Articles

Futures On The Line In A Third-Grade Test

Dana Tofig, Patti Ghezzi, AJC Staff
April 15, 2004

More than 100,000 metro Atlanta third-graders will soon sit down to take a test that will decide whether they get promoted or not.

More than 1 in 10 will probably fail.

After three years of talk and tutoring, a controversial state law kicks in that requires third-graders to pass the state's reading exam or risk being held back to repeat the year.

Parents, teachers and school administrators across the state are hustling to prepare and pump up their kids.

In Clayton County, third-graders began taking the exam this week.

"We told them to believe in themselves, that we believe in them and their parents believe in them," said April Madden, principal of River's Edge Elementary School. "It's showtime."

Most metro Atlanta students in grades 1-8 will take the Criterion Referenced Competency Tests next week in a variety of subjects, including math and English. But there's extra pressure on third-graders. How individual students do on the reading exam -- a series of multiple choice questions based on a short reading passage -- will determine whether they go on to fourth grade.

And as Georgia youngsters take the critical exams, politicians, educators and parents are trying to figure out exactly what happens if they fail. Some children may pass the test on a second try after an intensive summer program, while others could find themselves in transitional classes next school year nestled between two grades. Some will simply have to do the third grade over again.

Some legislators, worried that the state hadn't done enough to help struggling readers, tried to get implementation of the testing requirement delayed until next school year. They had the backing of some civil rights activists, who fear that a disproportionate number of children held back will be racial minorities and rural students.

Some Democratic lawmakers felt so strongly about the issue that they held hostage many of Gov. Sonny Perdue's education initiatives until the final minutes of the General Assembly session, which ended last week. In the end, the Democrats allowed the pass-or-stay-back law to go forward, but insisted that an outside company be hired to monitor the success of the testing and the different ways failing students are dealt with.

"Hopefully they'll help us learn how to focus our efforts in years to come," said State Rep. Kathy Ashe (D-Atlanta), who helped broker the deal. She said she did not know exactly how the monitoring process would work.

Many local school systems used newsletters and conferences to inform parents this was coming. The new requirements were signed into law in 2001 as part of a massive school reform effort pushed through by former Gov. Roy Barnes. Additional money was provided to school systems to put a stronger focus on reading. At Murphey Candler Elementary School in DeKalb County, it has been a yearlong effort.

Murphey Candler third-graders have been taking practice tests each Friday and have been offered tutoring. Last month, the county gave a reading test to determine where kids need some last-minute help.

On Friday, the school is staging a pep rally to pump up kids for the exams, especially third-graders, who will release balloons. Maxine Jenkins, a third-grade teacher, is confident her students will do well.

"Because we've been doing it all year, it's just another day for our kids here at Murphey Candler," she said. "This week we're just tying up any loose ends."

But the reality is some kids will fail.

Cox hopes for improvement

In 2002, the last time third-graders took the reading test, about 17 percent failed -- about 20,000 kids statewide. State Superintendent of Schools Kathy Cox, who took office in 2003, said she is optimistic that third-graders will perform better this year, after the increased focus on reading.

"I think it's going to be a lot better than what we've seen," Cox said.

But while the testing goal is clear, what happens to third-graders if they fail is murky.

Those who fail the test will be offered a special summer reading program and will be retested before school starts. If a student passes the second try, it's on to fourth grade. If not, the child may be held back to repeat the grade.

However, the state also allows for transitional classes -- essentially an educational purgatory. Students would receive more focused reading instruction and may be allowed to take the test again after several weeks. If they pass during the school year, they could immediately be bumped up to fourth grade.

Tawana Miller, an assistant superintendent in Fulton County, said her school district will use transitional classes, but it's unclear how the state wants such classes structured.

"There are still a lot of unanswered questions," she said.

Kirk Englehardt, a spokesman for the state Department of Education, said the transition classes are not mandated. The department will be putting together a team to develop several models systems can choose, he said.

Some say minorities suffer

At least three metro Atlanta school districts -- Gwinnett County and the cities of Atlanta and Marietta -- already have a policy against so-called social promotion of students to a higher grade.

So far, Marietta has held back kindergartners because of technical problems with the state's curriculum exam last year. Atlanta has set up "ungraded" classes for third-graders not ready for fourth grade.

Gwinnett has transition programs for children in the fourth and seventh grades who fail the Gateway exam given in the district. Retention in grade remains a last resort, reserved for students who cannot pass the test after repeated tries.

Several other states have adopted -- or are adopting -- similar policies to Georgia's, with mixed results. Some efforts have been met with threats of lawsuits, since a disproportionate number of children who fail are minorities or poor. The Rainbow/PUSH coalition, a civil rights group, has said it may consider litigation in Georgia.

For many parents, the issue of the moment is making sure their kids are ready.

Lori Redford was volunteering Wednesday at River's Edge Elementary in Fayetteville while her third-grade daughter, Corrinna, took the reading exam. Redford said parents need to make sure they are encouraging their children to read. She said she reads a Bible passage or a story to her three children every night and makes sure they are keeping up with their homework.

She said she has no problem with the requirement that third-graders must pass the reading test to advance to the next grade.

"You can't produce children who don't know. You have to make sure they know," she said. "We're way behind the times. I think it's long overdue."

Reprinted with permission from The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution. Further reproduction, retransmission or distribution of these materials without the prior written consent of The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution, and any copyright holder identified in the material's copyright notice, is prohibited.