Third – or 4th?! – grade reading retention
As Tennessee implements its new law, what other Southern states require struggling readers be held back?
Warning: This might be a long one.
In the spring of 2021, amid the COVID-19 pandemic and fights over mask mandates, virtual learning and who had the authority to close public schools, Tennessee lawmakers – and appointed officials – made substantial changes to how the Volunteer State taught students to read, or at least how it held students and schools accountable in reading.
Then first-term Gov. Bill Lee called a special legislative session to focus on education and the Tennessee Department of Education, headed by Commissioner Penny Schwinn, launched a $100 million initiative called “Reading 360,” which was touted as an effort to provide training and resources to teachers, schools and parents teaching kids to read.
You see, before the pandemic only about 36% of Tennessee’s third graders were reading on grade-level according to the state’s standardized assessment.
And anyone who has been in or near the education arena knows the old adage that up to third grade, students are “learning to read,” but in third grade they begin “reading to learn.”
Studies show that students who aren’t reading proficiently in third grade are more likely to fall further and further behind, are more likely to drop out of college1 and are less likely to go to college – so most folks agree, reading on grade-level at the end of third grade is important.
But how important? That’s a debate Tennessee lawmakers had quietly two years ago and are still having today. It’s also one Florida began 20 years ago.
RETENTION IN TENNESSEE
Starting with the 2022-23 school year, Tennessee third graders who did not pass the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program, or TCAP, would have to repeat third grade – with several exceptions.
Students score at four different levels on TCAP: below expectations, approaching expectations, met expectations or exceeded expectations.
Students in the bottom two categories could have been retained – and with only about one-third of students reading on grade level in Tennessee most years – that was. major concern.
But students in the “approaching” category also had the option to attend summer school and/or opt for a year of intensive high-dosage tutoring in fourth grade in order to move on.
Of the roughly 44,000 third grade students who scored low enough to be at risk of retention in 2023, just under 900 students, or 1.2 percent of all third graders who took the test, were actually held back because of their reading scores thanks to these options and other exemptions (such as those for English language learners, etc.), according to Ariel Gilreath of the Hechinger Report.
This year though, some of those fourth graders are AGAIN facing retention and the stress that comes along with it.
If those students don’t show “adequate growth” on this year’s assessments, they can be retained – but like anything education policy-related, what adequate growth means had been unclear and hotly contested until the Tennessee State Board of Education met last week.
For more on that saga, I‘ll leave you with Laura Testino of Chalkbeat Tennessee. She breaks it down here.
LESSONS FROM FLORIDA
Two decades ago when I was still a student in Florida, the Sunshine State launched it’s third-grade retention policy in the midst of No Child left Behind.
During the 2003-04 school year – the year the law first took effect – about 14% of third graders, or 23,000 students, were held back.
Within several years, that number dropped to about 6% but the effort continued and has since been replicated in states across the country (thanks in part to former Gov. Jeb Bush and his organization, excel in Ed’s influence on education policy) and a generation of Florida students grew up under the shadow of the possibility of having to repeat a grade.
Not unrelated, for a time, Florida students also could be held back after fourth grade depending on their performance on what was then called FCAT Writes, a standardized test that reinforced the five paragraph essay.
Over the past 20 years, researchers have been able to study Florida’s policy and some of the findings have been interesting.
Martin West, a Harvard Graduate School of Education professor, and colleagues followed 75,000 students to study the impact repeating a grade might have on high school graduation rates. Their research was published in 2015 and ultimately found little correlation, contrary to what other studies have found and advocates have argued.
In a paper published in 2016, researchers from the American Institutes for Research and Northwestern’s David Figlio also found that policies allowing parents to appeal (or exceptions for students) were unevenly implemented. The education level of a student’s mother actually correlated with whether an appeal was granted, and tracking with other data, students of color or students whose parents didn’t graduate high school or college were more likely to be retained.
A more positive analysis of the efficacy of Florida’s retention policy found positive impacts for the siblings of students who had to repeat a grade though. In a paper published last year, David Figlio, Krzysztof Karbownik of Emory University – who also studies school voucher programs – and Umut Ozek found that test scores improved for both the child retained and their younger siblings in both reading and math.
The study also found these effects were particularly pronounced in families where one child is disabled, for boys and in immigrant families.
The why or how behind this improvement varies and researchers ask, are parents more informed and make different decisions after one child has been retained? Do they change their early education approach for the younger kids? Do they change schools?
Researchers sought to answer these questions and provide some insight. Read the full study here.
WHAT STATES HAVE 3RD – OR 4TH – RETENTION POLICY
As of 2020, at least 17 states and D.C. require retention with some exemptions that range from whether students are English language learners to whether they demonstrate reading proficiency through an alternative test or evaluation, according to the Education Commission of the States, a nonprofit organization that tracks state education policies.
The states in the Southeast with third grade retention policies currently on the books, include:
Alabama
Florida
Georgia
Kentucky
Mississippi
North Carolina
South Carolina
Tennessee
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For more on Tennessee’s retention policy, including background on the legislation, the political debate and the impact on this year’s fourth graders – as well as sassy videos – follow Emily West (@emwest22 on X) of NewsChannel5.
IN THE HEADLINES
NATIONALLY: The U.S. Supreme Court declined to take up a case that challenges an elite Virginia high school’s admissions policy aimed at increasing diversity on the grounds that it discriminates against Asian American students | FROM CHALKBEAT
MENTAL HEALTH: Psychiatric evaluations are meant to keep students safe, but psychiatrists say schools frequently misuse and misunderstand them due to fears of campus violence | FROM THE HECHINGER REPORT
STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES: Families and advocates worry that state laws and policies that are not always equipped to deal with students with disabilities, especially those who cannot communicate verbally or in writing, leave it hard to get police, education and state officials after a 14-year-old with autism was berated and forced to shower at an Alabama middle school | FROM THE ALABAMA EDUCATION LAB AT AL.COM
GUN SAFETY: A new bill that require Tennessee public schools to teach children “age-appropriate firearms safety concepts” as early as pre-K advanced out of. a House committee this week – but some argue the requirement “accepts” guns and gun violence as “just a part of life” | FROM THE TENNESSEAN
MARXISM: Florida public school students start learning about communism in 7th grade, but that’s too late for some Florida House Republicans who want teachers to instruct students as young as kindergarteners on concepts such as “cultural Marxism” – but what is it? | FROM THE FLORIDA PHOENIX
SCHOOL FUNDING: The North Carolina Supreme Court will consider whether the state must pay nearly $700 million to fund parts of a sweeping public education improvement plan, but advocates are protesting the court’s decision to rehear what is widely known as the Leandro case | FROM NC NEWSLINE
NOT IN THE SOUTH
Speaking of school funding – though Montana is far from the Southeast (very far), Alex Sakariassen and Eric Dietrich at the Montana Free Press recently put together a super engaging, illustrated explainer of how the state funds public schools.
Complete with a breakdown of how state and local dollars flow into the pot, the general components of any school district’s budget and Montana’s own Texas-esque school equalization funding model, it’s quite interesting and is bound to have similarities to other states (or at least excite fellow edu finance nerds).
Check it out: How Montana pays for its public schools, in pictures
THE LATEST FROM ME
Earlier this month I was on the road from Montana to Virginia (which explains why this newsletter didn’t go out last week). Now I can say why:
I’ve started a new job as Deputy Editor for Piedmont Media, publisher of the Fauquier Times and the Prince William Times in Northern Virginia. The two weekly papers are now owned by the nonprofit Piedmont Journalism Foundation in an effort to save local journalism.
Not only will I be coaching reporters and helping manage the digital-side of the operation, I will also be *covering education* in Fauquier and Prince William counties. If you’re familiar with the area, or Virginia’s K-12 system in general, please send tips/info/snarky comments to mmangrum@fauquier.com.
I WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU
I hope to publish this little experiment weekly and I want to hear from you.
What education topics are top of mind for you and your community? What is being missed nationally? Locally? What are you curious about?
If you’ve read a great education story lately, are following a specific piece of legislation, or want to brag on a local education reporter, please share.
You can reach me at megmangrum@gmail.com.
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Some studies actually show retention increases the likelihood a student will drop out of high school.