From a big-picture perspective, not much has changed in Colorado’s third-grade reading scores in more than a decade. The state gets about three-quarters of kids in that pivotal school year reading at grade level or beyond.
But zoom in a little, and among the preliminary results of this year’s statewide reading tests are encouraging snapshots of improvement.
Such as Smith Renaissance School.
At the little school in a northeast corner of Park Hill, 98 percent of the 410 kindergartners through fifth-graders come from low-income families. Last year, 25 percent of Smith’s third-graders scored at proficient or advanced levels on the statewide reading test.
This year, that number jumped to 57 percent.
Elsewhere in Denver Public Schools, which had an overall score of 59 percent proficient or advanced, gains were posted in so-called turnaround schools, where poor performance in previous years brought increased effort and resources.
West Denver’s Greenlee Elementary, in its second year of a turnaround effort, scored 21 percentage points better than it did last year. The gain brings to 55 percent the number of Greenlee third-graders who read at grade level or better.
Several schools in far northeast Denver — where a major overhaul brought the closure of three poorly performing schools and the opening of six new ones — also saw double-digit improvement.
Green Valley Elementary posted a 17-point increase, bringing the percentage of third-graders who are proficient or above to 63 percent.
“We’re excited about that. It’s still not near 100 percent, and until we get there, we can’t declare victory,” said Allen Smith, executive director of the turnaround effort in the far northeast area.
Smith gave partial credit for the improvement to longer school days and longer school years. His west Denver counterpart, Antonio Esquibel, pointed to a “laserlike focus” on literacy.
Both men also credited a push for greater parent involvement, both in reading at home and simply in getting kids to attend school.
“Parents are saying to kids, ‘Go to school, and behave and learn,’ ” Smith said. “That’s a good start in an area that has had lower expectations for so long.”
Statewide, third-graders this year did slightly better than their counterparts a year ago, with 73.9 percent testing at proficient or advanced, up from 73 percent in 2011.
This year, 8 percent of the state’s 63,393 third-graders got unsatisfactory scores, down a single percentage point from last year.
The state Department of Education released preliminary results of the annual statewide third-grade reading tests Wednesday. Third-grade results are typically released ahead of the rest of standardized test scores because that grade is considered pivotal in determining a child’s likelihood of success in school.
The gulfs between poor and affluent students and between minority and white students remained wide.
Only 58.6 percent of Latino and 58.2 percent of black students scored proficient or better, compared with 83.6 percent of white students.
Also, 59.4 percent of students who get federal money to pay for their lunch scored proficient or better, compared with 84.9 percent of students whose families earn too much to qualify for federal help.
Littleton Public Schools had one of the best showings in the metro area, with 88.2 percent of students scoring proficient or better.
In Douglas County schools, 82.8 percent of students scored proficient or better. In Cherry Creek schools, the score was 80.8 percent; in Jefferson County, it was 80.3 percent.
Karen Augé: 303-954-1733 or kauge@denverpost.com
