ABC Phonetic Reading School, Inc.

Unfortunately ABC has not provided Tutoring Services throughout this Pandemic. We are looking at all options and will soon begin the process of hiring and re-hiring trained and highly qualified administrative staff as well as certified, credentialed tutoring staff.
Thank all of you for your patience.

Blessings

ABC will not be accepting any new students until the fall of 2020. Thank you for your interest in enrolling.

ABC is no longer excepting new students Until the fall of 2019. Thank you all for your support over the last 33 years.

A Win-Win for Families with children in failing schools in Arizona.
April 2017, Arizona lawmakers approved a monumental expansion of private school choice last week, creating the first universal tax-advantaged education savings program in the United States.
The Empowerment Scholarship Accounts make funds available (approximately $5500 per student) to an additional 5,500 students across the state each year. Though any family may apply, the legislation caps the number of participants at 30,000 by 2022. These funds may be used for K-12 private school tuition, tutoring and any monies left after High School graduation can be used for College.
We believe that When parents have options, kids win!

ABC begins our Summer Reading Program serving approximately 100 1st through 3rd graders beginning June 13th through June 30th in Bakersfield. ABC is honored to have received the recognition and opportunity to serve this student population.

NAEP scores raise questions about student achievement gap

By Heather Kays / April 28, 2016 / News / No Comments

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Neal McCluskey
Neal McCluskey
Neal McCluskey of the Cato Institute says that newly released NAEP scores indicate the poorest and most marginalized students are suffering from failing schools.
The deluge of stories debating exactly how bad the latest National Assessment of Educational Progress scores are will continue to flood news feeds and education sites for weeks to come, but one thing is clear – the achievement gap is widening, even if it’s only a little.

The assessment, also known as the Nation’s Report Card or NAEP, released data Wednesday showing about one-third of high school seniors tested are prepared for college-level coursework in math and reading. The data also shows that while there was marginal improvement in reading for the highest-performing students, students with the lowest scores were performing worse than ever.

The results are a nationally representative sample based on test scores from thousands of high school seniors at 740 schools, including private institutions. The NAEP tests are administered every two years.

The 2015 NAEP scores released this week indicate 37 percent of students are prepared for college-level math and reading courses, down 2 percent in math and 1 percent in reading since 2013.

Only 25 percent of students scored proficient or higher in math. Thirty seven percent of students scored proficient or higher in reading, a decrease of 1 percentage point in both subjects.

Notably, the number of students to score below the basic level in math increased from 35 percent to 38 percent and in reading from 25 percent to 28 percent.

The scores for the poorest performing students in the country, those in the bottom 10th percentile, fell by 4 points in math and 6 points in reading compared with 2013.

Some school-choice advocates say the math and reading scores need to serve as a wakeup call.

“While the overall scores are disheartening, perhaps the bigger disappointment is that it is the people public schooling and federal policy are most supposed to help – low-income and other marginalized groups – that seemed to fare the worst,” said Neal McCluskey, director of the Center for Educational Freedom at the Cato Institute. “The lowest achieving percentiles of students, for instance, saw bigger drops than the upper in math, and in reading the lower dropped while the upper percentiles actually rose. Breaking students down by parental education – a good proxy for family income – showed kids from the most-educated families generally faring better than the least, though no group did very well.”

“What this suggests, in concert with many decades of NAEP testing, is that neither spending more nor changing the locus of power to Washington has had much effect on the ultimate outcome of K-12 education,” McCluskey added. “Perhaps we need to look elsewhere for policy solutions than more top-down control, and look more at non-policy variables like culture and attitudes toward education.”

RELATED: Are teachers prepared for the realities of the classroom?

Jonathan Butcher, education director at the Goldwater Institute, says even minor changes in NAEP scores need careful consideration.

“The score gap between 12th graders at the top and bottom of the distribution is a problem because these students are getting ready for life after high school — decisions about college and the workforce are right in front of them that are going to determine the trajectory of their lives,” said Butcher. “If those who are struggling the most are having even more trouble than before, this comes at a terrible time in their lives.”

Butcher acknowledged how easy it is to overlook a few percentage points as insignificant in the grand scheme of things, but advised against doing so.

“These marginal changes of only a few points at a time may not seem like much to researchers and lawmakers, but what about parents? If scores are trending downward, even slightly, no family should wait until it affects their child,” said Butcher.

Butcher says state-based solutions such as education savings accounts and giving charter schools more access to vacant public school buildings would be a step in the right direction. The idea, Butcher says, is to “let parents act now without having to wait on Washington to try to turn a giant ship around.”

Michael J. Petrilli, president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, told Watchdog.org there is no way to determine exactly why the NAEP scores rise and fall the way they do.

“The decline in scores for the lowest performing students is definitely cause for concern,” said Petrilli. “Conversely, the positive blip at the top end of the performance spectrum is worth celebrating. What’s not at all clear is what’s driving these trends – or whether they can even be considered ‘trends’ or just gyrations. Is the increasing graduation rate causing scores to decline? Are certain reforms not working? Was it the recession? Unfortunately, with NAEP, all you can do is speculate.”

ABC Phonetic Reading School is the only Supplemental Educational Service Provider (SES) to be given an A by the Bakersfield City School District for Tutoring services provided last year. This year ABC is the only Company given an A on the Bakersfield enrollment application for FREE Tutoring. The application was sent to thousands of Families with children attending Bakersfield City Schools on November 9th and all are Due in to the District office by November 20th.
ABC is honored to have received the recognition and high grade for our services. ABC has served the families of students in the Bakersfield City Schools as well as throughout Kern County since 2012. We look forward to providing quality One on One tutoring services to thousands of students again this year.

Wednesday October 28th 2015. Test score results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress tests are out. The average scores for Math are down for eight-graders and fourth-graders. Only 40% of fourth-graders and 33% of eight-graders show proficiency in Math, falling two percentage points from 2013. Reading scores showed 36 % of fourth-graders proficient, about the same as 2013. Eight-graders were down two percentage points, 34% showed proficiency.
If your child is not proficient at grade level in Reading and or Math its time to get help by doing what tens of thousands of parents have done Since 1986, Call ABC.

Good NEWS FOR NOW! The Federal Department of Education (DOE) has denied the California Department of Educations request for a waiver that would have denied parents with children in failing California schools the opportunity to choose a private Supplemental Educational Service (SES) Organization. This opportunity has been afforded the most at risk students (those on Free and Reduced Lunch Programs) eligible to receive FREE academic tutoring from private tutoring organizations to help them become proficient in Reading/Math Under No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Law. Best thing to come out of the Bush Administration in my opinion.
For ABC it means looking forward to the opportunity for our Tutors to begin serving thousands of K-8 students throughout California. The opportunity to begin teaching them the skills to become academically proficient in reading and math, the skills necessary to be successful in school and beyond.
Unfortunately there is some Bad News after the 15-16 School Year. This will be the last year Districts with failing schools will be required to offer the most vulnerable students (those they have failed to teach to read or do math proficiently at grade level) the opportunity to receive outside help. Your Congress and Senate is seeing to it that SES will no longer be available to students who attend failing schools in America. They are doing so by removing the provision from the law they are currently trying to pass. Doing so in spite of all the research and evidence that students who received SES tutoring from organizations over the past 13 years tested higher than other students who did not receive tutoring. Only in America do politicians pass laws to thwart academic opportunity for our most vulnerable and poorest population while they support the protection of an Educational Establishment that render over half our students Functionally Illiterate in Reading and Math. Go Figure, I can't!
FYI, the latest 2014 Nations Report Card released by the DOE shows the following percentage of 8th grade graduating students who are proficient readers. 19% of Hispanic students, 20% of African Americans ( only one out of five) and 44% of white students entering High School are proficient, meaning they lack the reading and math skills necessary to to be successful students.

It's children's Book Week

Children's Book Week encourages children to enjoy new authors and books, and is celebrated in schools, libraries, homes, and bookstores during a selected week each May. During this event, celebrate children's literature with storytelling, parties, author and illustrator appearances, and other literacy events in your school and community. As part of the celebration, children are invited to help select the top children's book of the year by voting online or at their school or library.

More information and resources

http://www.bookweekonline.com/local?utm_source=Oases+Online&utm_campaign=2e6141423f-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b2ff231bb7-2e6141423f-33001005

Local Events | Book Week Online Children's & Teen Choice Book Awards Voice your choice! Voting for 's Children's & Teen Choice Book Awards closes May 12 at ccbookawards.com!

As much as we would all like to believe Arizona has turned the corner in regard to student achievement, we can't!

http://goldwaterinstitute.org/blog/mediocre-may-be-closer-it-appears

Mediocre may be closer than it appears | Goldwater Institute Mediocre may be closer than it appears | Goldwater Institute

AZ AIMS test scores are out. Wondering how your child's school did? Click the "2013 AIMS & AIMS A Results" link on the ADE webpage shown below.

http://www.azed.gov/research-evaluation/aims-assessment-results/

AIMS Assessment Results Please be aware that the Arizona Department of Education does not issue student AIMS results. Please contact the school or LEA where the student tested for this information.