Newton Elementary School teachers and officials were disappointed when they found out only 60 percent of third graders passed the Mississippi Academic Assessment Program reading assessment.
Principal Kay Killens said they were expecting the number of students that passed on the first try to drop since the Mississippi Department of Education increased the proficiency level required to pass from Level 2 to Level 3. However, they were surprised that final results of the first test.
“Looking at our testing data throughout the year, we were expecting more to pass based on the data we had throughout the whole year,” Killens said. “There were some circumstances that hurt us.”
Killens said some students may have been nervous taking the test. Others didn’t perform as well because the test lasts for 113 minutes. Still a couple of others had some other home problems at home, Killens said of which have been resolved since the test.
After the retest, the school’s passing percentage increased to 76 percent, which represented around 17 of the 75 students in the third grade class. And they are offering those students an opportunity to get more help over the summer.
They are currently offering a summer reading camp to students who still have yet to pass the assessment. Killens said a large number of those students are participating in the camp.
The reading camp has also been opened up to first and second graders. Killens said there are about 75 total students participating in the camp, although every student may not be there every day due to vacations and travelling. They have encouraged parents to bring students every opportunity they can.
And parents have been connecting with other parents to make sure that their children have rides to and from the reading camp since the school district doesn’t run bus service in the summer.
The summer program has also been paired with the summer feeding program to offer students free breakfast and lunch.
The last opportunity for these students to pass is going to be during a window from June 24 to July 12. Killens said they will likely be taking the test in the latter part of the window.
One victory for the third grade class is that two of the five students with learning disabilities passed on their own while the other three will receive good cause exemptions.
“I was looking for 80 percent based on our I-Ready data to pass on the first attempt,” Killens said. “But we are working with the students to help them prepare for the final chance.”
