Districts take issue with state reading report
Administrators deny that parents are largely ignorant of their children’s proficiency
Administrators from some of New Mexico’s largest school districts say the Public Education Department was mistaken earlier this week when it said most parents in the state are in the dark about their children’s reading progress.
The department issued a report Sunday saying more than 96 percent of the state’s third-graders who cannot read proficiently at their grade level are still promoted to fourth grade. And based on data from the state’s 89 school districts, the report said, fewer than 5 percent of parents received letters warning them about their child’s reading struggles and requiring them to sign a waver if they don’t want their child to spend another year in the third grade.
The issue centers on differences in how each side is interpreting a state law that requires schools to inform parents that their third-grader isn’t mastering reading skills.
While the state agency says districts should be sending out the formal socalled retention letters, district leaders say the state statute doesn’t require them to notify parents in writing. They also say the law allows school administrators to work with parents to make the best decision on whether to promote or retain each child. Using only retention letter data to determine if parents are aware of their child’s progress paints an inaccurate picture, they argue.
“What is unfortunate is that it gives a negative impression of the school district that is patently unfair,” Santa Fe
Public Schools Superintendent Veronica García said Tuesday.
The education department said in its report that Santa Fe schools notified the parents of only seven third-graders that their child was not proficient in reading, but García said the figure is wrong. She also said the department erroneously reported that 139 of the district’s third-graders were not meeting reading proficiency standards, when in fact the district reported 129.
Of those 129 students, she said, 123 were supported by Student Assistance Teams made up of educators, administrators and parents — so the parents were frequently updated on their child’s progress.
“All 129 families were notified that their child was not proficient,” she said. “It’s not as if parents are not notified about their child’s proficiency level. And they are invited to come to parentteacher conferences to discuss this.”
District officials from Albuquerque, Rio Rancho and Las Cruces also said the retention letters only cover a small percentage of their communication with parents regarding students’ achievement levels.
Still, Christopher Ruszkowski, a deputy secretary of the Public Education Department, said the low number of retention letters that districts reported sending to third-graders’ parents — 18 for Las Cruces, 41 for Albuquerque and seven for Santa Fe, for example — speaks volumes about how little parents are told about their children’s reading abilities.
Even though the state law doesn’t require districts to notify parents in writing that a child is deficient in reading, he said districts should be sending formal waivers for parents to sign if they want a struggling child to move on to the fourth grade.
Rose-Ann McKernan, executive director of the Office of Accountability and Reporting at Albuquerque Public Schools, said the education department’s report gives the impression that the district is not following state statute.
“That’s absolutely not the case,” McKernan said Tuesday.
“We have a rigorous process in APS where we communicate and involve and notify parents whose children are struggling. And we have face-to-face meetings with parents,” she said. “They just don’t get a letter at the end of the year saying their child has been retained with meetings and group discussion.”
Troy Hughes, associate superintendent for elementary schools in the Albuquerque district, said about 90 percent of parents participate in conferences with teachers.
As a result, he said, “We are only chasing a small number” of parents with the retention letters and other efforts.
The district also sends out regular progress reports to parents, McKernan said.
Bethany Pendergrass, a spokeswoman for Rio Rancho Public Schools, said in an email Tuesday that the district “notifies parents of any concern related to student learning.”
“In relation to reading,” she said, “we inform parents when intervention plans are being developed and strongly encourage them to be involved in the process. Student Assistance Teams are created for individual students … and parents are invited to actively participate in all meetings. In addition, teachers make every effort to communicate with parents as concerns arise via a number of different methods including parent teacher conferences.”
She added: “To say parents aren’t informed based on retention letter data would not be an accurate statement.”
Jo Galvan, chief communication director for the Las Cruces Public Schools, echoed that point, saying in an email that the Public Education Department specifically asked for the number of retention letters going out to parents and did not request any other documentation to show how school officials communicated with parents.
“Beyond ‘letters,’ our district communication with families about retention and reading performance is vast,” she said. “There are parent conferences; emails and notes to-and-from parents from teachers; Student Assistance Team meetings to discuss progress; student academic improvement plans, which are sent to families; interim reports to parents; and more.”
Gov. Susana Martinez said Sunday that the education department report clearly shows parents aren’t adequately informed about their children’s reading struggles.
She has repeatedly pushed lawmakers to pass a bill giving the state the right to hold back a thirdgrade student who isn’t reading proficiently. But Democratic lawmakers have rejected the move, saying the decision should be left to parents and educators, as the state statute now allows, and arguing that there is little evidence to show that retention helps a student over time.
The education department report came out as lawmakers are preparing for this year’s 60-day legislative session, scheduled to begin Tuesday. Rep. Monica Youngblood, R-Albuquerque, has said she plans to file a bill this year putting an end to social promotion for third-graders — the practice of allowing a student to move up a grade so they can continue learning with other children their age, even if they don’t meet the academic requirements.