By DAVID BOYLE
What should be done with a student who can’t read at grade level?
Should that student be retained in the current grade or be promoted even though he/she cannot read at grade level?
The Anchorage School Board knows what the Alaska Reads Act says regarding the retention of elementary students who cannot read at grade level. It just doesn’t seem interested in following the law.
The district is planning changes to the current policy that states holding back a student in the early elementary grades may be necessary:
“The School Board recognizes that, especially in lower elementary grades, retention may be necessary to ensure student proficiency in reading and mathematics.”
This policy follows the Alaska Reads Act statute and the corresponding Administrative Regulations. The Reads Act states:
“Following that meeting, the parent or guardian shall determine whether the student will progress to the next grade.”
The Reads Act provides many types of interventions to help the student reach grade level reading, including extra tutoring, helping parents with at-home reading lessons, and even summer school for those students falling behind.
The intent of the law is that those students who are deficient in reading in their early grades should be retained in their current grade. Passing them on to the next grade does not help the child learn to read so he/she can be successful in future courses.
In contrast, the newly revised ASD policy on student retention states:
“The School Board recognizes that research indicates that very few children benefit from being retained during the elementary and middle grades.”
But no board member could point to the research mentioned. Even board president Jacobs, who approved the policy revision, could not identify that research.
It appears as if the Alaska Association of School Boards has suggested the policy change, but its web page shows none of this student retention research.
Board member Donley said that a study done in the Los Angeles Unified School District showed that retention helped English Language Learner students.
Donley said that the district had a non-retention policy for more than 20 years and the students did poorly on reading and math tests. He stressed that we need to do what is in the best interest of the student.
Superintendent Bryantt stated, “As someone who has a doctorate in education policy, I would highly recommend that one look at the meta-analyses. I did find one from 2001 that said on the subject of student retention…most studies showed negative impact.”
Dr. Bryantt may also want to look at much more recent research done by the Harvard Graduate School of Education, which showed that test-based retention in third grade improved student performance in Florida. Here are the results:
- Students retained in third grade under Florida’s test-based promotion policy experienced substantial short-term gains in both math and reading achievement. They were less likely to be retained in a later grade and better prepared when they entered high school.
- Being retained in third grade led students to take fewer remedial courses in high school and improved their grade point averages.
- There was no negative impact on graduation. Being held back did delay students’ graduation from high school by 0.63 years, but being older for their grade did not reduce their probability of graduating or receiving a regular diploma.
I have an Air Force friend who is stationed in Florida and whose daughter has had a difficult time with her reading. Guess what? Her mother took her under her wing and worked hard to bring her daughter up to speed on her reading skills. Look at the proud mom’s Facebook post:
“Proud mom post!! Madison has struggled this year with her ELA and reading scores. The state of Florida requires a level 2 (below grade level) or higher scored to pass the 3rd grade specifically. It’s been a stressful few weeks of preparing, taking a week off of ball to spend time in her room studying to prepare for these hard tests. She has struggled all year to pass them and had one last chance this week for the end of year testing, or she would be retained and have to retake 3rd grade next year. She scored a LEVEL 4, ABOVE GRADE LEVEL!”
It seems as if Florida law was successful in assisting this child to stay with her classmates. Her mom was informed that Madison needed help and needed focus time to study. Her mom provided her with that environment. And Madison was successful in meeting the goal. She even exceeded that goal.
So, a child can be brought up to speed in reading with parent’s help.
In Anchorage we would just push her on to the next grade, doing her a disservice in the long run.
But it would make it much easier to manage and be less work for the school staff.
The Alaska Reads Act was modeled after the very successful Florida law. It is working.
As board member Donley said, “What is in the best interest of the child?”
As the Harvard research stated, “Retention is not an academic death sentence.”
It’s no wonder Alaska high school graduates going to college need remedial reading skills and math skills.
Finally, we need to ask, “Will your child be able to read his/her diploma?”
David Boyle is the education writer at Must Read Alaska.
Sure, makes perfect sense – kick the can down the road for someone else to deal with! Let’s have some accountability. Maybe, just maybe, find out why the teacher has failed to teach Johnny how to read!
From an insider, here’s how the public schools milk money from taxpayers:
1. Promote a kid to the next grade level year after year even though he hasn’t learned to read and multiply.
2. By 8th grade, label him as “special needs”. Dyslexic is the flavor of the year right now. Have a psychiatrist or specialist on staff who’ll do the job rather than let an objective outside doctor make the decision. Now no one can blame the school for this teenager not being able to read.
3. The government gives the school extra money for each “special needs” student on the roster!
4. Provide “services” that cost next to nothing, like teacher’s aides who only get paid $15 per hr (the wage of a pizza deliverer). Set up a “fine motor skills lab” that’s just Lego blocks and puzzles. Give them headphones so they can use text-to-speech software rather than learning to read.
5. Also, the low standardized test scores of kids with a “special needs” label won’t count against the school. So, the more under-performing kids you label, the higher your school test score averages!
6. Repeat the process with immigrant kids who don’t speak adequate English. Keep them in “English Language Learner” (ELL) classes for three years learning no English and facing no consequences at the tax-payers’ expense!
I am so frustrated with the entire reading program in the state. Kids who can’t read have been passed on for years. No one seems concerned or cares that the child might be dyslexic. Even if that is the case there are no special reading services for these kids unless they have at least one other diagnosis. Most often they get labeled as ADD or ADHD and then the school tries to get the parents to get the child medicated. Maybe that is why so many kids gradate who cannot read? My brother read at the 2nd grade level at best. He was never tested or given any extra help. He was an adult before he was diagnosed with dyslexia and able to get some help. Public schools are a joke!
Appreciate your insight, AK.
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If you have inside, non-public information about this stuff, why not read up on the False Claims Act, blow the whistle in a qui tam lawsuit, retire early and rich on the winnings?
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Also, you might look at the Department of Education’s Inspector General website at https://oig.ed.gov/, maybe send these things in to the IG’s hotline. Seems like just the kind of fraud, waste, and abuse they’re interested in.
The Department of Education and the No Child Left Behind Act are contributing factors to this. Tie school funding to the performance of students, and instead of ensuring the students perform, lower the standards.
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Charles Goodhart got it right. “When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure.” And, No Child Left Behind did exactly that.
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However… I need to reinforce my statement above. The DOE and NCLBA are part of the problem. Lackadaisical parenting is the real problem. There is no valid excuse for a child’s inability to read, or do fundamental math. None. Unless the parents just cannot be bothered to care about whether their child can do it. Screen time is not a substitute for hands on parenting, but too many parents let it be one.
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And, of course, the parents of the lowest performing children always seem to be the ones screaming the loudest about how brilliant their child is, and how the schools just do not understand.
ASD should be charged with malpractice…………….