Putnam Fourth Graders Look To Show Reading Growth

Local schools moving into the next phase of the state’s new third-grade reading level laws: growth targets for fourth graders.

Putnam County Data and Testing Supervisor Jason Stickler said some 160 Putnam County fourth graders have been receiving extra tutoring as a result of their reading scores on last year’s third-grade standardized testing. He said the growth shown on April TCAP testing will be used to determine if students are ready to move up to fifth grade.

“We are extremely confident,” Stickler said. “You know, just the teacher-to-student relationship and that interaction that is happening in the classroom in addition to what they’re already receiving throughout their day with their regular teacher, all that’s combined together.”

Stickler said the students in the tutoring program are receiving between 30 and 45 minutes of extra Language Arts instruction three times each week. He said it is too early to tell how scores will look, but he is very optimistic.

“Our tutoring corps that we have throughout the district are just doing an amazing job preparing students,” Stickler said. “You know, really working with students in those small groups and then collaborating with teachers and admin in the building to really put forward instruction that’s going to prepare students at the end of the year.”

Stickler said students who do not show adequate improvement are subject to retention in the fourth grade. He said the curriculum in each grade level builds off of what students have learned in the previous grade. He said if students have not comprehended the fourth-grade curriculum, they will not be prepared for the more difficult subject matter that branches off of that material.

What we really move from is, sort of a basic reading skills approach in k-2 when we’re looking at phonics and letter sounds and alphabet recognition into more vocabulary development, comprehension development, and that shift usually occurs between second and third grade,” Stickler said. “And then really hitting the ground running into fourth and fifth grade.”

“If we haven’t acquired the skills and the knowledge needed to move onto the next grade level, we could really put ourselves behind in that knowledge that’s needed to be successful,” Stickler said.