The Arizona State Board of Education has decided to offer some fourth graders remedial reading instruction this year. This is happening because the state recently switched the test it uses to evaluate reading proficiency. Results from the new exam known as AzMERIT didn’t come out until after this school year started.
Department of Education spokesman Charles Tack said that timing was problematic as a 2010 state law requires third graders to be held back if they don’t score high enough in reading proficiency.
"What that has done is created a situation where we won’t know if 3 rd graders performed poorly enough to qualify under the Move On When Reading program and would have been held back had the results been available," he explained.
According to Tack, a late roll out caused the delay this year. He said AzMERIT testing scores should be available earlier after this year’s testing.
