Dive Brief:
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While teachers in Oklahoma rallied for increased public education funding, the state’s senate passed an amended measure allowing for flexibility in a recent law tying third grade reading performance on the state’s standardized test to promotion to the next grade.
- The amended measure allows a student to prove proficiency in a number of ways beyond just the state’s standardized test.
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Before the law or the amendment, a student could be reading at a limited level — as much as a year behind — and still be promoted.
Dive Insight:
Sen. Clark Jolley, R-Edmond — author of the amendment — says he believes these changes will help soothe concerns that the originally passed law would put third graders under an enormous amount of pressure to pass one test on one day.
His approach is one that takes away the emphasis on standardized testing. It is currently unclear what the other types of reading screening instruments will be; however, that will be important in determining the effectiveness of this new measure.
Ultimately, third grade is a fundamental time in education and having students pass to the next grade without being proficient in reading is a disservice to all.
