Carla Williamson

Carla Williamson, executive director of the state board's Office of Instruction, said it has become more difficult to find traditional textbooks to align with the state's 21st Century Skills curriculum. She also said some West Virginia teachers are more comfortable with old textbooks and do not want to change teaching materials.

Carla Williamson, the executive director of the state office of instruction, said students buy into the scores and see continuous improvement as their reading skills develop.

"It's a non-judgmental way of communicating student reading levels," she told the state board of education on Wednesday.
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Carla Williamson, the executive director of the state office of instruction, said students buy into the scores and see continuous improvement as their reading skills develop.

"It's a non-judgmental way of communicating student reading levels," she told the state board of education on Wednesday.
...
Williamson, from the instruction office, said that as an English teacher she witnesses the power of Lexile in encouraging students to read.

She said that children generally read above their Lexile score for pleasure, like they did for the "Harry Potter" series.

On the other hand, students should be taught complex new concepts with material at a score slightly below their current range, to be sure that it's the new idea, not the writing, that is challenging.

Williamson emphasized that the scores are not an instructional program but a way for teachers to manage resources.

A Conversation with Carla Williamson, Executive Director of West Virginia's Office of Instruction

- Carla Williamson, Executive Director, Office of Instruction

Carla Williamson, Executive DirectorOffice of InstructionWest Virginia Department of EducationBuilding 6, Room 6081900 Kanawha Boulevard EastCharleston, WV 25305-0330E-mail: cljwilli@access.k2.wv.us Phone: 304.558.5325

Other presenters include author David Pelzer of Glenville State College, Bill Ellis of Minnie Hamilton Health Care Center, Liza Youell of WVDE and Carl Williamson of WVDE.

Among the speakers was Carla Williamson, coordinator for middle childhood education for the West Virginia Department of Education.Williamson said test scores for students tend to drop in their first year in middle school or their first year in any new school.

But middle school is still behind elementary school and high school in the drive to improve education in the state, she said.

"We have pulled our resources from the middle level, and that's why we're in the problem we're in today," she said.

While many of Cabell County's elementary schools show steady improvement in the past few years, scores for the middle schools are more erratic.In the past three years, 16 of the county's 21 elementary schools have increased their percentage of students in the top half of all national test-takers, as opposed to only two of the county's six middle schools.

Carla WilliamsonWest Virginia Department of Education1900 Kanawha Boulevard, EastCharleston, WV 25305Phone: 304-558-3075Fax: 304-558-1055