Editor, Commonwealth:
Regarding Thursday’s editorial about the third-grade-gate test scores (“Don’t sugarcoat reading results”), the editor stated that he was not sure why any Greenwood-area public school leader should be pleased with the overall results on the first year of the third-grade reading tests. The editor also said that of the three responses from school leaders, only one had an appropriate response and that was because his job doesn’t depend on his answer.
The Greenwood district takes issue with the editor’s assumptions.
In speaking with a Commonwealth reporter on the phone Wednesday about the test results, Superintendent Montrell Greene did not say he was pleased with the overall 85 percent passage rate. What Dr. Greene did say was that he was pleased that 85 percent of the students passed the test and that it showed the hard work on the part of the teachers and staff to make sure the students were prepared.
He pointed out Bankston’s 95 percent passage rate and Davis’ 88 percent passage rate. Dr. Greene went on to make it clear in his statement that the district was not giving up on the students who had failed the test and said the district has put into place intense remediation for the students. The district’s goal, Dr. Greene said, is for these students to be proficient in reading at both the third- and fourth-grade levels by the end of the school year.
By no means is the district content with the 85 percent overall passage rate as the Commonwealth indicated in its editorial. Being happy for the 85 percent of the students who passed the test is not something to be viewed as negative. The district celebrates their success. At the same time, the district acknowledges the work that has to be done.
Margaret Dean
Director of Communications
Greenwood Public School District
