Dateline: April 7, 2005

County students pass state reading exam

By Ashlee Estlack, Clarendon Enterprise

Results from the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills reading exams are in, and local administrators are pleased with the scores.

Hedley School Superintendent Bryan Hill said all ten of his school’s third-grade students tested passed the reading portion of the TAKS test.

“Our third grade did excellent,” Hill said.

According to Clarendon ISD Counselor John Taylor, 94 percent of the third graders tested met the standard.

“They’re strong scores,” Clarendon Elementary Principal Mike Word said. “We really think we’ll have 100 percent mastery by the second and third opportunities.”

Word said that those who did not pass the reading test the first time are receiving extra instruction.

“We’re offering them more opportunities in school to work on it,” he said.

The reading test was also conducted in the fifth grade.

Of those tested, 63 percent of Hedley’s fifth graders met the standard, and in Clarendon 86 percent met the standard.

“We’re proud of our kids’ efforts,” Clarendon ISD Superintendent Monty Hysinger. “We continue to stay above state averages, and we’re expecting great things in the other tests.”

Hill said the kids in Hedley are tired from all their hard work.

“We appreciate the hard work of the teachers and students,” he said.

Statewide passing rates on the third grade reading exam reached 89 percent this spring, and in fifth grade they reached 75 percent.

The final portions of the TAKS testing will take place April 27, 28, and 29.

Last year, the met standard for TAKS was 2 SEM (standard errors of measurement), but this year the standard was just 1 SEM.

If the 2005 state passing standards had been in place in 2004, 88 percent of the third-grade students and 73 percent of the fifth-grade students would have passed the reading test last year.

According to a press release from the Texas education agency, third-grade students must pass the reading exam to be promoted to fourth grade; and fifth-grade students, for the first time this year, must pass the reading and math exams to be promoted to sixth grade.