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Steady Progress Seen for CMS Reading Scores: Overall Gains Seen, but Work Planned for 3 Grades, Writing Tests

Posted on: Wednesday, 14 June 2006, 06:00 CDT

By Peter Smolowitz and Ann Doss Helms, The Charlotte Observer, N.C.

Jun. 14--Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools made "steady progress" on state reading tests, the district announced Tuesday, with 85 percent of the students in elementary and middle school passing.

Pass rates for students in grades 3-8 rose 1 percentage point since 2005, and have climbed 3 percentage points in the past three years.

But in three grades -- 5, 6 and 8 -- the district saw a drop in the number of students earning the highest of four rankings. CMS leaders say a key focus this summer will be finding ways to help students ranked "at grade level" do well enough to be considered "above grade level."

Another area of emphasis will be on ways to improve the results on state writing tests, which CMS also released Tuesday.

Fewer than half the district's fourth- and seventh-graders hit or exceeded "grade level" on the writing tests.

Scores were similarly disappointing statewide last year.

Mecklenburg's 10th-graders saw a 12 percentage point jump, with 62 percent passing the writing test this year.

A milestone for third-graders

Tuesday's news conference was one of the last for outgoing interim Superintendent Frances Haithcock. Her signature program, Open Court, has helped make elementary schools the district's top performers.This year, 87 percent of the elementary school students passed the reading test. More than half the district's third-graders earned the highest ranking, the first time CMS has had such a large group of students hit that goal.

CMS leaders will push this summer to find strategies to help more students reach that level. Making the jump to the highest ranking is "the most difficult piece," said Assistant Superintendent Linda Morris, who oversees elementary school curriculum.

"It really requires you to go to higher-level thinking skills," Morris said.

Improving writing scores

The 2006 writing results will be the first to count toward state ratings, and some schools could be hurt by the lower scores.

"Some of our schools, yeah, they're worried about it," said Assistant Superintendent Susan Agruso.

Only one elementary school, Providence Spring, and one middle school, Davidson IB, had 90 percent of students pass the writing test. By contrast, 38 schools had 90 percent pass rates in reading.

Part of the struggle is because when writing tests weren't counted toward state ratings, the subject didn't always get as much attention, Haithcock said.

The writing scores also highlight a challenge the district has faced with reading tests. Students who are black, Latino or low-income typically score about 30 percentage points lower than peers who are white or more affluent.

Similar gaps existed with reading scores in 2002, and they've since been narrowed to below 20 percentage points. CMS leaders said boosting scores with some of the neediest students takes more time and effort.

What's Next?

High school test results are scheduled to be released June 23. Low scores have previously sparked criticism, but all year CMS leaders have predicted improvement.

Math results for elementary and middle school students won't be released until October. Students took a new test, and the delay is designed to avoid an embarrassment similar to what happened in 2001. That year, virtually everyone passed the new state exam, forcing school ratings to be recalculated using a tougher standard.

The Observer will publish school-by-school test scores when math results are available. The reading and writing results should be posted today on the CMS Web site, www.cms.k12.nc.us .

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Charlotte Observer, N.C.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.)

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