Schools take steps to improve literacy, avoid retaining struggling readers

ANN ARBOR, MI - About 1-in-5 Washtenaw County third graders could have been held back if the state's new third-grade reading law had been in full effect during the 2016-17 school year.

Starting in the 2019-20 school year, third graders who are at least one grade level behind in reading proficiency can be retained.

The state is still working out what will constitute "one grade level behind," but in the spring of 2017, 607 local third graders in general education classes - 22 percent of all Washtenaw County third graders - were not proficient in English language arts on the statewide standardized test called the MSTEP, according to data from the Michigan Center for Educational Performance and Information.

Another 355 Washtenaw County third graders with disabilities also took the MSTEP that year, and 56 percent of them were not proficient in English. The third-grade reading law says special education students can be exempt from being held back because they already have Individualized Education Plans.

In all, 51.2 percent of Washtenaw County's third graders tested as proficient or advanced in English on the 2017 MSTEP, and the other 48.8 percent were partially proficient or not proficient in English.

The requirement to retain students who are not proficient in English has been the most controversial part of the new third-grade reading law passed in October 2016 that started to take effect in the 2017-18 school year.

This academic year, schools are required to conduct a reading screen for every student in kindergarten through third grade at the start of the school year, and then follow up with testing throughout the year to assess students' progress.

Students whose skills are below grade level are given Individualized Reading Improvement Plans, and parents are expected to commit to certain steps to help their children read at home.

For many local schools, the law hasn't required much change at this point.

Ypsilanti's Holmes Elementary School Principal Aaron Rose said the third-grade reading law requirements have formalized what good teachers already were doing in their classrooms.

Parents say they feel more involved in their children's classrooms, Rose added, and they appreciate having concrete steps to take at home to help their children learn to read.

"We feel confident we were already doing what the law requires us to do. We just had to document it on a different piece of paper," said Kimberly Gillow, principal of Symons Elementary School, a third- through fifth-grade school with Milan Area Schools. "With the retention, there are still questions about the logistics of that."

Pros and cons of repeating third-grade reading

Lawmakers thought the retention provision of the third-grade reading law was necessary based on research that shows literacy after third grade is a strong predictor of students' future academic success.

Naomi Norman, an assistant superintendent for the Washtenaw Intermediate School District, said it's rare that repeating a grade leads to significant improvements in students' understanding of the material.

But rather than dwell on the threat of retention, Norman is focused on putting systems and supports in place to help teachers provide the type of instruction that will ensure all students meet the reading proficiency benchmarks.

"We can do better. And if it takes this legislation to get all of these people - these adults in our system - to come together and figure it out, even if we don't retain a student ... I think that's successful," Norman said.

"While the bill talks about retention, at least in Washtenaw County, we are so committed to doing the right work for kids that it's really helping us continue to focus on that work," she continued. "(We're) adjusting our systems to make sure the supports are there for the young children who really need them."

As vice chair of the state's literacy commission, established by Gov. Rick Snyder in 2016 to recommend ways to improve Michigan's literacy rates, Norman has worked closely with state Rep. Amanda Price, R-Park Township, who chairs the commission.

Norman also co-chairs the early literacy task force convened by the Michigan Association of Intermediate School District Administrators in response to the new third-grade reading law. The task force has developed a Literacy Essentials Collaborative, which offers best practices for instruction from pre-school through fifth grade, coaching teachers and establishing school-wide systems to improve students' literacy.

The literacy essentials framework is based on research that should be helpful to schools across the state.

"We put in the base things that everybody should be doing every day," she said.

Norman also noted the growth of developmental kindergarten classes, which enroll kindergarten-age students whose parents want them to have an extra year of preparation before starting in a traditional kindergarten class.

To some extent that's already a year of retention, Norman said, and it gives young students more time to master the necessary reading skills by the end of the third grade.

Ann Arbor Public Schools announced in May 2017 it will not retain any third graders, regardless of how they perform on the MSTEP.

Instead, the school district plans to take advantage of exemptions provided in the third-grade reading law related to students receiving special education services, learning English as a second language, receiving intensive reading interventions or already repeating a grade level.

Also, if a parent and the superintendent agree that advancing to fourth grade is in the student's best interest, the student does not need to be held back.

"We know the devastating impact of retention, and we will not be implementing retention as a strategy," AAPS Superintendent Jeanice Swift said at the time. "We will be implementing a host of strategic interventions, additional supports, parent plans, summer plans, attendance plans, all of that. But not retention. I want to be clear about that."

Ypsilanti Community Schools Assistant Superintendent Sherrell Hobbs said the school district is not planning to rely on exemptions to avoid the retention requirement. But Ypsilanti Schools also is not currently making plans to accommodate holding back more students, she said.

"We don't look for any kind of exception or excuse," Hobbs said. "We want to focus on the target. The target is to have every student proficient in reading before they get to third grade."

Of Ypsilanti Schools' 197 general education third graders who took the MSTEP in 2017, 110 of them - or 56 percent - were not proficient in English language arts and likely would have been eligible for retention under the third-grade reading law, according to data from CEPI.

Lincoln Consolidated Schools is taking a similar approach to the retention requirement and not making plans at this point to accommodate holding back large groups of students, said Superintendent Sean McNatt.

Of Lincoln's 189 general education third graders in the 2016-17 school year, 79 students - or 42 percent - were not proficient in reading, according to data from CEPI.

"All students will be looked at as individuals," McNatt said. "We're not planning for failure. We're planning for the success of our students."

How schools plan to improve student literacy

While the third-grade reading law did not lead to wholesale, immediate changes at Washtenaw County schools this school year, some districts have plans to ramp up their efforts around literacy.

One change as a result of the law has been to more intentionally involve parents in developing their children's reading skills, McNatt said, noting the district has seen improvement in that area this school year.

Similarly, Symons Elementary parents signed a contract at the start of the school year committing to making sure their child attends school as much as possible and providing consistent time for reading at home, Gillow said.

"The big part for us is the read-at-home plan," Gillow said. "Having the parent piece signed as a contract is really helpful for us as we work together with families."

Lincoln Consolidated Schools is planning to spend $50,000 over the next three years to participate in Kids Read Now, a program that will allow Lincoln students to pick out books to read over the summer. Parents agree to help with summer reading and families can attend reading nights.

Ypsilanti Community Schools is planning to revamp its summer school program for students in second through 12th grade to include reading interventions and literacy activities, Hobbs said. The district has been stocking up on books for classrooms thanks to recent grant funding, and students in summer school will receive a set of books to take home.

Local literacy efforts expand beyond schools to include other community groups through the WISD's "Cradle to Career" initiative, which aims to create a support network for children and their families.

In the summer of 2016, educators across the county came together with representatives from nonprofits and universities to develop a series of "100 day challenges" to tackle immediate goals for students and families.

One of those challenges was to reduce summer learning loss for rising third graders at Ypsilanti's Holmes Elementary School. Students were sent home for the summer with a backpack filled with several books of their choice and literacy activities developed by their teachers.

The program expanded in the summer of 2017 to include students going into second through fourth grade, said Margy Long, director of the Washtenaw Success by 6 Great Start Collaborative, who is involved in the Cradle to Career initiative.

With continued support from Eastern Michigan University's Bright Futures program and the Children's Literacy Network, Holmes' summer reading program will continue this summer, Long said, and they hope to encourage more parent involvement.

Another recent county-wide effort to improve early literacy came from a TALK: Text And Learn for Kindergarten program launched by the Ypsilanti District Library in October 2017. Parents who sign up for TALK receive regular text messages suggesting activities to help their children develop literacy skills through daily routines. The service also notifies parents of free educational activities in their area.

To help promote TALK and other educational activities, Washtenaw County's Great Start Collaborative received a grant to train a group of "trusted advisors," Long said.

Starting this past fall, seven low-income parents trained as advisors are going door-to-door and attending community events to educate other parents on available programs and activities to help develop their children's reading skills, Long said. The advisors are relatable and understand the challenges facing families with young children, she added.

Efforts to have children proficient in reading by the end of third grade need to start well before kindergarten, Long said.

"Our focus is how can we make sure that these literacy skills are being built when the kids are 1 and 2 and 3, because that's going to be the foundation to make sure the kids are really critical readers," she said.