TEXARKANA, Texas -- With the end of the school year approaching and standardized testing windows closing, local districts are looking forward to measuring their students' growth in anticipation of the upcoming year.
The Associated Press recently reported on studies that indicate students who cannot read comprehensively by the end of third grade are more at risk of dropping out of school or not finishing high school on time.
Tamara McGraw, language and social studies curriculum coordinator, said Liberty-Eylau Independent School District has seen great growth in literacy and reading comprehension among its third-graders. For 2021-22, the students collectively passed the STAAR assessment -- with performance ratings of 59% for Approaches Grade Level, 30% Meets Grade Level and 18% Masters Grade Level, according to the Texas Academic Performance Report.
The state averages were Approaches, 76%; Meets, 51%; Masters 30%.
"Approaches" means a student has satisfactory reading skills but likely will need targeted reading assistance to do well at the next grade level. "Meets" indicates a student may need short-term, targeted reading intervention at the next grade level, while a student marked as "Masters" likely will not need reading assistance to achieve.
"Last year, our third grade, through our English EOC testers for STAAR, we as a district had growth across the board for reading STAAR assessments," McGraw said.
The curriculum coordinator said all kindergarten through third grade teachers participate in Texas Reading Academies, which are courses based on the science of reading that boost teachers' awareness of phonics and foundational literacy skills.
L-EISD utilizes beginning, middle and end-of-year benchmarks to assess students' skills, but McCraw said the results were not immediately available.
"We have a wonderful regional service center who we work with a lot. We bring in a lot of consultants from Region 8," McGraw said. "We are very proud of the strides we have taken to address any of those things that have come into place since the pandemic."
McGraw said older students' teachers participate in collaborative planning meetings and utilize specific instructional strategies to keep students engaged, along with sharing ideas and best practices for teachers to help each other along the way.
"We offer tutorials (for students). Sometimes we'll start early on in the year in the fall, and it lasts pretty much all the way through up until testing," McGraw said.
For 2021-22, Pleasant Grove ISD placed above the state average in reading, with 92% in Approaches, 73% in Meets and 42% in Masters.
PGISD's Literacy Coordinator Kristi DeLoach said the Star Renaissance Learning program is used to track reading proficiency for third-graders. Teachers also use science of reading methodology and the Gradual Release of Responsibility teaching model.
DeLoach said teachers work together to find workable solutions in meeting state standards.
Pleasant Grove arranges 120 minutes of daily literacy time for kindergarten through fifth grades; 90 minutes for sixth grade; and 45 minutes for seventh through 12th grades. The district also uses a reading interventionist at the middle and high schools.
The district also uses data, like end-of-year statistics, to modify its approach.
"We like to use multiple points, not just their state tests, because we feel like that's just one shot," DeLoach said of determining which older students need tutoring.
The coordinator said teachers sharpen their literacy teaching skills through Leach Literacy training, which is where teachers collaborate for a class period to find new ways to help students.
Texarkana ISD fell below the state average for all scoring categories for the 2021-22 STAAR assessment, with Approaches at 68%, Meets at 40% and Masters at 22%. However, Todd Marshall, chief communications officer, said third-graders are beginning to overcome the learning loss created by the pandemic.
"The district was able to add additional interventionists to address the foundational reading skills of students through the COVID relief funding under (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief)," Marshall said.
The communications officer said teachers meet collaboratively to review student performance, discuss instructional strategies and create plans to meet all learners' academic needs.
"Students are provided support both during the instructional day, after school and summer to accelerate learning. Targeted instruction is provided by classroom teachers and interventionists based on identified student needs," Marshall said. "Additional enrichment and acceleration is provided during after-school and summer programming using high-quality instructional materials provided by the state."
Older students are given similar support, Marshall added.
"All teachers in Texas serving students in grades K-3 are required to complete Texas Reading Academies, which is based on the science of teaching reading. Teachers in TISD have received training on Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling, which is closely aligned to the Texas Reading Academies curriculum," Marshall said.
Marshall said the district utilizes TEKS Resource System as the foundation curriculum, with enhanced documents to provide additional support for reading and language arts instruction.
Jennifer Cook, Texarkana Arkansas School District's language and social studies curriculum director, said approximately a quarter of third graders are on reading level. On-level student percentages are lower than they were before the pandemic, she said.
"The state average for students reading at grade level is 38.41%," Cook said.
Cook said all campuses have intervention times taught by specialists and teachers and with whom students are grouped based on skill levels.
"Retention is currently a decision made by campus teams, which include, but are not limited to, the student's parent or guardian, the student's teachers, campus interventionists and the campus principal," Cook said of students needing additional resources. "Retention conversations are started early in the second semester if there is any potential fear of a student needing to be retained. However, these decisions are generally a last resort since research shows that retention is not an effective way to intervene in almost all scenarios."
Cook said TASD's teachers are trained on the science of reading and have continuous training throughout the year.
"The district is adding a reading specialist whose focus will be secondary grades. Teachers on the secondary level require additional support in the teaching of reading, and this specialist will help with that," Cook said.