WCSD officials discuss reading levels
Watson Chapel School District leaders spent much of Monday’s regular board meeting brainstorming ideas to help students improve their reading performance before they graduate high school.
Campus principals gave their monthly updates on students’ reading performances by grade levels, and each of the grade levels showed continued signs of growth in word-study skills from February to March. For example, at Edgewood Elementary, the total of kindergartners and first graders working above grade-level materials increased from 5% to 10% in that span, and the number of such kids working below grade-level materials has dropped from 73% last October to 23% in March.
Then came the statistics illustrating the average reading level per grade.
At Coleman Elementary, 68% of second graders are reading below instructional reading level (IRL), which is defined as the highest reading level at which a student is at least 80% proficient at comprehending material with assistance.
That left 32% of second graders reading on or above IRL. But in grades 3-5, the percentage of those at least meeting IRL was lower, with as few as 19% of fifth graders reading on or above level.
At Watson Chapel Junior High, as much as 87% of eighth graders were reading below IRL. Another graph showed that the average reading level for an eighth grader was slightly higher than fifth grade.
At Watson Chapel High School, 90% of ninth graders were reading below level, as were 97% of seniors. The average reading level for a senior was slightly higher than fourth grade.
The scores were based on the students’ recent performance on the Renaissance Star Assessment in January. District students take that test periodically to measure their growth in preparation for the state-mandated ATLAS test.
“You have to remember while not every student has taken the test, all subgroups are represented,” WCSD assistant superintendent Dee Davis said, adding that some students who attend alternative campuses may take a different test. “It’s just an interim. There are a lot of variables when you consider whether the data is precise.”
For example, Davis said, students deal with much pressure to perform well on test batteries and may not accurately answer
each question.
Board President Goldie Whitaker asked if class time to focus on reading skills was built into the schedule at each campus.
“There is no way a ninth grader should be reading at a fourth grade level,” Whitaker said after looking at the bar graphs. “This kid is getting ready at the end of this school term to be a 10th grader. So that’s why I ask, what would it look like and what can we do to help move these kids up?”
Davis responded that each elementary school uses 160 minutes per day to focus on literacy. The elementaries and junior high school have an additional 40-45 minutes of “What I Need,” or WIN, time and the high school an additional 30 minutes, she said.
Coleman Elementary Principal Marcia Merritt suggested that more human resources are needed to help students during the WIN time.
“Our WIN groups have 18-19 kids in the groups. That’s not an intervention class because it’s too many students in that class,” Merritt said. “If we have the human resources, the hands to do it, we can make mega-growth. We’ve got to have the human resources to get it done.”
Merritt reminded the board that under the Arkansas LEARNS Act signed into law last year, if a third grade student has not met the state’s reading standards by the start of the 2025-26 school year, that student shall not be promoted to fourth grade.
“I need the babies ready to go, and I need them gone,” Merritt said. “So we need the human resources to make our babies go.”
High school Principal Henry Webb said his campus could use one or two reading teachers to help students elevate their skills.
“We’re trying to dig down deep, and I believe the state department is helping us out, I believe, to see what the problems are so we can improve and go forward,” Superintendent Tom Wilson said. “Reading is the key to education. That’s why we encourage every parent, read to your child. Hand them a book. They look at enough videos on their phones. … We’re not bringing this out for any negative; we’re bringing this out to show growth. That’s why everybody’s got to do their jobs at Watson Chapel High School so we can be successful.”
Whitaker expressed appreciation to principals for their work in addressing literacy.
“We’re building a new school, but this is what people will take pride in, that our kids can and will learn,” she said. “So I’m proud of what you’re doing.”