Huppenthal: School Districts Need To Act Now To Prevent Mass Third Grader Retention

August 12, 2013

Arizona's Superintendent of Public Instruction John Huppenthal is warning about the possible mass retention of third graders at the end of this year.

Huppenthal says based on the most recent AIMS scores, school districts need to act now to help kids meet the minimum reading standards that will allow them to move on.

“There should be an all-out effort by the education system now to save those students, to get them on a track for success and to try and get them on a track for passing out of third grade and on into fourth grade,” Huppenthal said.

The School Superintendent says reading teachers across the state are getting intensive training in the latest methods of teaching reading. And he says a better plan for teaching reading to at-risk kids is being developed.

Huppenthal says some 3,100 students are at risk of being held back, because they can't meet fourth grade reading standards.