Tougher reading exam takes a toll on scores

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, December 2, 2009

By Sarah Nagem
snagem@salisburypost.com
Fewer local elementary and middle school students passed reading tests this year in the wake of tougher standards.
In the Rowan-Salisbury School System, about 49 percent of students in third through eighth grades tested proficient on the reading exam.
Students in Kannapolis City Schools didn’t do as well. There, 46 percent tested proficient.
But school leaders say those numbers don’t reflect less learning. The state increased standards for the reading test this year to prepare students for the future, state leaders say.
The more difficult tests dramatically impacted schools’ scores.
For example, only 31 percent of Koontz Elementary third-graders tested at or above grade level. But if the old standards had been used, 70.5 percent of students would have passed.
With the old standards, more than 81 percent of elementary and middle students in Kannapolis would have met the target, said Janet Jenkins, director of student assessment.
Both school systems fell behind statewide scores. Across the state, 52.6 percent of students scored at or above grade level on the reading test and math test.
In Rowan-Salisbury schools, 43.5 percent tested proficient on both tests. In Kannapolis, 40 percent tested proficient.
For more on this story, check out Friday’s edition of the Salisbury Post or continue to visit www.salisburypost.com.