5 takeaways: Salem-Keizer’s test scores show some progress, much work ahead – Salem Reporter:
You can find almost any story you want in the latest round of student test scores for the Salem-Keizer School District.
No, you can’t. The score another failure indicator in a long line. Anyone casting this in a remotely positive light is out of their mind.
There’s no escaping the fact that most local students can’t read, write or do math at the level expected for their grade.
About three in four third graders were behind in reading in 2025. Scores have steadily worsened since testing resumed following the Covid pandemic in 2022.
How is this anything other than catastrophic? And I’ll bet every one of these kids will be promoted to 4th grade.
But this year’s state tests show something new for the first time in three years: Progress.
From 2024 to 2025, about 65 more third graders met the state benchmark. Districtwide, 162 more students were reading at the level expected.
That is out of 19,000 students! That is not even a 1% improvement.
Next fall, elementary schools will adopt new class materials for reading and writing – a step district leaders say is long overdue. Teachers and classroom assistants in elementary schools will also attend a three-day training in January about teaching kids to read, an effort administrators said is so important it’s worth canceling multiple days of school.
This is so long overdue it’s remarkable.
There is no “any story you want” here. It’s a disgrace what we’ve done to these kids, and anyone who thinks otherwise has no business being anywhere near them.