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The data above demonstrates that the percentages of students in CHCCS who score <br />in the four different levels across the 3rd 41h and 5th grades remain fairly constant with <br />approximately 5% of the students below grade level, 25% of the students at grade level and <br />70% of the students above grade level for both reading and mathematics. Given the <br />greater degree of economic disadvantage in the OCS student population, it is not surprising <br />that the pattern for OCS students is somewhat different. OCS students' 3rd grade scores <br />are heavier in level III than 3rd grade scores in CHCCS but they take a more noticeable <br />shift upward. In 3rd grade 12% of OCS students are below grade level in Reading and 9% <br />are below grade level in mathematics; in 4th grade about one third of the students are at <br />grade level and half of them are above grade level. For the 5th grade OCS students, the <br />percentage of students below grade level is reduced by half and students above grade level <br />increased by almost 20 %. Given the larger proportion of economically disadvantaged <br />children in OCS, it is significant that the literacy proficiency among the elementary school <br />children of both districts is almost comparable. <br />Both districts mirror the national emphasis on early education and elementary <br />school literacy, investing extensive district resources in reading specialists in the <br />elementary schools. This parity in achievement at the elementary school level raises <br />the question of what further resources are necessary to support the learning of OCS <br />students as they make the transitions from elementary school to middle school and high <br />school. <br />In an attempt to support the learning of their elementary school students, OCS <br />used a portion of their Title II funds (Title II of NCLB: Preparing, Training, and Recruiting <br />High Quality Teachers and Principals) to hire five additional elementary school teachers in <br />2003 -2004 in order to reduce class size in grades 3 -5. Given full utilization of all <br />classrooms (except Rashkis), CHCCS did not consider this an option. The reduction of class <br />size to foster achievement in the elementary school is a strategy supported by research on <br />Project STAR (Student Teacher Achievement Ratio conducted in 1985 -1989 in Tennessee) <br />(Word et al, 1990) that showed higher achievement for K -3 students in smaller classes, <br />particularly in classes of 20 and under. STAR research also indicated that smaller class <br />size was much more important than the presence of an assistant in addition to the teacher. <br />Despite evidence from the STAR project that smaller class size makes a difference, <br />particularly for minority children, there has been no longitudinal research on the STAR <br />population to indicate whether the gains in elementary school are sustained in middle school <br />and high school. <br />As shown in Table 31 below, while OCS established classes of under 20 for early <br />elementary students, they were not able to sustain that average in later grades. In fact, by <br />middle school OCS class size averages exceed the CHCCS class size averages. <br />CHCC510CS Final Report 46 <br />