INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb has signed a bill into law that will hold back more third-graders if they do not pass the state’s standardized reading test in a bid to address the declining literacy rates of young Hoosier students.
Senate Bill 1, also known as ‘Every Child Learns to Read’, was earmarked early into this year’s legislative session as a priority bill for Senate Republicans, with the legislation officially being signed into law after the Indiana Senate passed it in late February. This meant that the bill landed on the governor’s desk for final consideration, which he provided on Monday. The bill was authored by State Sen. Linda Rogers (R-Granger).
The bill was written to improve the reading scores of young students by requiring schools to provide the IREAD standardized test to students before they reach the second grade. Students who pass the test will not be required to take the test again.
However, students who fail to pass will receive specialized support to help them increase their reading capabilities. The bill also stipulates that students will receive additional testing and tutoring opportunities before they reach the third grade and take the literacy test.
Some students would be held back if they are still struggling to pass the IREAD test by the time they finish third grade, according to the current version of the bill. While some exclusions will apply to students who meet specific criteria, the new retention policy is expected to affect the majority of eligible students.
Exceptions include students who were already retained while in the third grade, students with special needs or language barriers, and some students who passed the math portion of the test while they continued receiving reading assistance.
The bill’s stricter retention policy has been the subject of criticism by some lawmakers who felt it could be counterproductive toward helping students build their reading confidence if they are prevented from progressing from the third grade.
One of the bill’s amendments includes a policy that would enable parents to formally appeal a recommended remediation.
Indiana’s Secretary of Education Dr. Katie Jenner has previously said that nearly one in every five third graders is not reading at their grade level. Dr. Jenner has also confirmed that of the nearly 15,000 students who couldn’t read at grade level in 2023, only around 400 of them were held back.
In December, the Indiana Department of Education announced that the state’s literacy rates had been in decline for a decade. Nearly one in five students struggle to read, according to the most recent IREAD-3 assessment results.
