One in eight third-graders retained for reading deficiency
By DAVE BREITENSTEIN, debreitenstein@naplesnews.com, Bonitanews.com
July 31, 2004

Nearly one in eight Lee County third-graders will be retained after failing to demonstrate adequate reading skills during the 2003-04 school year.

A state law aimed at curtailing social promotion requires third-graders to meet minimum reading standards before being promoted to fourth grade. In Lee County, 709 low-performing children will repeat the third grade, according to a district memo released Friday afternoon. A similar proportion was forced to repeat last year as well.

During the previous school year, 1,124 Lee County third-graders - 21 percent of the entire grade - scored in the lowest reading achievement level on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test administered in March. Those children aren't automatically retained, though, because the state offers six potential exemptions. Through Friday, 372 of the 1,124 have received exemptions. Another 43 students are not classified as promoted or retained because they have withdrawn from the school district.

Schools have the authority to promote or retain students as they see fit, but Lee County also invited parents for discussions after FCAT scores were tabulated. Some parents support retention because it allows time for their children to catch up, while others worry about potential self-esteem problems that arise when children see peers leave them behind.

"This has been a lengthy debate in education for years," said Richard Itzen, director of evaluation, testing and research. "It's a choice between that or sending them through without the skills."

Students can qualify for any of six exemptions: limited English proficient students with fewer than two years of instruction in an English for Speakers of Other Languages program; students with disabilities whose individual education plans indicate that standardized tests are not appropriate measures of learning; students who meet requirements on an alternative state-approved reading assessment; students who demonstrate mastery of Sunshine State Standards through a portfolio; children with disabilities who were previously retained and are receiving intensive remediation; or students who already have been retained twice.

Of the 709 students being retained, Itzen said about 60 will return to third grade for a third year. For these students, the state recommends reducing student-to-teacher ratios, increasing the block of time dedicated to reading and establishing new instructional techniques in hoping that lessons finally "click."

Last year, the school district created almost three dozen additional third-grade classrooms to accommodate the retained students. Many of those teaching positions were filled with fourth-grade teachers whose schools did not have enough students entering that grade. Retained students aren't expected to make such an impact during the 2004-05 school year because the extra third-grade classes already exist.

Bonita Elementary Principal David Short said eight of the school's third-graders scored poorly on this spring's FCAT. But the school offered an extended day program during the school year and an extended-year program earlier this summer to help them develop better reading skills. Short said it's likely that just one of those students will be retained.

At nearby Bonita Springs Charter School, Principal Pamela Franco said seven of her third-graders will be retained. The school is adding a full-time reading teacher this year and considering new primary reading programs, targeting children as soon as they enter kindergarten.

"Hopefully by the time they reach third grade, we won't even have to worry about it," Franco said.