[OYAN] Keep up with the news: 6, 800 Oregon high school seniors have yet to pass the state reading test

[Katie Anderson]

Have you read the news today<http://www.oregonlive.com/education/index.ssf/2011/08/thousands_of_oregon_students_a.html>?  Approximately 6,800 high school seniors in Oregon are at risk of not graduating next year because of poor reading test scores.

Highlights of the article:

*         Roughly 6,800 Oregon high school seniors have yet to pass the state reading test and will be denied diplomas if they don't pass that exam or an equivalent test created and graded at their school.

*         ...schools knew which juniors had failed the test during 10th grade. Still, the share of students in the class of 2012 who haven't passed shrunk only from 29 percent at the end of sophomore year to 17 percent at the end of junior year.

*         [In Washington] two-thirds of those [who didn't pass the reading test] didn't have enough credits to be on track to graduate, so they were unlikely to graduate anyway.

*         ... requiring students to prove their reading and writing proficiency has made an important difference in Washington schools.


What can you and your public library do?

*         Find out how your local school did on testing last year: http://schools.oregonlive.com/

*         Contact your local school(s) to connect with school library staff or language arts staff and

o   Remind them what services you already provide to teachers and students

o   Ask to set up a meeting to discuss potential new projects or services that could support teachers and students.

*         Set aside some time to informally evaluate your teen services.  Identify what's working, what's not working, and what one thing you could change this year to better engage teens in your library. If you want to take a more formal approach, here is a good teen services evaluation tool from ALA's Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/yalsa/profdev/yacompetencies/evaluationtool.pdf.



Katie Anderson, Library Development Services
* Youth Services Consultant * Oregon Center for the Book Coordinator *
Oregon State Library, 250 Winter St. NE, Salem, OR 97301
katie.anderson at state.or.us<mailto:katie.anderson at state.or.us>, 503-378-2528
Thousands of Oregon students at risk of not graduating, reading scores released today show
Published: Monday, August 29, 2011, 12:01 AM     Updated: Monday, August 29, 2011, 10:09 AM
http://www.oregonlive.com/education/index.ssf/2011/08/thousands_of_oregon_students_a.html
By Betsy Hammond, The Oregonian <http://connect.oregonlive.com/user/bhammond/index.html>

Roughly 6,800 Oregon high school seniors have yet to pass the state reading test and will be denied diplomas if they don't pass that exam or an equivalent test created and graded at their school, the state reported today.

Oregon's class of 2012 is the first required to pass a reading test to graduate.

Last school year, schools knew which juniors had failed the test during 10th grade. Still, the share of students in the class of 2012 who haven't passed shrunk only from 29 percent at the end of sophomore year to 17 percent at the end of junior year.

Twenty-six large and medium-size high schools, including 15 in the metro area, have more than 50 seniors at risk of failing to graduate because of weak reading skills.

"We know who they are, and we are ready," said Kathleen Walsh, principal of Rex Putnam High<http://schools.oregonlive.com/school/North-Clackamas/Putnam-High-School/> in Milwaukie, where 19 percent of students, or 54 teens, still need to pass.
In Washington, this year's graduating class was the fourth that had to pass state reading and writing tests, or their equivalent, to get diplomas. Researchers who tracked the first such class found that, as they headed into their senior year, about 16 percent had yet to pass the test -- but two-thirds of those didn't have enough credits to be on track to graduate, so they were unlikely to graduate anyway.

Ultimately, very few Washington students pass all the necessary courses to graduate and get derailed only because they cannot pass the graduation tests, said Washington Superintendent Randy Dorn<http://www.k12.wa.us/aboutus/RDornbiography.aspx>.

Still, he said, requiring students to prove their reading and writing proficiency has made an important difference in Washington schools.

"I don't think it's had any effect on the top-end kids at all. But for the kid that struggles, school districts have to make sure they're at a certain level. They definitely have had to concentrate on that student who struggles. There is no falling through the cracks, that somebody could have eased their way through school without the ability to go forward and learn because they can't read or they can't write," Dorn said.

It's unknown how many of the Oregon students who've failed the reading test are on track with earning credits to graduation.
[GS.21READ129.jpg]View full size<http://media.oregonlive.com/education_impact/photo/gs21read129jpg-a145c6eb3a748046.jpg>
Mark Pinder, principal of Milwaukie High<http://schools.oregonlive.com/school/North-Clackamas/Milwaukie-High-School/>, where one in three seniors has yet to pass the reading test, said he expects a failure to pass all the required classes -- not the test -- will be the reason he'll have to give some seniors the painful news that they're not going to walk across the stage and get a diploma with their classmates in June 2012.

He, like other principals, said he is banking on an alternative test -- one that is developed and graded locally, using state guidelines -- as the way many of his students will show they have the reading skills needed to graduate.

The state will allow students to demonstrate they read well enough to graduate by completing two "reading work samples"<http://www.ode.state.or.us/search/page/?id=515> that are judged by a trained adult at their school.

For each, a student is given an informative or literary passage of at least 1,000 words -- just a little longer than this article -- and asked to read it carefully, making notes in the margin, then to offer short answers to five to eight questions.

If the answers are deemed to show enough understanding, interpretation and analysis of the passage, earning at least 12 points on an 18-point scale, the student passes. The state does not plan to collect the scores or monitor the grading, said Derek Brown, the state's manager for the assessment of essential skills.

The state will report how many students in each district earn diplomas using work samples in place of test scores, and will report the average score those students earned on the state's reading multiple-choice test, he said.

That should help keep schools and districts honest in their use of work samples, he said. If it turns out that the average score for students who pass the local reading test and get diplomas is below the sixth-grade benchmark, for instance, "we would know something is problematic."

Some schools managed to get nearly all their students to pass the reading test, including Sherwood High<http://schools.oregonlive.com/school/Sherwood/Sherwood-High-School/>, where more than 95 percent of incoming seniors have passed.

Oregon City High<http://schools.oregonlive.com/school/Oregon-City/Oregon-City-Senior-High-School/>, where one-third of students are low income, managed to get 94 percent of students to pass. The school for years has placed all sophomores with weak reading skills into a special course with a highly skilled reading teacher; last year, it did the same for juniors.

Forest Grove High<http://schools.oregonlive.com/school/Forest-Grove/Forest-Grove-High-School/>, which is 58 percent low income and 42 percent Latino, managed to get 88 percent of its students to pass. The school also leans on a highly skilled teacher to help struggling readers, and it developed the "double dose" approach -- since adopted by Oregon City -- of an extra reading or math class for all students who are behind.

How did your school do?
Find full results on state test scores -- in math, reading, science and writing across elementary, middle and high schools -- at The Oregonian's Your Schools site<http://schools.oregonlive.com/> (http://schools.oregonlive.com/) .


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