Literacy
Reading scores improve, approach pre-pandemic levels
The May scores represent across-the-board improvements from 2021, the first year after the COVID-19 pandemic. INSIDE: School-by-school results.
All-day kindergarten takes off in Idaho. Is pre-K next?
Idaho’s literacy program is already reshaping early education — changing the school day for thousands of young children, and offering new options to their parents.
Young readers face demographic hurdles — some obvious, others subtle
“We can’t hang our hat on that we can’t get the job done because we can’t control the kids we get,” said Debbie Critchfield, president of the State Board of Education.
By the numbers: How schools spend reading money, and define success
Every fall, school districts and charter schools must explain how they spend their share of literacy money. They also have to set goals, though some schools seem to take goal-setting more seriously than others.
Reading realities: Idaho is far from its lofty literacy goals
Moving the needle on reading — and preparing young kids for the world that awaits them — will take time. And money.
Where are Idaho’s fall reading scores?
The State Department of Education has only released skeletal results from the fall reading test. The full data report is important, because it will allow parents and patrons to see how K-3 students fared in their neighborhood schools.
Idaho NAEP scores hold steady, and exceed national averages
Idaho students fared well on what is widely known as “the nation’s report card.” But eighth-grade reading scores declined significantly — mirroring a troubling national trend.
Reading scores drop in kindergarten, increase in grades 1-3
The SDE released preliminary fall IRI data showing only 43 percent of this year’s kindergarten class showed up to school prepared to read.
Reading achievement gaps linger, but some narrow slightly
Results from this year’s Idaho Reading Indicator were a mixed bag. Several demographic groups gained a bit of ground. For other student groups, chronic “achievement gaps” only grew wider.
Officials brace for drop in reading scores with new test
State officials are concerned about perceptions — and the inevitable comparisons. They say the new test is significantly different than its predecessor, so it’s impossible to compare the results.