Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

The results of April reading subtests are in for Lowndes County Schools Public Schools (LCPS). The district announced recently that scores of third-grade reading proficiency are up to 90% overall, a gain of 7% districtwide from last year’s 83% average.

According to Demond Mullins, LCPS director of curriculum and federal programs, improvements surpassed all expectations.

“We were at 83% last year, so we set a goal this year to be at least at 88% for the entire district. It varies from school to school based on the number of kids  that were administered the test, but we did set a goal for them to improve about 5% and they have exceeded those expectations. We are more than proud [of those results.]”

At Jackson-Steele Elementary, 100% of third grade students tested measured at or above grade level reading. Numbers were a little lower at Fort Deposit Elementary, at 91% and Central Elementary, coming in at 85%. 

The test is a requirement for Alabama’s Literacy Act, is given in April, with results available in May to assist administrators with planning for summer enrichment programs. Students who do not meet the criteria for reading proficiency must attend summer reading camp programs to improve how they are functioning, Mullins said.

Students and parents put in the hard work to achieve the growth, Mullins explained, and families partner with teachers and local reading specialists to identify deficiencies and work for improvement.

“We put specific teachers on a coaching cycle with one teacher for the first nine weeks before they move on to the next teacher in the second  nine weeks,” Mullins explained. “They work side by side; they co-teach to help achieve better understanding of how to implement strategies.

“Intervention is another thing that we implemented this year, as well as small group instruction. Our teachers do a great job of that. They’re pulling those kids who have deficiencies, meeting those individual and group needs in a small setting to help them improve and accelerate.”

After-school tutoring was offered prior to spring break, Mullins said. The program offered one-on-one instruction to third graders who needed extra help, giving them yet another chance to improve their academic performance.

As with most data analysis, the test results revealed areas still needing improvement.

“The bigger deficiency is reading comprehension,” Mullins noted. “For example, a student will have to read a passage or paragraph and they will respond to questions about the passage. We’re looking to provide students with more opportunities to master that standard by giving them a passage they have never seen before and letting them read it and respond. We want to expose them to more of those ‘cold reads’ so they will get more comfortable with that and be able to perform better on our standardized tests and understand what they are reading.”