View Full Version : 3rd Grade Reading Scores



Dennis Heaton
05-10-2014, 08:40 AM
Districts, state superintendent, react to testing results (http://www.okcfox.com/story/25479570/districts-state-superintendent-react-to-testing-results)

Barresi says district outrage is misplaced.

“This isn't about putting them back in 3rd grade. That's a big point that's been missed here. This is about taking a breath, giving them a year, to really focus on proven strategies to get them ready to be successful in 4th grade.”

Sooooo, the students are not going to be in the 3rd grade and they are not going to be in the 4th grade. That must mean...

RadicalModerate
05-10-2014, 08:52 AM
Homskoolin?

I saw an article, that I didn't read closely, that said something like, if the kids who weren't proficient at a third grade reading level could show they were proficient at a second grade reading level then they would be granted special dispensation to enter the fourth grade. Apparently, I not only didn't read the article closely, but I also didn't read it with understanding or comprehension. In any case, it didn't make sense to me.

Dennis Heaton
05-10-2014, 09:05 AM
^ I saw that same "comment" last night and was trying to find it a again this morning (if it's the same one). Spoke about needing "a cadre of volunteers" to help read to children.

Dennis Heaton
05-10-2014, 09:12 AM
Nearly 8,000 Third Graders Fail Reading Exam and Face Possible Retention | Oklahoma Watch (http://oklahomawatch.org/2014/05/09/more-than-7970-third-graders-fail-reading-exam-face-retention/)

Dennis Heaton
05-10-2014, 09:19 AM
Starting Monday, Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) literacy staff and REAC3H Coaches will be manning telephone hotlines for educators and parents who have questions concerning the application of the RSA.

The RSA Hotlines will be active from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays from Monday through Friday, May 23.

Parents and community members can call (405) 521-3774 to leave comments or questions. The line will be monitored, with responses provided in a timely fashion.

RadicalModerate
05-10-2014, 09:19 AM
If 8,000 kids aren't promoted, isn't that going to clog up the pipeline? Won't more schools have to be built to accommodate the overflow and deal with traffic through the system? Hmmmm . . . Maybe this will be good for the economy in the long run.

I don't understand all this over-concern with third grade reading. What I'd be looking at--and being concerned about--is their ability to read a ruler and graph functions. On the other hand, if they can't read, how do they expect to be able to text stuff. It's the proverbial rock and a hard place.

Seriously: I can't remember how I learned to read. I know that my mom spent a lot of time prepping me for Kindergarten and First Grade (where official Reading Training began) by reading TO me . . . yet I can't remember just when or how the ability--and love--of reading came to me. It's gotta be tough to teach someone how to develop a skill they have no real interest in acquiring.

hoya
05-10-2014, 09:41 AM
If 8,000 kids aren't promoted, isn't that going to clog up the pipeline? Won't more schools have to be built to accommodate the overflow and deal with traffic through the system? Hmmmm . . . Maybe this will be good for the economy in the long run.

I don't understand all this over-concern with third grade reading. What I'd be looking at--and being concerned about--is their ability to read a ruler and graph functions. On the other hand, if they can't read, how do they expect to be able to text stuff. It's the proverbial rock and a hard place.

Seriously: I can't remember how I learned to read. I know that my mom spent a lot of time prepping me for Kindergarten and First Grade (where official Reading Training began) by reading TO me . . . yet I can't remember just when or how the ability--and love--of reading came to me. It's gotta be tough to teach someone how to develop a skill they have no real interest in acquiring.

I remember sitting on the couch with my mom every night and we would read through the little books I brought home. I remember a lot of the "see spot run" stuff was really boring. My mom must have had infinite patience.

RadicalModerate
05-10-2014, 09:52 AM
The first books I remember really enjoying--I mean REALLY enjoying--were the Dr. Seuss Series, beginning with The Cat In The Hat. In my opinion, the best of them all was McElligot's Pool. It scarred my paradigm of the world for life. =)

(p.s.: this was long before Sesame Street or Reading Rainbow or [etc.] ever rose over the learning horizon. =)

Dennis Heaton
05-10-2014, 10:03 AM
I cut my teeth on the "We Were There" books back in the 1950'S...

7791

RadicalModerate
05-10-2014, 10:13 AM
I remember that, in Second Grade, I was really into books like these:
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_F2xmLAzQ8Ho/SqfnuyRL6tI/AAAAAAAAEg0/dhOJ4hZ7y-M/s400/Grahame+-+Wind+in+the+Willows+%5B2%5D.jpg

http://i1264.photobucket.com/albums/jj483/popfrank2/Books/OldManCoyote_zps045cf275.jpg

Dennis Heaton
05-10-2014, 10:21 AM
OMGosh! I Sooooo remember that book, "The Adventures of Old Man Coyote." And, as much as I hate to admit it, I don't think I ever read it to any of my children. I had them enrolled in the Scholastic Reading Program, plus we made bi-weekly trips to the County Library.

Dennis Heaton
05-10-2014, 11:34 AM
Nearly 30 percent of Oklahoma City third-graders score unsatisfactory on state reading test | News OK (http://newsok.com/nearly-30-percent-of-oklahoma-city-third-graders-score-unsatisfactory-on-state-reading-test/article/4747866)

Filthy
05-12-2014, 08:19 AM
This should be surprising to no one, yet alarming to everyone.

Midtowner
05-12-2014, 09:06 AM
Some want to blame the test. I blame the schools for failing these children. The test just uncovered what a huge failure our primary schools are.

OkieBerto
05-12-2014, 09:30 AM
Some want to blame the test. I blame the schools for failing these children. The test just uncovered what a huge failure our primary schools are.

Grossly underfunded education system will be Oklahoma's downfall in the future. An uneducated population is a poor population.

Filthy
05-12-2014, 10:28 AM
Some want to blame the test. I blame the schools for failing these children. The test just uncovered what a huge failure our primary schools are.

I disagree 100%. This is on the parents of the children. If you were to map out the pass/fail percentages, and look at each individual school and district ratings, it is blatantly obvious what the real issues are. But this world has become so PC...that everyone is scared to call it like they see it.

gjl
05-12-2014, 10:45 AM
I disagree 100%. This is on the parents of the children. If you were to map out the pass/fail percentages, and look at each individual school and district ratings, it is blatantly obvious what the real issues are. But this world has become so PC...that everyone is scared to call it like they see it.

How dare you bring up personal responsibility. It doesn't matter what these kids are doing with their time when not in school. We must blame the schools.

soonerguru
05-12-2014, 10:46 AM
I was reading more into what's happening in Kansas and it is frightening. Their state is headed toward fiscal insolvency because of a hastily approved income tax cut last year. Their governor's response? Obama's fault. I think this gets back to the Grover Norquist "drown government in a bathtub" philosophy, advanced by ALEC and the Kochs: create a fiscal crisis with tax cuts so government services have to be shuttered.

If Oklahoma continues to go down this path, I'm going to relocate. We have to fund education and infrastructure. We need to fund the arts. We need to fund higher education. In order to attract the quality of jobs we want, we don't just want a business-friendly fiscal environment; we also need an educated work force and a functional government.

OkieBerto
05-12-2014, 11:11 AM
http://togetherok.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/HorizontalMainGraphic.png

I blame our political system. I don't blame the people who teach our children at all. They are underfunded!

kelroy55
05-12-2014, 11:29 AM
Some want to blame the test. I blame the schools for failing these children. The test just uncovered what a huge failure our primary schools are.

If only there was some kind of standardized educational programs... oh wait.

jerrywall
05-12-2014, 11:41 AM
If 8,000 kids aren't promoted, isn't that going to clog up the pipeline?

Based on the various articles I've seen, they expect about 50 percent of the kids to obtain exemptions. I'm not sure what the criteria is though.

Florida had similar results their first year, and the percentage of kids who failed dropped steadily each year after that.

kelroy55
05-12-2014, 11:52 AM
Grossly underfunded education system will be Oklahoma's downfall in the future. An uneducated population is a poor population.

It seems the Gov. and the Legislature are in a pissing match over really important stuff like more laws to protect the 2nd Amendment. The good Gov. also veto's two Bills she doesn't deem necessary. The first one would amend a sales tax exemption law for 100 percent disabled veterans and their surviving spouses by requiring the state Tax Commission to issue separate exemption cards to a spouse or household member of an eligible person so that purchases could be made on their behalf. The second one would require Oklahoma hospitals to provide parents of newborns with educational information about whooping cough disease and the availability of a preventative vaccine.

Oklahoma governor, lawmakers exchange political messages | News OK (http://newsok.com/oklahoma-governor-lawmakers-exchange-political-messages/article/4748613)

jerrywall
05-12-2014, 12:02 PM
Well, the latter veto should make you happy.

gjl
05-12-2014, 12:11 PM
How do you explain the 70% of the 3rd graders who did learn how to read at their level?

Dennis Heaton
05-12-2014, 12:13 PM
Grossly underfunded education system will be Oklahoma's downfall in the future...

I can't for the life of me figure out why the Oklahoma Education system would be underfunded.

7813

Filthy
05-12-2014, 12:23 PM
If the schools/education system being "underfunded" is the primary cause for these deficiencies, then why do some of the children do well on the tests? If the school and/or teacher is doing such a horrible job...why is it that there are some children who did very well, and actually exceeded expectations? It's because some children actually have parents that are involved, and engaged in their children's education/future.


Who is going to get a better education?

Little Johnny who comes home from Deer Creek elementary, and sits down every single night with Mom and Dad and reads 3 books before sitting down and having dinner together.

or

Little Johnny who comes home from XYZ inner urban elementary, lets himself into his apartment and plays video games alone until 10:30 at night until his single mom gets off of her shift at Waffle House.


The proof is in the pudding. However the State would never break it down and publish the real results, to see the true issues. I would be interested to see a real break down of test scores by sex/race/ethnicity. I think it would paint a pretty compelling picture in regards to where our focus should REALLY be. But alas..it never will, because everyone is so GD PC, and scared to look at hard documented actual facts, that can be backed up with real data.

So, instead ...blame the teachers, educators, and system...instead of taking personal responsibility.

Dennis Heaton
05-12-2014, 12:32 PM
Oklahoma City school district to offer five-week summer school program | News OK (http://newsok.com/oklahoma-city-school-district-to-offer-five-week-summer-school-program/article/4746847)

OSUPeterson
05-12-2014, 01:10 PM
Im only going to make the following comment since I seem to go back and forth on standard testing and how it should be done.

A lot of kids are put in bad positions by their parents or whoever is raising them, whether because they dont care or because they have tough situations that cant deal with. Too many parents expect their kids to goto school and then come home and be done. Learning has to be 24/7,whether that's reading books (or magazines or manuals or comics, anything really that causes them to think), going to museums or travelling and seeing new places and asking questions. Unfortunately, a large amount of kids leave school and go home to nothing, or just get set in front of the TV all day and all summer, they are never exposed to anything outside of school that expands their minds. Teachers and Admins cant make your kid do his homework out of school, they cant force him to read books out of school, thats where the parents need to step in and help develop their kids.

Schools try to get these kids to the points they need to be at, but every kid is different. If they focus on just the lowest kids, the brightest kids suffer. If they focus on trying to just teach the average students, the lowest kids constantly fall below.

With the testing, you have to test and evaluate at some point. If you test in 3rd grade, and the kid cant read at that level, where do you think the kid is going to get caught up. If they schools move them to 4th, and pull them out for an hour a day to get their reading up, they are missing something else and falling behind somewhere else. That student will also take away from the teacher helping the rest of the students if the teacher is focusing on a kid who cant read at a 1st or 2nd grade level who is in 4th grade.

Honestly, I feel like the testing should be done earlier. If you test in 1st grade, you can catch a lot of the kids before they fall behind and will struggle to get caught up. You can also help to identify those students with special needs before its too late.

I mean, 8k students is a lot, but alot of those students will make it through based on the 4 or 5 exceptions that are set up for students with learning disabilities or other reasons, but what good does it do for the kid who cant read well to keep pushing him harder and harder. It just gets frustrating and causes them to disconnect with school. It makes it something they hate, and thats not helping the student in any manner.

Ill wrap it up by saying, year, some of the kids who failed have parents who can work with them and get them caught up over a summer and work with them over the next year, but most dont. Most kids who have involved parents arent failing these test.

Dennis Heaton
05-12-2014, 01:35 PM
Here is a question I posted on FB to Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE)...

"Did I understand Supt. Barresi correctly? Did she say on the news that the children that did not pass the reading test "will not be put back into the 3rd grade" but will instead spend the next school year preparing to enter the 4th grade? Say what?"

The OSDE replied...

"Oklahoma State Department of Education: It varies district to district. A number of school districts have scheduled summer reading academies, while others have put “transitional” grades in place. Some districts indicate they are considering mid-year promotion." May 10, 2014

Prunepicker
05-12-2014, 02:42 PM
Grossly underfunded education system will be Oklahoma's downfall in the
future. An uneducated population is a poor population.
More money doesn't guarantee a better education. DC has about
the highest funding in the US and remains near the bottom in scores.

OkieBerto
05-12-2014, 03:01 PM
More money doesn't guarantee a better education. DC has about
the highest funding in the US and remains near the bottom in scores.

I love it when you make these comments. Basically you are saying money or no money will not guarantee a better education. So there is no saving education. Teachers and programs that have money can reach more children and parents. If parents are strapped for cash and need to work nights, more money can go toward school run after school programs. Which could then help kids with their homework. If we also then paid the people doing these after school programs and teachers during the day like we pay our politicians, then I am guessing their care level will go up. This leads to a better education.

I bet you will next say, "Guns in every class room will raise the test and reading scores."

OkieBerto
05-12-2014, 03:02 PM
I can't for the life of me figure out why the Oklahoma Education system would be underfunded.

7813

The lottery was a bait and switch move by the State. Little of that money goes to schools.

soonerguru
05-12-2014, 03:02 PM
More money doesn't guarantee a better education. DC has about
the highest funding in the US and remains near the bottom in scores.

So does that mean Oklahoma should strive to impoverish its teachers? Should we set our sites on the bottom? Perhaps if we try hard enough, we can eclipse Mississippi. Comparing the State of Oklahoma to Washington, D.C. is apples and oranges.

The bottom line is that our current government favors giving money to corporations more than it does our children. I'm not cool with those priorities and it is a realistic impediment to attracting a quality work force to our state, let alone preparing a future generation to enter our work force.

Dubya61
05-12-2014, 03:06 PM
I bet you will next say, "Guns in every class room will raise the test and reading scores."

Let me start by saying I'm not serious in my post here.
This statement made me think of Stephen King's "Quitters, Inc." with a guaranteed success rate helping someone quit smoking. The methods they (Quitters, Inc.) use are barbaric, at best, but you WILL quit smoking.
Guns in every classroom WILL raise the test and reading scores, if pointed at the right people.

Dubya61
05-12-2014, 03:08 PM
The lottery was a bait and switch move by the State. Little of that money goes to schools.

Too right. Actually, I'll bet that a lot of the lottery money that the state receives DOES go to schools, but they reduced the money they were using for schools before the lottery by an equal or greater amount.
Bait and Switch for SURE!

onthestrip
05-12-2014, 03:15 PM
I can't for the life of me figure out why the Oklahoma Education system would be underfunded.

7813

Saying that schools are underfunded because of the lottery is just asinine. The lottery provides something at least, about $70million a year if Im not mistaken. What are you getting at? Should we do away with the lottery? Is the $70million not worth it? Does the lottery do more harm than good? I dont get the comments from some about the lottery, as if thats where the blame lies with our poor edu funding and results.

If you want to figure out why our schools are underfunded it isnt because of the lottery. Its because we eliminated the franchise tax a couple years ago. Got rid of the intangible property tax, gross production tax on oil drilling could go back to what is was. These things add up to hundreds of millions a year. This is why edu is underfunded, not because of the lottery.

OkieBerto
05-12-2014, 03:29 PM
Saying that schools are underfunded because of the lottery is just asinine. The lottery provides something at least, about $70million a year if Im not mistaken. What are you getting at? Should we do away with the lottery? Is the $70million not worth it? Does the lottery do more harm than good? I dont get the comments from some about the lottery, as if thats where the blame lies with our poor edu funding and results.

If you want to figure out why our schools are underfunded it isnt because of the lottery. Its because we eliminated the franchise tax a couple years ago. Got rid of the intangible property tax, gross production tax on oil drilling could go back to what is was. These things add up to hundreds of millions a year. This is why edu is underfunded, not because of the lottery.

Most people who play the lottery, can't afford to be wasting their money away. All that money is not going to schools. It is basically just another way to tax the poor and uninformed.

Rover
05-12-2014, 07:50 PM
I was reading more into what's happening in Kansas and it is frightening. Their state is headed toward fiscal insolvency because of a hastily approved income tax cut last year. Their governor's response? Obama's fault. I think this gets back to the Grover Norquist "drown government in a bathtub" philosophy, advanced by ALEC and the Kochs: create a fiscal crisis with tax cuts so government services have to be shuttered.

If Oklahoma continues to go down this path, I'm going to relocate. We have to fund education and infrastructure. We need to fund the arts. We need to fund higher education. In order to attract the quality of jobs we want, we don't just want a business-friendly fiscal environment; we also need an educated work force and a functional government.

You do know that Grover Norquist is a frequent visitor and adviser to Fallen and our republican leadership. The republican leadership and legislators worship at his altar. You don't think they actually write their own budgets or bills do you?

Prunepicker
05-12-2014, 08:06 PM
I love it when you make these comments. Basically you are saying money
or no money will not guarantee a better education.
Yes. That's what I'm saying. Why? Because it's true.

Why does Washington, DC have pathetic scores? Please explain. This
should be very entertaining.

ljbab728
05-12-2014, 11:24 PM
Oklahoma House passes reading proficiency bill | News OK (http://newsok.com/oklahoma-house-passes-reading-proficiency-bill/article/4791033)


A bill that would give parents and educators the joint ability to promote a student who fails the third-grade reading test was approved by the state House of Representatives Monday and sent to the governor.

The House vote was 89-6.

OSUPeterson
05-13-2014, 06:33 AM
Most people who play the lottery, can't afford to be wasting their money away. All that money is not going to schools. It is basically just another way to tax the poor and uninformed.

Its the fairest tax in the world. No one is making people play the lottery, and at least something goes to education. Its better than nothing, and its no like money was taken from education to fund it, so anything that goes from lotto to edu is a bonus.

People always complain the poor are always getting screwed and being kept down and that things like the lottery are designed to keep them there, but no one is out there with a gun telling them to go buy a carton of virgina slims and 10 scratchers (only using that reference because I see it every week at the gas station I stop at on my way to work). A poor person can invest and save their money, just like others, they just have to want to and understand the value of compound interest and savings.... maybe if we funded edu a little better that could be a core concept taught to all kids...

OSUPeterson
05-13-2014, 06:50 AM
I would go with not being a great place for quality teachers, so their teaching staffs are primarily lower than the norm (not saying that there aren't amazing teachers there, but on average they are probably either younger or lower in skill)... the students of the school come from rough situations, can lead to poor testing abilities and poor engagement. Also, I don't think as many parents get to be as involved in their students development as they should, either by choice or due to other factors (job, travel, etc). Ive said it before, it parents aren't there to engage their kids after school hours, the student will probably always be lowest kid in class and test poorly.

Also, I don't think many things in Washington DC have a track record of wise spending on schools. Just because they have a lot of money does not mean that the money is being spent where it should. Are elementary school properly investing in technology and continued education for their teachers? Are they using it to pay their teachers the most? Whats the expenditure per student (which is where you should really evaluate schools... oklahoma being last). When you look at places like washington DC where involvement is low, and then look at the higher states for test scores where parent involvement is likely higher, those states are still well funded. You are right though, just throwing money at the problem doesn't solve it.... BUT BEING FREAKING LAST IN FUNDING SURE AS HELL ISN'T A SOLUTION EITHER.

That being said, Oklahoma is in the bottom 2 for both teacher salary and expenditure per student. Both should come up, but it doesn't solve the problem of parents who don't care and just want the schools to raise and fix their children. More money needs to be spent (for which there is none) educating parents on how and why to stay involved with their child (its amazing how many parents just dont care, its truly heartbreaking).

kelroy55
05-13-2014, 07:12 AM
More money doesn't guarantee a better education. DC has about
the highest funding in the US and remains near the bottom in scores.

Got a link for this info?

Dennis Heaton
05-13-2014, 07:46 AM
Saying that schools are underfunded because of the lottery is just asinine. The lottery provides something at least, about $70million a year if Im not mistaken. What are you getting at?

onthestrip...I am not saying education is underfunded solely because of the State Lottery. However, compared to other states that have lotteries, WE ARE underfunding our K-12 programs. Where other states are setting aside 57-77% of lottery sales to K-12 education, Oklahoma sets aside 45%. If we want to improve our Reading programs, which just might get us out of the lower rankings as far as graduation rates go...then, let's increase the amount of lottery money taken in to go towards K-12, say 10-15% more.

hoya
05-13-2014, 09:19 AM
There are a lot of reasons why performance and spending may not correlate.

As far as DC spending the most on education and getting the worst results, I haven't seen any figures on this so everything I'm about to suggest is guesswork. There could be a lot of legitimate reasons for it.

-Cost of living is high in DC, and unemployment is generally low. This drives up wages. Perhaps DC has to spend significantly more on teachers, even bad ones, because it costs so much to live there.
-Land prices are very high in DC. Building new schools will be significantly more expensive than in other cities, increasing costs.
-A high percentage of private school attendance may decrease public school performance. 20 smart kids, 60 normal kids, and 20 dumb kids gives you a 20% "bad score" rate. But if the 20 smart kids all go to private school, then you're left with 60 normal kids and 20 dumb kids, a 25% "bad score" rate.
-Older historic buildings that make up a large portion of the DC school system are more expensive to maintain than newer buildings.

These are issues that have nothing to do with mismanagement or bad students. I suspect the cost of living and the private school issues are the biggest culprits. I lived in DC and everything is more expensive there. A lot of the people who live there also only stay for a few years. You move to DC because you're involved with a campaign and your guy won. You may stay 4 years or 6 years or 8 years but you aren't settling down for the rest of your life. Those people don't send their children to the DC public schools. You don't necessarily have the same type of established middle class that you get in other cities.

--

Theoretically you could have a school system that was very frugal with its money and had good results and high test scores. We don't have that in Oklahoma, but you might have it somewhere else. Prunepicker is right in the sense that just spending more money on education won't magically fix our problems. But I think he's wrong in that it's one of several things we have to do.

We have a legislature full of people who like to do everything on the cheap. They don't want to spend any money if they don't have to. I think a lot of that comes from a Depression and Dust Bowl-era mentality. It became established as the way to do things in Oklahoma and hasn't changed since. We have to change that and we have to get better results from our educational system. We can't have 30% of 3rd graders failing reading tests. You're always going to have lazy parents who don't help their kids read. We need to find a way to deal with it. When parents don't do their jobs the school system has to take over. It's the same reason we need sex education in schools, because too many parents aren't having that conversation with their children.

kelroy55
05-13-2014, 09:58 AM
From todays paper.....

A bill that would give parents and educators the joint ability to promote a student who fails the third-grade reading test was approved by the state House of Representatives Monday and sent to the governor.

The House vote was 89-6.

Linda Hampton, president of the Oklahoma Education Association, praised the vote on House Bill 2625.

“As an educator, parent and grandmother, I realize the value of local control and a parent’s voice in the education process — this bill allows for both,” Hampton said. “Today I witnessed what I consider to be the first step in doing what’s right for our 7,970 third-grade students who were labeled failures last week by an unjust testing process.”

I didn't see anything saying how the reading test was unjust. Anybody know why?

Dubya61
05-13-2014, 10:30 AM
Its the fairest tax in the world. No one is making people play the lottery, and at least something goes to education. Its better than nothing, and its no like money was taken from education to fund it, so anything that goes from lotto to edu is a bonus.
It is the fairest tax in the world. You are right. I disagree with the rest of this paragraph, sort of, though. Sure, no money was taken from education to fund the lottery, but (and unfortunately, I can't prove it in a timely manner) I'll bet you that as the lottery added money to edu, the state was quick to take money away from edu.
My fictional example: 1995 - state funds edu to the tune of 100 million dollars.
- 1996 - state funds edu, 100 million bux.
- 1997 - state funds edu, 100 million bux.
- 1998 - state faithfully funds edu, 100 million bux
- 1999 - state starts lotto.
- 2000 - lotto adds 15 million bonus bux to edu
- 2001 - state reduces edu funding by 10 million bux, lotto adds 15 million, edu still "faithfully" funded at 105 million bux.
It's fiction, or at least not factual, but I'll bet it's mostly accurate.


People always complain the poor are always getting screwed and being kept down and that things like the lottery are designed to keep them there, but no one is out there with a gun telling them to go buy a carton of virgina slims and 10 scratchers (only using that reference because I see it every week at the gas station I stop at on my way to work). A poor person can invest and save their money, just like others, they just have to want to and understand the value of compound interest and savings.... maybe if we funded edu a little better that could be a core concept taught to all kids...

... and here's where I pop in to make the comment I've made before. You know what would be better than a lottery? A savings lottery: Prize-Linked Savings Account - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prize-Linked_Savings_Account)
You chance of winning big in the lottery are infinitesimally small: 1 in 175 million (Ronald L. Wasserstein: A Statistician's View: What Are Your Chances of Winning the Powerball Lottery? (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ronald-l-wasserstein/chances-of-winning-powerball-lottery_b_3288129.html)). People can pay this fairest (idiocy) tax in the world for life with false hope of winning, or put the same amount into a prize-linked savings account with MUCH better chances of winning and STILL have their money in the end. It's a No-Lose Lottery ... and illegal (Freakonomics » Who Could Say No to a ?No-Lose Lottery?? (http://freakonomics.com/2010/12/02/freakonomics-radio-who-could-say-no-to-a-no-lose-lottery/))

jerrywall
05-13-2014, 10:37 AM
I didn't see anything saying how the reading test was unjust. Anybody know why?

Because how dare we try to raise standards, and make sure kids are actually able to have basic reading comprehension before just shuffling them on... I guess?

Seriously though, the complaint I've heard, is that you're making a decision based on a single test, on a single day, which doesn't allow for a student having a bad day, or testing poorly for any other reason, since the holdback is (without this new bill) automatic.

kelroy55
05-13-2014, 11:17 AM
Because how dare we try to raise standards, and make sure kids are actually able to have basic reading comprehension before just shuffling them on... I guess?

Seriously though, the complaint I've heard, is that you're making a decision based on a single test, on a single day, which doesn't allow for a student having a bad day, or testing poorly for any other reason, since the holdback is (without this new bill) automatic.

I guess a whole lot of students had a bad day the day the test was taken because many of them couldn't pass it. *lol* Sounds like the education system is lacking and instead of fixing it they pass a bill to move them on up anyway.

Dennis Heaton
05-13-2014, 11:58 AM
Still waiting for the scores to come out on each school...anyone seen them yet?

Prunepicker
05-13-2014, 12:30 PM
Still waiting for the scores to come out on each school... anyone seen
them yet?
Is this what you're looking for?

LINK: Complete breakdown of scores by district (http://media2.kjrh.com/html/pdfs/districtscores.pdf)

Oklahoma State Department of Education releases scores for 3rd grade
reading test, 80 percent pass - KJRH.com (http://www.kjrh.com/web/kjrh/news/local-news/oklahoma-state-department-of-education-releases-scores-for-3rd-grade-reading-test-80-percent-pass)

kelroy55
05-13-2014, 01:16 PM
OKC only had 28.9% failing and another 19% limited knowledge, I don't see a problem here.

TheTravellers
05-13-2014, 01:35 PM
Not 100% on topic, but related. The priorities of our legislatures (state *and* federal) are waaaaaaaaaaaay out of whack with what they should be ("making rich people richer and screw everybody else" is pretty much the order of the day, sadly). I've long said that teachers should get paid what IT workers and Wall Street bankers get paid, and vice versa...

GOP Lawmakers Say Yes To $310 Billion For Business, But $12 Million For At-Risk Kids? Nope (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/29/republican-tax-breaks_n_5234844.html)

:Smiley099

Dennis Heaton
05-13-2014, 02:11 PM
Is this what you're looking for?

LINK: Complete breakdown of scores by district (http://media2.kjrh.com/html/pdfs/districtscores.pdf)

Oklahoma State Department of Education releases scores for 3rd grade
reading test, 80 percent pass - KJRH.com (http://www.kjrh.com/web/kjrh/news/local-news/oklahoma-state-department-of-education-releases-scores-for-3rd-grade-reading-test-80-percent-pass)

Prunepicker...Nope. The list that shows the results of each school within each district. Not sure if it will be made available online.

Dennis Heaton
05-13-2014, 02:12 PM
Is this what you're looking for?

LINK: Complete breakdown of scores by district (http://media2.kjrh.com/html/pdfs/districtscores.pdf)

Oklahoma State Department of Education releases scores for 3rd grade
reading test, 80 percent pass - KJRH.com (http://www.kjrh.com/web/kjrh/news/local-news/oklahoma-state-department-of-education-releases-scores-for-3rd-grade-reading-test-80-percent-pass)

Prunepicker...Nope. The list that shows the results of each school within each district. Not sure if it will be made available online.

Prunepicker
05-13-2014, 04:04 PM
Prunepicker... Nope. The list that shows the results of each school within
each district. Not sure if it will be made available online.
I haven't found the 2014 results but here are some results for specific
schools from 2012

Reading Test Results for Oklahoma Schools and Districts | Oklahoma Watch (http://oklahomawatch.org/2013/03/27/reading-test-results-for-oklahoma-schools-and-districts/)

Dennis Heaton
05-13-2014, 04:36 PM
I am still trying to figure out how my last Post came out "twins?"