Young readers turn the page

Scores from a statewide reading test show more of Kootenai County’s youngest students are reading at or above grade level by the time they leave third grade.

They join students statewide who have made significant improvements in their Idaho Reading Indicator scores since the beginning of this school year.

“We’ve made a lot of progress since the fall,” said Lisa Sexton, Idaho Reading Indicator coordinator for the Rathdrum-based Lakeland School District. “It’s the day-to-day incredible teaching in the classrooms that impacts the student achievement in this district.”

The Idaho Reading Indicator is conducted three times a year – in the fall, winter and spring – in kindergarten through third grade. It was designed to measure students’ reading skills so teachers can identify children who are struggling and provide additional instruction. National studies show that children who cannot read by the time they leave third grade often fail to catch up with their peers.

Student scores for the county’s three major school districts – Coeur d’Alene, Post Falls, and Lakeland – outpaced or matched statewide averages in each of the grade levels tested.

The percentages of kindergartners reading at grade level at all three districts improved by more than 20 percentage points, rising to 88 percent, 92 percent and 80 percent, respectively, in Coeur d’Alene, Post Falls and Lakeland. The percentages of second-graders reading at grade level in the three districts improved by 14 to 22 percentage points, and third-graders, by 13 to 17 percentage points. All three districts started the year with well over 80 percent of first-graders reading at grade level, so improvement was less pronounced.

Despite the frequent state tests, the districts adds its own, said Frances Huffman, director of special services for the Coeur d’Alene district, which has additional benchmark tests in November and March.

“All of those are used to keep tabs on whether kids are making it because we know we can’t wait until the end,” Huffman said. “A ship can drift quite a way off course if you’re not frequently checking it.”

The Legislature contributes $2.8 million a year for the Idaho Reading Indicator, which includes more than $1 million to help struggling students, the state Department of Education said in a news release. The most recent results show that 75 percent of Idaho students in kindergarten through third grade scored at grade level or above in reading, up from 63 percent in the fall.

Barney Brewton, director of elementary programs for the Post Falls district, said the IRI primarily tests fluency and is used in conjunction with other assessments to create a complete picture of students’ progress.

“It’s just one piece of the puzzle,” Brewton said.