A Denver elementary school’s third-grade reading scores leaped by almost 200 percent from last year – a boost district officials Monday attributed to the literacy program.
At north Denver’s Smedley Elementary, 72 percent of the 46 third-graders were proficient readers. Last year, that number was only 26 percent, according to data released last week by the Colorado Department of Education.
“We’re encouraged,” said Tanya Caughey, Denver Public Schools spokeswoman.
Caughey said a teacher has followed students from second-grade to third-grade in the school, which may have helped scores.
The technique is called “looping” and is thought by some educational leaders to help students because the teacher gets to know students well by the second year.
Also, the school has strongly implemented the district’s literacy program, Caughey said.
She stressed these results are preliminary.
“We need to look at how the third-graders are performing on other tests,” she said. “It’s the whole picture we need to take a look at.”
The huge score jump hadn’t made district officials suspicious Monday of testing or data errors, Caughey said.
“I haven’t heard anything like that today,” she said.
Staff writer Allison Sherry can be reached at 303-820-1377 or asherry@denverpost.com.
