Indiana’s third-graders’ basic reading skills improved slightly from last year, according to results from a standardized test released Wednesday. But overall performance on the IREAD is still low, with about one in five test takers struggling with reading.
Data from the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) shows that 82.5% of the approximately 82,000 third-graders in Indiana public and private schools passed the 2024 Indiana Reading Evaluation and Determination, also known as the IREAD test. The tests were administered statewide this spring and summer.
The pass rate among public school students was 81.5%, compared to 92.5% among private school students.
The results since the last academic yearwhen 81.9% of student scores indicated reading proficiency. The state Department of Education’s goal is for 95% of students to be proficient readers in third grade by 2027.
As of spring, 277 elementary schools have met that goal — an increase from 242 schools the previous year. IDOE officials found that 20% of participating Indiana elementary schools achieved a proficiency rate of 95% or higher.
“The ability of Indiana students to read is critical not only to the future of Indiana, but to the individual success of every child,” Gov. Eric Holcomb said in a statement. “The historic investments in literacy we have made over the past few years are beginning to pay off, which is a testament to the hard work of teachers, families and students across every part of our state. Let’s keep this positive momentum going.”
Breakdown of test results
The latest findings suggest that reading skills among Indiana’s younger students are also lagging behind pre-pandemic levels.
The results are 4.8% lower than the results from the 2018-2019 school year, the last data set available before the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the pandemic, Indiana schools did not administer standardized tests during the 2019-2020 school year.
However, reading proficiency was already declining before the pandemic. Indiana’s literacy rate has dropped significantly since peaking at 91.4% in 2012-13.
In total, about 14,300 Indiana third-graders — more than 17% of students in the state — need extra help to meet their grade-level reading standards, officials said. A student who fails the IREAD-3 test typically must receive tutoring or risk being left behind in third grade.
The IREAD-3 results come in as the state revamps its literacy instruction to the science of reading as part of efforts to improve students’ reading skills.
The phonics-based literacy approach includes phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. Education experts say it gives students the ability to “decode” any word they don’t recognize.
During the 2024 session, state lawmakers additionally approved a separate requirement for schools to administer the nationwide IREAD test in second grade — a year earlier than current requirements. Local educators must provide new, targeted supports to at-risk students and those who struggle to pass the literacy assessment.
However, if a third-grader cannot meet the IREAD standard after three attempts, lawmakers want school districts to hold him back.
These changes will take effect in the upcoming 2024–25 school year.
IDOE representatives optimistic
State leaders praised student achievement rates for increasing by 0.6 percentage points in 2024, the largest single-year increase since the assessment was introduced in 2013.
“What we’re seeing here is an outstanding thing,” said Katie Jenner, Indiana’s secretary of education. “It’s incredibly exciting because it has moved things forward significantly.”
IDOE officials also boasted that the literacy rate for black students, special education students and students receiving free or reduced-price meals has increased for three consecutive years. However, for Hispanic students and students learning English, there was a decline in literacy rates this year of 0.3 and 0.4 percentage points, respectively.
Despite this, the pass rate for blacks and Hispanics was 68.6% – nearly 14 percentage points below the national average. According to the latest figures, the pass rate for white students remains higher at 88.3%.
Jenner emphasized that educators already trained in the science of reading through the state’s literacy program helped students at their schools score higher on IREAD—some schools in the program rose more than 20 percentage points on the score, according to IDOE. About 75% of eligible schools have already opted into the program.
82% of students at participating schools passed the standardized exam in 2024, compared to 54% in 2021.
Jenner said expanding the test to younger students has also helped. About 78% of schools administered IREAD to second-graders in 2024, up from just 38% of schools participating the year before.
“To be able to do this in second grade was a big step for us as a board in many ways because it’s another performance assessment,” Jenner said. “We created the opportunity to opt in. We’ve seen the number of schools opting in has increased.”
“You can see that 97% of our second graders are on track and of course our schools and teachers are providing interventions for the at-risk students,” Jenner continued, adding that 56% of all second graders taking IREAD in 2024 have already passed. “What an opportunity to get that curve even further and get a higher percentage of students who are at-risk to pass.”
Get the morning’s headlines straight to your inbox
