By Leah Schwarting

The Natchez Democrat

Natchez — After one test and two retests, approximately 95 percent of Natchez-Adams County School District third graders passed the Third Grade Reading Summative Assessment.

When the scores for the final retest came out in September, 94.31 percent of NASD students passed.

Statewide, 92 percent of all third-graders passed the test, which was given for the first time last year.

At Susie B. West Elementary School, students had an overall passing rate of 96.2 percent, Joseph L. Frazier Elementary School had a rate of 93.68 and Gilmer McLaurin Elementary School had 93.46.

Initially, West had the lowest passing rate at 73 percent for the test. West Principal Allison Jowers said after the school received results, students went through individualized remediation programs, based upon the student score reports which showed areas students were weak in.

And, when students took the first retest, the passing rate moved up to 93.67.

“I really believe it had a lot to do with the remediation that took place after the first test,” Jowers said.

Fifteen students from the district failed and couldn’t move on to the fourth grade. The students who didn’t pass were moved to McLaurin, NASD Accountability and Assessment Coordinator Aquetta Butler said.

Students are being taught alongside other third-graders by two high-performing teachers and a support staff which includes two high-performing teacher’s assistants, Butler said.

Each month all students in the district will be assessed using the Star Reading assessment to see if they improved.

The children who failed will take the summative reading assessment again in November, and the rest of the third-graders will test for the first time between March 28 and April 15.

Frazier Principal Cynthia Lamkin said the school is currently working with at-risk students who were weaker in some skills. Although Lamkin wasn’t Frazier’s principal last year, she was the parent of a child in the third grade.

“As a parent, you’re anxious because now you’re being told if your child doesn’t do well, he can’t pass to the next grade,” Lamkin said.

But Jowers and Lamkin said they feel good about this year. Lamkin said Frazier will be tutoring students identified by teachers as needing help and Jowers said the test will be familiar to teachers.

“We’re pretty confident for this year,” Jowers said.