The number of South Bend Community School Corp. third-graders who passed the IREAD-3 exam this spring trickled down to 64 percent from last year’s 72 percent.
Superintendent Carole Schmidt said on Friday, the day the Indiana Department of Education released results of the third-grade reading test for all districts, she believes the drop in passing rate in South Bend may be attributed to “test fatigue” among students.
“We were surprised by the results, frankly,” Schmidt said.
The district’s preliminary pass rate was 72 percent in 2012 and 71 percent in 2013.
The ISTEP exam, she said, ended March 9. Then, just a week later, third graders took the IREAD.
“It was also the end of the third grading period,” Schmidt said. “So when you put all of these pieces together that are high stakes, it puts an incredible amount of stress on our teachers and students.”
Remediation for the students who didn’t pass has already begun, the superintendent said, and students will be retested at the beginning of June. A special summer school will also be offered to those who don’t pass the second test. And, they’ll relearn third-grade reading standards in fourth grade.
Mishawaka schools’ pass rate also went down. This spring, 77 percent of third graders passed the IREAD, compared with 82 percent last year.