Saturday, December 8, 2001
Pupils placing 'below basic' have two more chances to improve their scores.
By RON COLE
VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Nearly 83 percent of Mahoning Valley fourth-graders passed the state reading proficiency test this fall, but more than 1,000 did not and are at risk of not being promoted to the fifth grade.
Of the 5,893 fourth-graders in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties who took the exam in October, 4,852 scored at or above the "basic" level, says results released Friday.
On the other hand, 1,041 or 17.6 percent placed in the "below basic" category.
Children scoring in that category have two more opportunities to take the test -- March and July. If they don't move out of the bottom category, they could be held back in the fourth grade next year.
"We now have several months to work with these students," said Jim Ciccolelli, superintendent of Campbell schools, where 44 fourth-graders scored "below basic."
"We're going to do everything in our power between now and then to get them up to that level."
Statewide: Nearly 117,000 Ohio fourth-graders took the mandatory one-day reading test in early October. It's the first time the test was administered in October.
The tests were scored in four categories: advanced, proficient, basic and below basic.
Nearly 21,000, or 17 percent, of fourth-graders statewide scored "below basic" in October.
The state's fourth-grade reading guarantee, which goes into effect this year, requires pupils to score at or above the "basic" level.
If a pupil does not after three attempts, school districts have three options: retain the child in fourth grade; promote the child to fifth grade with the permission of the reading teacher and principal; promote the child but with special intensive intervention.
Best, worst: Three Mahoning Valley school districts had all but one of their pupils score at or above the "basic" level: South Range, Western Reserve and Columbiana.
"We put a lot of emphasis on reading," said John Scardino, principal of Joshua Dixon Elementary School in Columbiana.
"Every year, we try to give the kids a really good foundation. We've always prided ourselves that we have good readers."
Youngstown posted the worst scores in the three counties: 304 or 44 percent of the 685 fourth-graders taking the test in October scored at the "below basic" level.
The only large city school district in the state with a higher percentage of children in the "below basic" level was Dayton with 53 percent, the results show.
Forty percent of Cleveland and Columbus fourth-graders scored in the "below basic" category. Canton placed the lowest percentage of children "below basic" at 24 percent, followed by Akron at 26 percent and Cincinnati at 28 percent.
Other Mahoning Valley districts with a high percentage of "below basic" scores include Campbell with 37 percent, Southern Local in Columbiana County with 33 percent and Warren with 30 percent.
Ciccolelli said he hopes Campbell's scores improve with the help of a new $60,000 OhioReads grant.
He said the test allows the district to identify pupils who need help.
"We're grouping these kids by their weaknesses and then we're addressing those specific skills that they lack on an individual basis," he said.