Uneven Dispersal of Poor Readers Worsens CCSD's High School Problems

Having spent and touted the effects of tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, of dollars on its literacy initiatives, the Charleston County School District now proudly announces that only one out of eight of its entering ninth graders reads below the fourth-grade level.

I'm not making this up.

Well, in a class of 24 that would mean that three students could barely read--IF those students were dispersed evenly throughout the classes. They aren't.

How about CCSD's sharing with us the percentage that applies at North Charleston and Burke High Schools? Too scary? Imagine how the teachers feel!

It's pathetic enough that CCSD uses a benchmark (fourth-grade reading level) meant for elementary school. For full transparency, the district should publish statistics for those reading at least the sixth-grade level (for which some textbooks and materials are available) and those reading on grade level.

Maybe only one out of eight is reading on the ninth-grade level as well. Not a good thought.