Indiana’s Third Grade Literacy Rates Increase for Third Consecutive Year

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INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) today released results from the 2023-24 Indiana Reading Evaluation and Determination (IREAD) assessment.

The data shows third graders had the largest single-year increase since the assessment was launched in 2013.

Statewide, more than 67,000 Indiana third graders, or 82.5 percent, demonstrated proficient reading skills on the assessment. This is an improvement of 0.6 percentage points over results for the 2022-23 school year.

"Ensuring Hoosier students are able to read is key to not only the future of Indiana, but to the individual success of every child," said Governor Eric Holcomb. "The historic literacy investments we have made over the past several years are beginning to show return on investment, which is a testament to the hard work of teachers, families and students in every corner of our state. Let's keep this positive momentum going.”

See local school corporation pass rates below:

For the third year, schools had an opportunity to proactively administer the IREAD assessment to their second grade students at no cost – a tactic that has already proven successful at providing educators and families with an early On Track indicator to determine if students will master foundational reading skills by the end of grade three. In total, 1,076 elementary schools opted in to administer IREAD to their second grade students in 2024, an increase from 771 in 2023. Beginning with the current school year, all second grade students will participate in IREAD.

Of the second grade students who participated in 2024, 59% either passed the assessment or are on track to pass by the end of third grade. Nearly 97% of second graders who achieved On Track in 2023 passed the assessment in 2024. The ability to identify students who need additional, targeted support as early as possible, is just one benefit of administering IREAD at grade two. With the help of this early indicator, educators were able to identify students needing interventions to master foundational reading skills, allowing 56% of second graders who were identified as at-risk in 2023 to pass IREAD in 2024.

Another tactical solution showing early signs of success is the Indiana Literacy Cadre. The Indiana Literacy Cadre is a partnership between the state of Indiana, the University of Indianapolis Center of Excellence in Leadership of Learning (CELL) and Marian University’s Center for Vibrant Schools, which provides early elementary teachers with embedded instructional coaching and support aligned with science of reading. Science of reading is an evidence-based body of research that uses phonics, phonemic awareness, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension to teach students to read. Schools that opted in to receive this comprehensive support had a 2.5 percentage point increase in students passing IREAD, compared to a 0.2 percentage point increase for schools that did not opt in to the Literacy Cadre.