July 25th Board Meeting -- Reading Room Study Results (Preliminary, Part 3)

Continuing with the discussion....

Board Member Steve Knar asked Dr. Mahaffy who decides to move students from level to level. Dr. Mahaffy said that the student's Reading teacher makes that decision.

He went on. "Do we hit it right all the time? Probably not. But we do a good job with the data we have [including data from the Diagnostic Reading Center]. We don't have the Iowa test scores in yet [when these decisions are made]."

Board Vice-President Doris Sadik said that she was surprised to see that 50% of students get to grade-level reading. She said she thought it would have been higher. She said she was shocked that half of the students stay at the lower level.

She went on to say that if you ask the teacher how a student is doing as they progress through grades, they'll say the student is leveling off. "What does this mean," she wondered. She asked if there was anything that the district can do for the students reading below grade in the 4th and 5th Grades, or do we say "that's just the child"? She wondered how we get these students to Honors-level English classes when they are in High School.

Dr. Mahaffy responded that not all students progress the same. "Is that the philosophy?" Sadik challenged. Dr. Mahaffy said no, it's not the philosophy, it's the child.

Sadik wondered if it was a lofty thought to think that the district will get all students reading at grade level. Dr. Mahaffy replied that it was still the goal. He went on to say that the district doesn't' stop teaching reading in later grades, but they stress Reading to Learn, instead of Learning to Read. He said that under the Federal No Child Left Behind law, all students will have to read at grade level. He said that may not be achievable unless the Federal Government lowers the bar. He stressed that District 3 will not lower the bar.

Dr. Krause added that, in order to progress, every day the student must be presented with text at his or her level. She looked at conclusions that can be drawn from this. What do parents know of the qualifications a student needs for each Reading level? She said that the district can do a better job of standardizing and informing parents of the expectations of each Reading level.

With students in full-day Kindergarten, Sadik wondered, did we get students more reading time when they were struggling? Absolutely, said Dr. Krause.

Dr. Mahaffy said the question is, by the 4th Grade, are all students in the same book? The answer is yes.

Board Member Nunamaker, thinking of the goal of everyone reading at grade level, said this is a great time to be a Board Member, because this is a job for an administrator.

Sadik continued on the topic of students at the lower reading levels, saying that she doesn't want these students to lose opportunities. Dr. Mahaffy agreed, saying that you don't want to say that 15% of students at the lower level is OK.

Board Member Mollett said that opportunity is what the district is offering, but that some students don't take it.

Sadik said that it would be great to have 2 classes of Honors Algebra, for example.

Dr. Krause added that where the students in the lower levels are today is not the same place as they were years ago. The curriculum has been notched up over the years. Dr. Mahaffy noted that the below-level group in District 3 is reading at the National norm. He said that we have higher expectations in this district.

Knar summarized that Dr. Mahaffy was pleased with the higher-level curriculum and with the students who move out of the lower Reading levels, but that he was surprised that 50% of students didn't make it out of the lower group. Dr. Mahaffy responded that he didn't know what to expect.

"What do you make of it?" asked Knar.

Dr. Krause said that it showed that students do make it out of the lower levels. She said that the community may think that once a child is tracked, they are locked it, and that was not the case.

Knar said that the 50% out result shows the the district is doing something right. Dr. Mahaffy said that it could be seen as the glass being half-full or half-empty. He said that we should be on the side of getting all of the students out of the lower levels.

Sadik still wanted to look at the students that remain in the lower levels. "What's our plan of action?", she wondered. Zasadil said that some things, like home life, are out of our control. Dr. Krause responded "Yes, but our philosophy is to teach the students we have."

Nunamaker stated that the data analysis was great. "I applaud you for doing it."

Dr. Mahaffy said that they looked at the data and worked to identify what to do with the students who were struggling. He said that when they see three kids struggling, they get concerned with those three kids.

Zasadil said that in the August 22nd Board Meeting, they will discuss the analysis that Tim Kassel has been helping with. Dr. Mahaffy said that they will continue working with Kassel to see what further analysis will yield.