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Students To Retake 3rd-Grade Reading Assessment
By: Bill Rice | WCPN
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Last spring, 88 percent of Ohio’s third-graders scored enough on the reading assessment to advance to the fourth grade. That leaves 12 percent, or about 13,000-14,000 kids who scored below the promotion cut-off score of 394.
The assessment is being offered in districts across the state one last time this week for those who fell short.
John Charlton, a spokesman for the Ohio Department of Education, said not all those kids will take the test.
Related: 83 students from Athens County's five schools are eligible for a retaking of the test
“In addition to the summer administration of that assessment," Charlton said. "There are also alternative assessments that can be taken that have been approved by the Department of Education, and of course there are some exemptions to the retention part of that policy as well, so I don’t know that all 12 percent will be taking that assessment."
District’s were authorized in March to offer three different alternative tests, and many who have already taken them scored well enough to advance with their peers. Some have suggested those tests must be easier than the third-grade assessment, but Charlton disputes that claim. He cited other factors, such as the fact that they’re taken on a computer rather than on paper, which he said can reduce test anxiety and thus perform better.
Many districts will be offering alternative tests at various times this summer.