriculum supervisor. "That one teacher can affect hundreds of students throughout her career."
On Friday, the district also released retention numbers for grades four through 10. The number of retentions was mostly stagnant, except for ninth and 10th grades.
While third-grade failures jumped, ninth- and 10th-grade retentions dropped dramatically.
The percentage of freshmen who flunked fell from 33.6 percent last year to 9.2 percent this year. Tenth-grade retentions also fell from 19.8 to 8.4 percent.
Fewer freshman were retained because of a change in policy that allows students who fail reading and math to make up their grades through extra, night or adult courses.
This year, lawmakers, with Gov. Jeb Bush leading the way, tied third-grade promotion to reading ability to emphasize the importance of reading on school success. The theory is that children learn to read through third grade, but from fourth grade on, they read to learn.
Originally, third graders who failed the reading portion of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test were to be held back. But when FCAT scores were released in May, 23 percent - or 43,000 - of Florida's third-graders were in danger of being retained.
The rules then were changed, allowing children to prove their reading ability through other methods. School districts also sponsored summer reading camps to give students a second chance at moving on to fourth grade.
In Hillsborough, 2,620 students failed the FCAT reading section. But 563 students moved up because of portfolios showing their reading ability. Another 371 children took an alternative reading test after attending a summer reading camp that proved "good cause" for promotion.
The majority of children retained in Hillsborough were held back because of reading FCAT. Of the 1,121 third-grade retentions, 1,055 failed the FCAT.
