The Third Grade Reading Guarantee
Presenter: Sasheen Phillips, Senior Executive Director, Center of Curriculum and Assessment, Ohio Department of Education
Summary: Third-grade students who cannot read at grade level will face significant challenges in later grades, according to Sasheen Phillips, Senior Executive Director of the Center of Curriculum and Assessment at ODE. Recent legislation strengthened the longstanding Third Grade Guarantee (once called the Fourth Grade Guarantee) to give a greater emphasis to reading instruction and intervention in the early grades.
For the 2012-13 school year, students will need to attain a 390 cut score on the Reading OAA. A third-grade student who does not score 390 will be retained in grade 3 unless 1) the teacher and principal agree that the student is ready for the fourth grade, or 2) if intensive intervention is provided in grade 4.
In 2013-14, the cut score is elevated to 392. A third-grade student who does not score 390 will be retained in grade 3 unless 1) the student is on an Individual Educational Plan that prohibits retention, or 2) the student is Limited English Proficient, or 3) the student demonstrates competency on an ODE-approved alternative assessment, or 4) the student has received intensive remediation for two years and was previously retained in grades K-3.
The ODE-developed diagnostics will identify students as on-track and not on-track. On-track means any student who is reading at grade level based on previous end-of-year standards’ expectations by September 30. Not on-track means any student who is not reading at grade level based on previous end-of-year standards’ expectations by September 30.
For More Information: Additional resources are available on the ODE web at education.ohio.gov.
More on this Session: Download Presentation | Watch Video
Ohio’s Race to the Top (RttT) strategy aligns with the Ohio Department of Education’s (ODE's) vision and mission to implement a world class education system in which all students will graduate with a sense of purpose and be well prepared for college, work and life. 
After reading the post, what district will ever retain a student with so many ways “out” because every district is given a report card, that report card is public and every district wants a favorable rating? I see hypocrisy in this policy because the state espouses multiple forms of assessment but only uses one to designate a student as passing or failing, but on the back end give the district many ways out if it. Not sure about the legitimacy of the guarantee.
November 2, 2012 at 8:53 am
Thank you for your comments Scott. I have passed your concern onto our speaker.
November 5, 2012 at 10:09 am