The state Department of Education released its fall 2022 Reading Report and it shows an improvement in reading skills for students in 1st through 3rd grade, but kindergarten scores declined two percent. Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley says kindergartners faced a learning delay because of the pandemic.
“Some of the early care centers were closed at the beginning of the pandemic and these kids were babies and toddlers. Also, there are concerns around face masks and whether these masks prevented speech development and language acquisition,” said Brumley.
The Reading Report is based on a literacy screener given to students during the first 30 days of the school year and analyzes the child’s reading ability. Louisiana’s overall score improved for a second consecutive year, second-graders, in particular, scored two-percent higher than last year’s second-graders. Brumley says it’s good to see reading progress.
“We’ve had a series of reforms to make this better, we have a lot of energy in our schools now around reading that maybe didn’t exist to that level before so I’m really proud of what’s happening in our state around reading,” said Brumley.
Brumley says overall the Reading Report shows just under 50% of K-through-third graders scoring on or above benchmark, which means more work is needed to get young people reading at grade level.
“We’re focusing on phonics instructions, making sure that teachers are trained in phonics, making sure we’re communicating with parents on their child’s reading ability and certainly asking for collaboration between school and home. But we are seeing improvement,” said Brumley.
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