Why Third Grade Reading Level Matters in Tulsa and Oklahoma Presentation to P-20 Council

1. Why Third Grade Reading Level Matters in Tulsa and Oklahoma Presentation to P-20 Council Prepared by: Diama Norris Community Action Project of Tulsa County

2. Original Research Context • Understand the Annie E. Casey Report “Why Reading at the end of 3rd Grade Matters” • Understand CAP’s current reading results and efforts • Understand what Tulsa and the State are doing to address reading readiness • Formulate ideas on how CAP fits and what we and partners can do Community Action Project of Tulsa County

3. Key Takeaways • 3rd grade reading results are an effective predictor of what will happen in the rest of a student’s career • Current OK reading results point to significant troubles ahead • Data shows a significant gap in results based on language and income • CAP is making more efforts in pre-literacy so children enter kindergarten ready to read • There are promising local efforts on reading based in the schools and public library system but more needs to be done Community Action Project of Tulsa County

4. Why is this important? • Up to half of the printed 4th grade curriculum is incomprehensible to students reading below grade-level. (Children’s Reading Foundation) • 75% of students who are poor readers in third grade will remain poor readers in high schools. (Yale University Study) • National Research Council asserts that academic success by the end of high school can be reasonably inferred by someone’s reading skill by the end of third grade. A person who is not a “modestly” skilled reader by the end of third grade will likely not graduate from high school. • Demographic realities: 7.9 million low-income children from birth to age 8 in the U.S. If current trends hold true, 83% or 6.6 million children are at an increased risk for dropping out of high school. - Annie E. Casey Foundation Community Action Project of Tulsa County

5. Currently, more than 40 percent of TPS third graders can't keep up with their reading course work. Half of sixth-graders are falling behind in reading and almost half of seventh graders missed the mark. TPS students scored 1060 out of 1500 in reading on the Academic Performance Index. News on 6 December 13, 2010 Community Action Project of Tulsa County

6. Literacy Statistics Across the Age Continuum • 43% of Oklahomans (more than one million) have below basic or basic prose literacy skills, and are unable to perform more than simple, everyday literacy activities. (NAAL, 2003) • A mother's literacy level is one of the most significant predictors of a child's future literacy - more significant than income level and employment status. (National Institutes of Health, 2010) • More than 17 percent of Oklahoma’s college freshmen must begin with non-credit remedial English coursework, and nearly one third cannot expect to make a grade of “C” or better in a regular English course. (Oklahoma Regent for Higher Education, 2010) • Children of adults who participate in literacy programs improve their grades and test scores, improve their reading skills, have improved attendance records and are less likely to drop out of school (National Institute for Literacy- NIFL). Community Action Project of Tulsa County

7. NAEP Test • There  is currently no consistent, commonly accepted and applied understanding of what “reading proficiency” means. • The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) test is given at the beginning of fourth grade, so it tests what a child has learned by the end of third grade and over the intervening summer. • Many states have lowered the pass score to ensure that their students are meeting NCLB’s requirement for adequate yearly progress. • Each state is left to set its own standard and uses its own test to measure proficiency. No state has set its bar to meet or exceed NAEP’s “proficient” standard. Community Action Project of Tulsa County

8. NAEP Test Levels • BasicFourth-grade students performing at the Basic level locate relevant information, make simple inferences, and use their understanding of the text to identify details that support a given interpretation or conclusion. Students interpret the meaning of a word as it is used in the text. • ProficientFourth-grade students performing at the Proficient level integrate and interpret texts and apply their understanding of the text to draw conclusions and make evaluations. • AdvancedFourth-grade students performing at the Advanced level make complex inferences and construct and support their inferential understanding of the text. Students apply their understanding of a text to make and support a judgment. Community Action Project of Tulsa County

9. OK NAEP Results (2009) • 35% of OK 4th graders are “below basic” (16th worst) • 72% are “below proficient” (10th worst) • Nationally, only 15% are proficient and 49% are below basic. Community Action Project of Tulsa County

10. NAEP scale equivalents of state grade 4 reading standards for proficient performance, by state: 2009 National Center for Education Statistics Community Action Project of Tulsa County

11. What does this mean for low-income students? • Shortfall in reading proficiency is especially pronounced among low-income families. • In 2009, fully 85% of low income students attending high-poverty schools failed to reach the proficient level. • 49% of all low-income test takers in fourth grade and 53% of those attending high poverty schools did not reach NAEP’s basic level. Community Action Project of Tulsa County

12. Percent of 4th graders scoring below proficient and below basic on NAEP reading test, by family income and race/ethnicity: 2009 National Results Source: NAEP Data Explorer Community Action Project of Tulsa County

13. AEC Factors undermining grade-level proficiency • Factor 1: Low birth weight from premature birth. • Factor 2: Readiness gap continues between birth and kindergarten. • Factor 3: Higher incidence of health problems. • Factor 4: Lack of early interactions to foster linguistic development. • Factor 5: Low-income children less likely to participate in high quality early childhood programs. • Factor 6: Readiness gap over times turns into an achievement gap as students enter school. Community Action Project of Tulsa County

14. 3 Main Challenges • School readiness – too many young children show up to school not ready to learn. • School attendance – too many children in grades k-3 miss too many days due to illness and other compounding factors as well as in the summer • Summer learning loss – too many children in the early grades lose ground over the summer months Community Action Project of Tulsa County

15. 3 Main Challenges Facts • As early as 18 months, low-income children begin to fall behind in vocabulary development and other skills critical to success. • Research shows that by age 3 children in more talkative families will have heard 30 million more words than children in less talkative families – a 30 million word gap! • 1 in 10 kindergartners miss nearly a month of school every year. • While most middle-class students learn to read at home, low-income kids more often need school for this. Literacy lesson are front-loaded in kindergarten and 3rd grade. • While middle-income students tend to gain reading skills over the summer, research has shown that low-income kids lose more than 2 months worth during the elementary years. Community Action Project of Tulsa County

16. State Efforts Community Action Project of Tulsa County

17. Oklahoma Reading Sufficiency Act • On July 7, 2005 the Oklahoma State Board of Education (SBE) approved screening assessments for use with the Reading Sufficiency Act.  • Reading Goal: The reading goal for Oklahoma public schools is as follows: By July 1, 2008, and each year thereafter, all third grade students will read at or above grade level by the end of their third grade year. • Each public elementary school shall determine its baseline not later than September 1, 2005, which shall be the percentage of students scoring satisfactory or above on the third grade criterion referenced test in reading. (Oklahoma Senate Bill 996) Community Action Project of Tulsa County

18. Social Promotion Law • Governor Mary Fallin signed Senate Bill 346, the Reading Sufficiency Act on May 4, 2011. • This Act requires school districts to identify students who are not prepared for grade-level reading, provide additional services to these students, retain the students who fail to meet reading standards in the third grade, and increase reporting to parents and the public. • The Act takes effect for first graders in the 2011-2 school year. Community Action Project of Tulsa County

19. Driven to Read 47 O.S. § 6-107.3 (Eighth – Twelfth Grade) - According to Oklahoma law, any person under the age of eighteen (18) years wishing to apply for a driver license or permit must be regularly attending school, and successfully reading at the eighth grade level. Persons under the age of eighteen applying for a license or permit must meet one of the following criteria. They must have a Department of Public Safety form available at and completed by their local high school to verify eligibility. Community Action Project of Tulsa County

20. Higher Education Reading Requirements • 70 O.S. § 1210.508F, Sections C-D (Postsecondary) - Beginning with the 2010-2011 school year, all institutions with The Oklahoma State System of Higher Education that offer elementary, early childhood education, or special education programs approved by the Oklahoma Commission for Teacher Preparation shall incorporate into those programs the requirement that teacher candidates study the five elements of reading instruction which are phonemic awareness, phonics, reading fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Community Action Project of Tulsa County

21. Common Core Standards Adoption • The Common Core State Standards Initiative is a state-led effort coordinated by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO). The standards were developed in collaboration with teachers, school administrators, and experts, to provide a clear and consistent framework to prepare our children for college and the workforce. • The focus is on English Language Arts and Mathematics. • Oklahoma adopted the national Common Core Standards in 2010. • Oklahoma also has early learning guidelines that give all early learning programs a clear set of expectations and aling with the Common Core Standards for kindergarten and above. Community Action Project of Tulsa County

22. State Literacy Team The State Literacy Team is composed of representatives from the following Oklahoma State Department of Education‘s (OSDE) departments: • Standards and Curriculum • Special education and RtI Specialist, • Early Childhood Education • Titles I and IIA Reading Specialists • Professional Services Members also include: • District practitioners including Reading Coaches and Federal Programs Directors • Sooner Start Early Interventionist • College of Education professors, • Community organizations for early learning • Literacy Technical Assistance Coordinator from Comprehensive Center Community Action Project of Tulsa County

23. State Literacy Plan The purpose of the plan is to assist stakeholders in intervening early and preparing students to be work and college ready. An important emphasis of the plan is to provide professional development to teachers so that they are equipped with research-proven strategies that improve student literacy proficiency. Community Action Project of Tulsa County

24. Local Efforts Community Action Project of Tulsa County

25. Tulsa Public Schools • $400,000+ on a summer reading program • $600,000+ through the reading sufficiency grant, • $8,000 on proficiency, • $1.3 million on the Reading First program, and another • $640,000 on literacy and school libraries. • TPS has at least five state and federal grants targeting reading. • District employs 16 reading specialists Community Action Project of Tulsa County

26. Tulsa Public Schools • TPS is currently working on a new district-wide literacy plan. • Tulsa Reads Millions - is a district-wide reading initiative designed to promote literacy by challenging every member of the Tulsa Public Schools community to read at least a million words each year. • Partnership with summer reading library program as well as other reading initiatives. Community Action Project of Tulsa County

27. CAP DATA • GOLD - our curriculum and assessment system has a Literacy component. Our activities in the classroom are aligned with those Literacy objectives in mind. • Teaching Strategies GOLD • All CAP children are assessed by their teachers • CAP is in its first year of implementing this assessment • Teaching Strategies determined “widely-held expectations” for each age group through review of the research • CAP’s performance measure is the percent of children scoring within widely-held expectations or above on all objectives and dimensions Community Action Project of Tulsa County

28. TS GOLD Performance in 2010-11Performance of 4-year olds • The percent of children who met widely-held expectations on all objectives varies across classrooms (30%-100%) • 61% met widely held expectations for literacy in Winter, up from 56% in the Fall • Results were better for children who were CAP 3-year olds Performance of 3-year olds • The percent of children who met widely-held expectations on all objectives varies across classrooms • 66% met widely held expectations for literacy in Winter, up from 46% in the Fall • Literacy is lowest domain in GOLD scores for 3 year olds Community Action Project of Tulsa County

29. Reach out and Read (6 months -5 years) • This program promotes early literacy and school readiness during well-child visits by giving new books to children and advice to parents about the importance of reading aloud. • Reach Out and Read is available in 50 clinics statewide and is serving young children and their families through 18,000 well-child visits per year across the state. • In Tulsa: Educare, East Central Village, Rosa Park Elementary, Roy Clark Elementary, Marshall Elementary, Sand Springs early childhood center, and Mark Twain Elementary. Community Action Project of Tulsa County

30. Library Programs • Summer Reading -serves 36,000 children a year – birth-5th grade – requires minimum of 4 trips to the library. Summer is reading program is 10 weeks and approximately 720 programs are offered during those weeks collectively among the entire system. TCCL has one of the largest programs in the country and has been modeled in several major cities. • Books to Treasure – is a program specifically designed to reach 2nd graders. Launched 9 years ago to address every 2nd grader in the county. 2nd graders are targeted because this is seen as a pivotal point on whether they will become lifelong readers. Student in 2nd grade make the transition from picture books to narrative books. Community Action Project of Tulsa County

31. Library Programs (Birth-5) • Reading Roadshow – mini-bookmobile outreach program geared towards birth-5. It mainly goes to daycares and early childhood sites in underserved areas. • Tuesday Tales -held at CAP ECP sites which is storytime designed for birth-5 and focuses on the six literacy skills: Vocabulary Knowing the names of things; Print Motivation A child's interest in and enjoyment of books; Print Awareness Noticing print everywhere; knowing how to handle a book; knowing how we follow the words on a page.; Narrative Skills The ability to describe things and events and tell stories; Letter Knowledge Knowing that letters have names and are different from each other, and that specific sounds go with specific letters; Phonological Awareness The ability to hear and play with the smaller sounds in words. Community Action Project of Tulsa County

32. Library GKFF Grant • 2007-2009, Tulsa City-County Library received a grant to be administered to a local library who could form a true collaborative partnership with a neighborhood school within walking proximity. The grant was originally for a year and proved a success. Activities included a printed scavenger hunt that would teach literacy and research schools; story times and classroom visits; professional materials for teachers and collection development; an author visit; and books to keep. Deemed a tremendous success. Community Action Project of Tulsa County

33. Tulsa Early Development Instrument Pilot • The EDI is • Population-based (no individual results) • Teacher-administered (no child involvement or use of class time) • K-level (first full assessment under grade 3),and • Multi-domain (not just “academics”) • Tulsa Pilot • Sand Springs, Tulsa, Union Public Schools, TA United Way, CAP • 75 teachers in 19 schools completed EDIs for approx. 1,600 students Community Action Project of Tulsa County

34. Next Steps Community Action Project of Tulsa County

35. Notes • Definitions: Fourth grade public school students’ reading achievement levels, as measured and defined by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reading test. For a more detailed description of achievement levels see: http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/Reading/achieveall.asp. Public schools include charter schools and exclude Bureau of Indian Education schools and Department of Defense Education Activity schools. • Data Sources: • U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).  Available online at http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/. • Annie E. Casey Foundation KIDS COUNT DATA • Mapping: Maps use the natural break classification method, which reflects patterns in the data by dividing the map into naturally occurring groups. Using statistical tools, this method determines cut-off points for each group by identifying large gaps in data values. Community Action Project of Tulsa County

36. Sources • A KIDS COUNT Special Report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation: Early Warning! Why Reading by the End of Third Grade Matters • Mapping State Proficiency Standards Onto the NAEP Scales: Variation and Change in State Standards for Reading and Mathematics, 2005–2009 • TCCL Interview– Emily Tichenor, Children’s Coordinator • CAP Interview –Cindy Decker, Senior Research Associate • University of Oklahoma Early Reading First: What we are learning. Priscilla Griffith. • Lucy Trautman, Literacy Technical Assistance Coordinator • State of Oklahoma Draft Literacy Plan http://www.sde.state.ok.us/Curriculum/CurriculumDiv/Reading/pdf/CompLitPlan.pdf • Smart Start Oklahoma –Literacy and Health Statistics • http://www.newson6.com/story/13681455/tps-reading-program?redirected=true • http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=331&articleid=20110328_19_A13_Smusra377135&archive=yes • Common Core Standards http://www.corestandards.org/ Community Action Project of Tulsa County