Ohio's Reading Guarantee: A Law To Ensure Literacy

Ohio's Third Grade Reading Guarantee was enacted in 2012 under the leadership of Governor John Kasich. The law required schools to hold back students who did not meet promotional standards on state reading exams or an alternative assessment. However, in recent years, there have been changes to this policy, with the Ohio House passing a bill to end the requirement for students to repeat the third grade if they don't score at least proficient on English language arts standardized tests. The bill allows parents to opt their children out of the retention requirement, and schools are now required to promote all children to the fourth grade, regardless of their reading scores.

The Third Grade Reading Guarantee was enacted in 2012

The guarantee also includes requirements for support for struggling students and that non-proficient readers be retained instead of promoted to the fourth grade. Schools are required to provide intensive interventions to help retained students catch up. The guarantee was enacted to ensure that all children have foundational reading skills before they are asked to tackle more challenging material in the middle and upper grades.

The guarantee has been the subject of much debate in recent years, with critics deeming it hurtful to retained students. In 2022, the Ohio House passed a bill to end the requirement that students repeat the third grade if they don't score at least "proficient" on the English language arts standardized test. The bill, HB 497, passed 80-10 and was supported by Rep. Gayle Manning, a retired teacher, who said the testing and retention pressure is too much for a young child.

Despite the controversy, the Third Grade Reading Guarantee has shown some positive results. A study from the Ohio Education Research Center at Ohio State University found that retention worked as intended, with retained students making significant academic gains compared to similar students who just narrowly passed the promotional bar. This is consistent with results from Florida, Indiana, and Mississippi, which also have third-grade retention laws.

The guarantee attempts to ensure children can read proficiently before the fourth grade

Ohio's Third Grade Reading Guarantee was enacted in 2012 under the leadership of Governor John Kasich. The law included a retention requirement aimed at ending "social promotion", the practice of passing students who are academically unprepared to the next grade. The guarantee attempts to ensure children can read proficiently before the fourth grade through mandatory testing from kindergarten through third grade.

The guarantee requires mandatory testing and support for students behind in reading. Students who do not meet promotional standards on state reading exams or an alternative assessment are held back and provided with intensive interventions to help them catch up. However, since the 2013-2014 school year when the guarantee went into effect, there has been no significant improvement in fourth-grade reading proficiency levels.

In 2022, the Ohio House passed a bill to end the requirement for students to repeat the third grade if they don't score at least "proficient" on the English language arts standardized test. The bill, known as House Bill 497, passed with a vote of 80 to 10 and was supported by educators and parents who believed that the testing and retention pressure was too much for young children.

Despite the changes to the law, the goal of the Third Grade Reading Guarantee remains the same: to ensure that all children have foundational reading skills before they move on to more challenging material in the fourth grade. Parents and guardians play a crucial role in this process, as they can work with schools to decide what is best for their child's education and request exemptions from the reading score requirement for promotion to the fourth grade.

While the guarantee has faced criticism and changes, ensuring that children can read proficiently by the third grade continues to be a critical goal for Ohio. Softening retention requirements and providing intensive reading instruction are part of the state's efforts to improve literacy rates and help students succeed.

Parents can opt their children out of the guarantee

Ohio's Third Grade Reading Guarantee, passed in 2012, ensures that children can read proficiently before progressing to the fourth grade. It does this through mandatory testing from kindergarten to third grade and requirements for support for struggling students. Since 2013, a student's promotion to the fourth grade has been tied to their reading score on a standardized state test.

However, parents can opt their children out of the guarantee. With the passage of the state's two-year budget, changes were made to the guarantee, allowing parents or guardians to request to exempt their child from the reading score requirement to move to the fourth grade. This means that even if a student does not meet the minimum score on the third-grade English language arts state test, they can still advance to the fourth grade if their parents or guardians wish.

To do so, parents or guardians should consult with their child's principal and reading teacher to make this request. The state budget also requires that any student who is promoted with below-passing scores must undergo mandatory 90-minute literacy instruction each day until they can read at grade level.

While the mandatory retention policy has been controversial, with some arguing that it causes anxiety for students and has not shown a clear pattern of improvement, others, like the coalition of business leaders called Ohio Excels, have pointed to studies showing that students who repeated the third grade improved their reading scores.

The Ohio House passed House Bill 497 in 2022, which would end the requirement for students to repeat the third grade if they don't score at least "proficient" on the English language arts standardized test. This bill, however, has not yet been taken up by the Senate.

The guarantee has been criticised for causing anxiety in students

The Ohio Reading Guarantee, a law passed in 2012, was designed to ensure that students were meeting benchmark reading levels by the end of the third grade. While the intent was to improve literacy rates and provide additional support for struggling readers, the guarantee has received criticism for the anxiety it has caused among students.

The law states that students who do not meet the reading proficiency standards on state tests by the end of the third grade will be held back and required to repeat the grade. This high-stakes testing environment has been a source of significant stress and worry for many students, particularly those who already struggle with reading. The fear of failure and the potential consequences of not advancing to the next grade can be overwhelming, affecting their motivation and confidence.

The guarantee has also placed additional pressure on teachers and schools, who feel accountable for ensuring their students meet the reading benchmarks. This has led to concerns about "teaching to the test" and a narrowing of the curriculum, as schools focus intensely on reading and literacy to the potential detriment of other subjects and areas of student development. The law's consequences for schools and districts with low reading scores have further contributed to the anxiety surrounding the guarantee.

Critics argue that the guarantee's approach is too punitive and fails to consider the individual needs and circumstances of students. The one-size-fits-all nature of the policy does not account for students with learning disabilities, English language learners, or those with unique challenges that may impact their reading ability. Rather than providing tailored interventions and support, the guarantee's focus on retention adds stress and worry for these students, potentially exacerbating existing challenges.

In response to these criticisms, some have advocated for a more holistic approach to literacy education and interventions that address the underlying causes of reading difficulties. While the guarantee aims to improve reading proficiency, the potential long-term effects on students' well-being and motivation should also be considered. Alternatives such as providing additional resources, offering targeted interventions, and promoting a love of reading could be explored to achieve the ultimate goal of improving literacy rates without causing undue anxiety in students.

Overall, while the Ohio Reading Guarantee had good intentions, its implementation has led to concerns about student anxiety and the potential negative impact on their educational experience. Balancing the need for literacy proficiency with the well-being of students is crucial, and ongoing discussions and adaptations are necessary to ensure that the guarantee achieves its intended goals without causing undue harm.

The guarantee has been supported for improving literacy in students

The Ohio Third Grade Reading Guarantee was enacted in 2012 under the leadership of Governor John Kasich. The law included a retention requirement that aimed to end the practice of "social promotion", where students are passed to the next grade despite being academically unprepared. The guarantee ensures that children can read proficiently before the fourth grade through mandatory testing from kindergarten to third grade. It also requires that struggling students receive support and that non-proficient readers are retained and not promoted to the fourth grade.

Despite the guarantee's intentions, there has been no significant improvement in fourth-grade reading proficiency levels since its implementation. As a result, in 2022, the Ohio House passed a bill to end the requirement for students to repeat the third grade if they don't score at least "proficient" on the English language arts standardized test. This bill, known as House Bill 497, passed with 80 votes to 10. While the mandatory testing and support for struggling readers remain, the decision to hold a student back is now made by educators and parents.

The changes to the original guarantee are supported by several educational organizations, including the Ohio Education Association, the Ohio Federation of Teachers, and the Ohio School Psychologists Association. They argue that mandatory retention has not shown a proven benefit and has, in fact, caused harm. Research has shown that students who are held back are at an increased risk of dropping out of school, and this risk is even higher for Black students. Additionally, the pressure of testing and retention can be intimidating and cause anxiety in young students.

Instead of retention, there is now a greater focus on providing intensive reading instruction and intervention for struggling readers. The state budget requires that all students who are held back or promoted with below-passing scores receive 90 minutes of daily literacy instruction until they reach grade-level reading ability. This instruction must continue into middle or high school if a student remains below grade level. The budget also allocates over $100 million to a literacy improvement fund, with funds being used for curriculum materials, professional development for teachers, and placing literacy coaches in schools with low reading scores.

These changes to the Ohio Third Grade Reading Guarantee reflect a broader goal of improving literacy in the state. By providing additional resources and support for struggling readers, Ohio aims to raise its consistently low reading proficiency rates and ensure that all children can read fluently.

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