White Co. Schools See Improvements After Summer Learning Camps

White County Schools saw improvements in third-grade reading scores after the recent Summer Learning Camp.

Director of Schools Kurt Dronebarger said based on preliminary information, all but two students who completed the camp will be promoted to 4th grade. He said that is based on their performance

“I mean it’s difficult to say how much is happening, it’s 16 days of school so how much growth is happening, have they moved from point A to point B in that amount of time? It’s tough to say,” Dronebarger said. “Some students did, and some students just didn’t test well the first time and were able to bounce back.”

Dronebarger said that adequate growth is measured between a test taken at the beginning of SLC and at the end. He said the goal is to show a five percentage point increase between those two tests.

Dronebarger said that does not mean all of those students show the adequate growth they were looking for, but they can move on to 4th grade. He said from there, those students can do some additional tutoring and other interventions at the 4th-grade level.

“Again like I said it’s difficult in some cases to do that, it’s not a lot of time when you put it up against 180 days of school instruction,” Dronebarger said. “Nevertheless, we did see that with several of our students, they were able to do that growth rate and they’ll move on to 4th grade with no problem. Others will move on because of their attendance at summer learning camp but then still have to go through some tutoring.”

Dronebarger said in the end, these efforts are not wholly a bad thing because it is bringing attention to student needs both inside and outside the school system. He said if it can help meet student growth needs it will be worth it in the end.

Dronebarger said the remaining two students will remain in third grade to ensure they get the foundation they need to move on.