Massillon City Schools Has Plan in Place to Address Third-Grade Reading Scores

School districts across the state of Ohio recently received their students' scores from the state's October OAA reading assessment. With nearly half of its third-grade students scoring below the 400 proficiency level, the Massillon City School District already has a plan in place for helping these students succeed.

"The Ohio Achievement Assessment our students took on Oct. 8 was significantly different than previous OAA exams," said Dr. Angela Chapman, Massillon's curriculum director. "The content has changed as well as the benchmark. Last year the Third Grade Reading Guarantee benchmark was 390. This year the benchmark is 392. The assessment was also dually aligned to the Ohio Academic Content Standards as well as the Common Core State Standards. Throughout the course of the school year we will work with students, teachers and parents to increase student reading levels as we align to these new standards."

Students who are at risk for not reading at grade level by the end of third grade have been placed on a Reading Improvement and Monitoring Plan (RIMP). This is an individualized plan for each student. Additional academic support will include small group instruction time with teachers and tutors, after school tutoring and a summer intervention program. The district will also provide additional professional development for teachers.

In addition, all K-3 parents are invited to attend an Elementary Parent Night on Tuesday, Jan. 21 from 6-7 p.m. in the district administrative office. The meeting will provide parents with strategies to help their children prepare for the OAA.

The assessment given in October was designed to provide districts with baseline data of how students are performing in Reading. When the test was given, students only had 32 days of instruction. The assessment will be given again in April when students have had 150 days of instruction to see how they have improved. The assessment can also be taken again in the summer and OAA alternative assessments are will also be available as well.

Under Ohio's new Third Grade Reading Guarantee, students who do not score a 392 or higher on the OAA by the end of third grade can be held back. For more information on the Third Grade Reading Guarantee please feel free visit the Ohio Department of Education’s website at  http://education.ohio.gov/Topics/Early-Learning/Third-Grade-Reading-Guarantee.

"The Massillon City School District staff has been preparing for the new third-grade reading standards," said Superintendent Richard Goodright. "The level of rigor on the new assessment is significantly higher so we are not seeing the levels of proficiency we have in the past. With the first assessment complete, we have a clearer understanding of what is being tested and can help our students achieve higher reading levels.