New York Reading Skills Drop After 5th Grade
New York Times, September 21, 2006
The proportion of New York students reading and writing on grade level drops sharply between the fifth and sixth grades, and continues to plunge through middle school, according to the first results of a new, comprehensive state testing system that was adopted in the last school year to comply with the federal No Child Left Behind law.
The results show a sharp fall-off in the number of students performing at grade level after fifth grade.
The scores, released today by the state education commissioner, Richard P. Mills, show more than two-thirds of students reading and writing at the appropriate level in fourth grade but fewer than half doing so in eighth grade. The results offer a clear trend of declining literacy skills that helps explain the stateÂs low high school graduation rates.
ÂThe overall pattern is disturbing  relatively high performance in grades three, four and five, which is still not as high as it should be, and a downward trend in grade six that accelerates in grades seven and eight, Mr. Mills said. ÂLiteracy is the problem. This pattern is not inevitable. This pattern has to change. All youngsters have to emerge from middle school ready for high school. We still have a lot of work to do.Â
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New York Times, September 21, 2006
The proportion of New York students reading and writing on grade level drops sharply between the fifth and sixth grades, and continues to plunge through middle school, according to the first results of a new, comprehensive state testing system that was adopted in the last school year to comply with the federal No Child Left Behind law.
The results show a sharp fall-off in the number of students performing at grade level after fifth grade.
The scores, released today by the state education commissioner, Richard P. Mills, show more than two-thirds of students reading and writing at the appropriate level in fourth grade but fewer than half doing so in eighth grade. The results offer a clear trend of declining literacy skills that helps explain the stateÂs low high school graduation rates.
ÂThe overall pattern is disturbing  relatively high performance in grades three, four and five, which is still not as high as it should be, and a downward trend in grade six that accelerates in grades seven and eight, Mr. Mills said. ÂLiteracy is the problem. This pattern is not inevitable. This pattern has to change. All youngsters have to emerge from middle school ready for high school. We still have a lot of work to do.Â
Click on the post title to read the whole article. (Free, but one-time NYT registration required.)
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