The Luke Burbank Show - 10am on KIRO Radio
 Luke Burbank
Tune in
Tune in to KIRO Radio weekdays at 10am for The Luke Burbank Show.


classroom_teacher_school.jpg
A proposal to hold kids back if they can't pass a third-grade reading test is getting a failing grade from numerous critics, including the Luke Burbank Show. (AP file)

Why proposal to hold kids back who fail reading test doesn't pencil out

BY Josh Kerns  on January 31, 2013 @ 3:25 pm (Updated: 4:00 pm - 1/31/13 )

If a kid can't pass a reading test after third grade, should they be held back? A number of lawmakers think that could be the solution to students who aren't keeping up.

Sen. Bruce Dammeier, R-Puyallup is sponsoring a bill requiring kids who fail a standardized test to retake third grade. "We are going to force the system to do what's necessary to make a kid successful," he tells the Everett Herald.

Not everyone agrees. One expert told the Herald it can actually make matters worse.

"It is important to note that 30 years ago educational researchers declared grade retention to be 'an unjustifiable, discriminatory, and noxious' intervention," Shane Jimerson, a professor in the Gevirtz School of Education at the University of California, Santa Barbara, told the Herald.

Randy Dorn, Superintendent of Public Instruction, argues holding kids back can be emotionally devastating, and basing it on a single test is unfair.

In a conversation on KIRO Radio's Luke Burbank Show, the consensus was intervention needs to happen much sooner to make a real difference.

News Anchor Kim Shepard, a mother of two young students, argues kids need to be proficient readers well before third grade.

"If they don't know how to read by the end of first grade, if they're not decent readers, they're going to have issues with math, with science, with social studies, with everything else they start to learn in second grade."

"It's a simplistic solution to a complex problem," says KIRO Radio's Tom Tangney. "What happens the next year? If you don't get past the third grade level, what happens the next year? Are you going to keep holding them there?"

But Dammeier counters advancing a kid who can't read at grade level sets them up for failure later on in school and life. "That is the worst thing we can do for them," he told the Herald.

Dorn's office reports over 6,000 third graders failed the state's 2011 Measurements of Student Progress test. Dammeier estimates about 2,000 would be held back when the law took effect for the 2014-15 school year based on those numbers.

It would be costly. With the state now spending about $10,000 per student per year in public schools, it would cost about $$20 million to have them retake third grade.

Dorn argues lawmakers telling teachers whether a kid should be held back is akin to the general public telling Boeing how to build airplanes.

Luke agrees, and says the measure merely puts more responsibility on schools for parents who can't or won't do their jobs.

"There's so much stuff that we're asking the schools to do that the parents should really be taking an active role. When the schools are trying to pick up all the slack for a lot of pretty lousy parents at times it feels unwinnable," Luke says.

Josh Kerns, MyNorthwest.com Reporter
Josh Kerns is co-host of KIRO Radio's Seattle Sounds (Saturday nights 7-8) and a digital content producer for MyNorthwest.com.
More Luke Burbank

MyNorthwest.com - Purpose of Comments statement
Bonneville Media encourages site users to express their opinions by posting comments. Our goal is to maintain a civil dialogue in which readers feel comfortable. At times, the comments can descend to personal attacks. Please do not engage in such behavior. We encourage your thoughtful comments which: have a positive and constructive tone, are on topic, are respectful toward others and their opinions. Bonneville reserves the right to remove comments which do not conform to these criteria.

Comments (13)


  • Add A Comment

  • Mavila wrote...
    I almost flunked a test once...
    January 31, 2013 4:44 pm
    but I called in sick instead. That was a close call.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • lk stevens wrote...
    There seems to be a lot of resistance . . .
    February 1, 2013 4:16 am
    . . . to a solution here. I understand what Luke and Randy Dorn and Tom Tangney and others DON'T want to do (hmmmm, one summary would be to NOT agree with the Republican). But I don't see a proposal. Sure, it would be expensive to hold them back, but isnt it also costly to have them continue for nine more years failing to catch up, delaying the progress of countless other higher performing kids in their classes? Won't they have a higher propensity to act out, a form of diverting attention from their academic shortcomings? And isn't this the sort of "gateway activity" that crowds our juvenile court systems and ultimately results in a form of personal broken-ness? Now there is a high cost we all bear in society. Why can't we have an honest "there are no wrong answers until we agree on what will work" approach?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Forrest wrote...
    Well that confirms it.
    February 1, 2013 6:03 am
    What's long and hard on a cop?

    The third grade.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • HLC wrote...
    The right of passage.
    February 1, 2013 9:23 am
    In a liberals world everyone has the right to pass. The requirement to actually be able to accomplish a required task is not important. See the last two elections.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • circuitfr wrote...
    also
    February 1, 2013 9:53 am
    everyone gets a medal and there is no "second place" Heck, there isn't even a winner. You know...just like in real life....it doesn't matter if you succeed or not, just that you tried your hardest, and if you fail, we'll be there to pick up the pieces and give you everything you need. "We're from the government, and we're here to help."
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • rkris1 wrote...
    by all means, just keep ranting about horrible evil liberal bogeymen
    February 13, 2013 10:01 am
    instead of suggesting anything constructive
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • williamohoh wrote...
    How delusional is HRC?
    February 1, 2013 1:06 pm
    he actually thinks the GOP has done better in the White House than Dems? Numbers and results mean nothing I guess. The last time the GOP infested the Whie House they magically turned the economy from the highest of lows, to near the bottom.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • daveismenotyou wrote...
    And we are doing so much better now?
    February 1, 2013 6:13 pm
    What a freaking turd you are. Not the D Congress at the time eh fool?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • soo purletiv wrote...
    HRC? Who is that?
    February 1, 2013 7:33 pm
    Uh Oh...

    Somebody made it past the 3rd grade without comprehension... ;-)

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • cdbtx wrote...
    Luke - the Public does tell Boeing how to build
    February 3, 2013 7:36 am
    planes. It's reflected in the models and features produced.. as well as in what's defined by the stockholders.

    To cite an "Educational Expert" from California on lower education is like citing Al Capone on "Gun Control". California rates in the bottom 5% in the US on lower education.

    Maybe changing the reading material from "Frankie Has Two Mommies" to something that might interest the kids might be a better path.

    I remember walking into a 2nd grade classroom years ago... as I walked in... only a couple of kids even lifted their heads.. they were all reading... everything from newspapers.. books.. and yes.. even cartoons... with the point being they were reading. Of course, the school board fired the teacher for not following the "Party" line... The parents staged a massive protest... because their children were reading, were getting an education... something that the "Party" line failed to produce.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • AKAF wrote...
    I agree with Luke...
    February 3, 2013 9:37 pm
    but for other reasons. Holding children back because the public school system has failed them is not the solution. Let us hold teachers and the education system accountable! We continue to pour more money into a system that is failing. The unions stranglehold on the system needs to end...they, the unions, have proven they are not the solution. Public education needs to examine private schools to see how and where they succeed and then replicate that. Until we eliminate unions control over our education we will never move forward. Disagree...look at the past 20 years and more.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • NewButCurious wrote...
    Which "Unfair" Do You Want?
    February 4, 2013 8:14 am
    Perhaps holding a child back "feels" tough - but passing the child forward will only put that child in a worse situation - and will impose on the rest of his/her class. A single test may be questionable - teachers and parents should catch a failure to read well much sooner. Absent this... then they are the ones creating the problem. The necessary elements for success in life have to be set in place... What else is all this time, money, and energy expended for!?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • SeattleNative wrote...
    A better solution for the kids...
    February 4, 2013 12:40 pm
    ...and better use of taxpayer dollars is to hire a reading specialist in each school to help those who are struggling to become better readers. Test early and work with them through their elementary years until they get up to speed.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }