The Iowa Tests of Basic Skills, which third-graders take in May, is considered vital because it flags youngsters who are poor readers as they enter the fourth grade, when reading starts to become a tool for learning.
Educators say it is critical to catch poor reading skills early to avoid future academic weakness.
But because 71 percent of bilingual third-graders, or 3,253 of them, have attended Massachusetts schools for at least three years, some argue that at least that many should be proficient enough in English to be tested. Certainly any child who has been in our schools since kindergarten or first grade should be taking this test,'' said Rosalie Porter, chief executive and research director of the Amherst-based READ Institute, for Research in English Acquisition and Development, a consulting group used by schools to improve bilingual programs. Porter, formerly the longtime bilingual education director for the Newton public schools, analyzed the state's test data and produced a report on bilingual third graders. Not so, says Tom Louie, director of Mass English Plus, a bilingual education advocacy group in Boston. Louie said Porter's group supports the view that children should leave bilingual education programs after a given time, even if they do not yet speak English well.