2014 IREAD-3 results for Ind. schools released by DOE

About 83.9 percent of students passed the IREAD-3 test in the Monroe County Community School Corporation. Of all third graders in MCCSC, 756 students took the test, with 634 passing.

Statewide, 85.58 percent of students passed, up from 85.28 percent the previous year.
 
“These numbers show that year by year we have continued to see modest increases in our passage rate,” Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz said in an IDOE press release. “More importantly, they show that we are promoting a culture of literacy throughout our state. Moving forward, I will continue to promote literacy and reading throughout all of Indiana.”

Out of 13 MCCSC elementary schools, Childs Elementary School scored the best, with a passing rate of 96.7 percent. Fairview Elementary School scored the lowest, with a passing rate of 68.6 percent.

Templeton Elementary School had 90.9 percent of students pass the IREAD-3.

Templeton Literacy Coach Kari Isaacson said this number also includes students who are learning English as a second language and students who are in special education classes and the Individualized Education Program. These students, whether they pass or not, are exempt from having to repeat third grade.

The students who didn’t pass will attend summer school, but Isaacson said the passing rate for these students is outstanding. Students who don’t pass the test at the end of the seven-week summer school session will have to repeat third grade, as required by Indiana state law.

Isaacson said there are many different approaches Templeton takes to help kids stay on track.

There are both Title I teachers and preventionists who go into classrooms to work with small groups, and Issacson said they also pull some of these kids out of classrooms to work with them.

At least twice a year, students choose a book to take home and participate in activities such as bookmark making, Isaacson said.

As a literacy coach, Isaacson works with teachers on creating specific plans for each student who is not reading at grade level.

She performs diagnostic tests to help pinpoint what each student needs to do to grow their reading abilities.
 
She also works with teachers on research-based strategies for teaching reading and teaches some of the students who are reading more than one year behind their grade level. 

Isaacson said reading helps students think for themselves and problem solve, and it is a quality-of-life skill.

“You can go anywhere in the world through a book,” she said.