What Tennessee Is Doing To Rescue Falling Reading Scores

Tennessee reading scores have been going down, even as students improve in math and science. The remedy proposed by state education officials is laser-focused on comprehension.

This is not about whether students can read and write. It’s about understanding. At it’s most basic, comprehension is being able to identify the setting or the main character of a story.

“But there are actually multiple levels of comprehension to get into more depth,” says Education Commissioner Candice McQueen. “Why was that your favorite character? Is this book like another book that you’ve read? Why or why not?”

This deeper level is where Tennessee students lag most. So this is what McQueen has proposed (read 19-page summary of strategic plan
here):

• More literacy coaches in schools.
• A new state-based reading assessment for early elementary grades to see whether a student could use extra attention.
• New standards for education majors to meet before becoming a certified teacher.

McQueen says it’s not about reading earlier, but rather pushing comprehension as students are just starting to sound out words.

“Even when you’re teaching decoding and a student may not be able to read yet, you’re definitely reading to them. You’re helping them access what they can read,” she says. “And you’re having an opportunity to do listening comprehension, which starts building those skills at an early age.”

More:

Metro Schools has its own literacy program to battle falling scores.

But reading scores may get worse before they get better. The new statewide standardized testing — known as TNReady — puts a heavy emphasis on writing about selected passages, which is exactly what has been giving Tennessee students the most trouble.