Despite small reading gains, many may repeat third grade
But the lieutenant governor, visiting Pinellas schools, says that even modest gains are important.
By THOMAS C. TOBIN and DONNA WINCHESTER
Published April 20, 2004
CLEARWATER - More than 1,800 Pinellas students face the prospect of having to repeat third grade this fall, part of Florida's continuing insistence that children learn to read before they are promoted.
The numbers, released Monday, were nearly identical to last year's figures. Mirroring the state, Pinellas showed a 1 percent decrease in third-graders scoring at the lowest level of the reading portion of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, making them eligible for retention.
The modest improvement, despite expensive and hard-driving reading programs in dozens of schools, illustrates the nature of Gov. Jeb Bush's quest to reform public schools: Change can be achingly slow.
But Bush and others in his administration touted the improved showing as a sign their A+
Plan has thousands of Florida schoolchildren going in the right direction.
"These are real accomplishments," Lt. Gov. Toni Jennings said Monday at Clearwater's Skycrest Elementary, pointing to charts that showed gently sloping trend lines. "Every point gained on every one of these means children are doing better."
Jennings said the decrease in readers scoring in level one - the lowest level - must be looked at in tandem with the increase in readers who score at level three, which is at grade level. The combination is "hugely significant," she said.
In Pinellas, the percentage of third-graders scoring at or above grade level increased from 62 percent last year to 66 percent - roughly the same as the state. The county's third-grade math scores did not budge from last year, with 64 percent scoring at level three or above.
Florida's policy of retaining third-graders who score at level one in reading is based on the philosophy that children "learn to read" in the first four years of elementary school, then "read to learn" thereafter. Without a strong reading foundation by third grade, they are hamstrung for the rest of their educational careers, the Bush administration says.
The state pays for counties to offer summer reading camps, where third-graders can work their way out of trouble and proceed to fourth grade. Students also can progress if portfolios showing their classroom work demonstrate an ability to read, their FCAT scores notwithstanding.
Last spring, 1,856 Pinellas third-graders scored at level one in reading and were subject to retention. After summer school, the number actually retained was 1,136.
"We are not keeping children behind," Jennings said, echoing Bush and Education Commissioner Jim Horne. "We are making sure that children can succeed as they move forward."
At Skycrest, Jennings appeared with third-grader Jessica Perez, who was retained last year but attended the district's summer reading camp and is now a level three reader. Her Spanish-speaking father, Silverio Perez, said through an interpreter that he hoped his daughter's experience "will end the stigma that repeating a year is such a terrible thing - that it reinforces a child's education and prepares them to go on, without any problems."
Jennings appeared at Skycrest because the percentage of third-graders reading at level one dropped by 9 percent in this year's FCAT while those who scored at level three and above increased by 10 percent.
A school with a similar name, Skyview Elementary in Pinellas Park, had the county's most dramatic improvement with a 13 percent drop in level one readers. Principal Doug Crowley attributed the change to two programs, Project Focus and Reading First.
Project Focus gives 10- to 15-minute lessons in reading and math each day with frequent tests to give teachers an almost real-time view of how students are doing. It is offered to third-, fourth- and fifth-graders in eight Pinellas schools.
Reading First, which is offered to kindergarten through third grade in 43 schools, offers 90 minutes of uninterrupted reading instruction each day. Children are assessed frequently to quickly identify their weaknesses. Teachers work on problem areas, assess the kids again, then work again on remaining problems. Each Reading First school has a reading coach.
But the programs are not helping everywhere. While Skycrest, Skyview and a number of other schools improved, many schools - primarily in St. Petersburg - continue to struggle.
At Woodlawn Elementary, 45 percent of the third-graders scored at level one on the FCAT. Blanton, Lakewood and Melrose elementaries had more than 40 percent of their third-graders scoring at level one.
Lakewood Elementary principal Raymond Tampa was disappointed that after an all-out effort to help his third-graders, the number of level three and above readers dropped 1 percent.
"We were up 8 percentage points in math, but reading is the focus in third grade," he said. "In essence, we stayed about the same."
Tampa began offering intensive reading instruction to his incoming third-graders last summer through a five-week program called Jump Start Reading Academy. He has provided after-school tutoring for them since August. He said that none of his efforts seem to be enough to combat the effects of poverty. Eighty-four percent of his students qualify for free or reduced-priced lunches.
"You just work as hard as you can to overcome it," he said.
