Today’s the day for roughly 750 public school third graders in Columbus and Lowndes County to find out if they will be in fourth grade next school year.
In April, third graders across Mississippi — roughly 38,000 — took a computerized 50-question multiple choice reading test. Those that passed can move to the fourth grade next year. Those that did not can take the test again later this month and again over the summer.
The state Board of Education meets today to set the passing score. As of this morning, public school districts have no idea where the line will be drawn.
Columbus Municipal School District has 364 third graders. Lowndes County School District has 392 third graders. Starkville School District has 350. The Oktibbeha County School District did not respond to requests asking for how many third graders were enrolled in the district.
In 2013, lawmakers said they wanted to ensure struggling students were not moved into higher grades. Some lawmakers and local superintendents sought a delay this spring in the requirement to flunk students, saying Mississippi hasn’t spent enough on improvement. But the Legislature stood firm on what has been Gov. Phil Bryant’s signature education effort. The governor failed third grade while fighting dyslexia and says he succeeded later because of extra help from teachers.
“My belief is we’re doing a disservice to a child by simply passing them, socially promoting them to the fourth grade,” Bryant said Tuesday. “This doesn’t mean simply holding a child back for holding them back. We’re holding them back for intensive intervention.”
Mississippi plans to retain students scoring below basic reading levels. On a different test last year, that would have been 6,500 third-graders, about 17 percent statewide. State Superintendent Carey Wright warned the number could be higher this time.
CMSD superintendent Dr. Philip Hickman told The Dispatch on Wednesday he agrees that students should be reading at grade level by the third grade.
However, Hickman said academic research suggests holding a child back a grade for development purposes can backfire for older students.
“I feel afraid for the students, because the research doesn’t support failing a kid beyond kindergarten,” he said.
CMSD will offer summer programs to tutor students, but it’s unclear if all of Mississippi’s 146 school districts will make such efforts.
The problem for districts, Hickman said, is that this is an unfunded mandate. Districts cannot receive federal money to pay for summer school for the extra children taking reading courses and will have to cover the cost with whatever remains in their budget.
“Legislators are not educators,” Hickman said. “They’re always going to make decisions that might not benefit kids.”
Some students can be promoted even if they don’t pass. Those include students learning English for fewer than two years, students with significant cognitive disabilities, special education students who have had two or more years of intervention and already flunked once, or any students with two or more years of intervention and have flunked twice.
Mississippi’s effort is part of a growing national trend.
The Education Commission of the States counts 16 states that flunk third-graders who don’t meet state standards. Mississippi is one of six states that won’t allow low-scoring students to advance even if they’re getting special attention.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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