Parents To Get List Of What Student Should Learn

Thousands of Spokane parents will watch their kids disappear behind school doors tomorrow. But what’s going on there doesn’t need to be a mystery.

For the first time, District 81’s elementary school teachers will send home detailed lists of what students are expected to learn in the next nine months.

Really detailed lists.

Got a kindergartner? She’ll be expected to “hold the book the right way up” before next summer.

By third grade, she’ll be on track if she “reads on when encountering difficult text.”

And when sixth grade ends, she should do all that and more: Avidly pursue favorite authors, discuss reading preferences, think critically and analyze text.

There are 33 skills for sixth-grade reading alone. Not to mention 39 for writing, 55 for math, 20 for science and 24 for social studies.

Educators call the skills “learning targets,” and the lists haven’t been easy for them, either. They’ve spent three years hashing out what kids should be expected to know at each grade level.

In the next few days, parents with children in kindergarten through the sixth grade will receive copies of the lists, teachers say. They’re already working on targets for older students.

“When a parent has their child entered in kindergarten, it’s all laid out,” said Pat Mainella, who helped create the reading targets.

“This is what your child should learn. And then when that child moves on to first grade, there’s a real strong connection.”

The lists aren’t simply a gift to concerned parents.

They’re also a way to help make sure Spokane’s kids are ready for an onslaught of new assessment tests they’ll soon face as part of the state’s education reform plan.

By the 2000-2001 school year, all students in grades 4, 7 and 10 will be required to take the tests.

Fourth-graders were the first to take their version of the assessments last spring, and educators are nervously warning parents that scores - set to be announced Thursday - likely will be low.

The target lists won’t just help kids get up to speed, but they’ll also remind teachers what they need to focus on in class, said George Kersul, Spokane’s former math coordinator.

“There’s a tendency for teachers to say, ‘Here’s my book, my materials, and I’ll just do the best job I can,”’ Kersul said.

The targets make an easy checklist, Kersul said.

“For many years, what was tested in the state didn’t necessarily match what was taught in the classroom.”

Soon Spokane parents will have another reason to make sure their kids keep up with the class. They may be held back if they don’t.

School board members are discussing a plan to hold kids more accountable for schoolwork, and those who can’t prove they’re ready to advance to the next grade may have to make it up.

That could mean repeating a grade or going to summer school.

Educators hope parents will use the learning targets to talk to their children about school, said Fran Mester, director of instructional programs.

A major change they’ll notice is that kids won’t just be expected to solve problems. Teachers will want to know how they arrived at the answer, too.

Communication plays a big part in the new expectations.

“The biggest thing I see different is that kids need to be able to explain their thinking,” said Mary Jo Ormsby, who teaches fourth grade at Lidgerwood Elementary School. “It just takes it to a whole other level.”

A third-grade target, for instance, says kids should be able to “explain mathematical thinking orally and in writing.”

“It’s adding a layer of sophistication and complexity,” Mester said. “Not only will they know 2 plus 2 equals 4, they’ll tell you why they know 2 plus 2 equals 4.”

When given writing assignments, even the youngest students will learn to write rough drafts, edit and rewrite final drafts, Mainella said.

“It isn’t just let’s write about my summer vacation, so take 30 minutes to do it and turn it in,” she said.

Teachers hope parents use the targets as a quick reference when talking to teachers about their students’ progress.

Or they can use them when helping their children with homework.

“There’s no question about what’s being taught and what kids need to learn,” Ormsby said. “It’s just an exciting adventure, I think.”

, DataTimes