Schools Prepare for Reading Gate

As students head for Christmas break, it’s likely some of the youngest ones are leaving after being screened for reading proficiency.
For the first time ever, the state of Mississippi administered the third grade reading gate test last year. This test determines whether students would move onto the fourth grade. While the test is given to third graders, students starting in kindergarten are screened to see where they fall.
Renaissance Learning put the test together and encourages schools to screen their students at least a few times a year. Charlotte Wilson with Renaissance Learning said, “All students beginning in kindergarten through third grade are screened three times a year to evaluate where is that student based on the progressing of learning and where they should be. We look at it from both the skill viewpoints, of what skills they should have at that point, as well as nationally, how are they doing. As parents, I would want to be aware of how my student did do on that screening.”
Last year’s results showed 92 percent of Mississippi students passed the third grade reading gate test.