Indiana

Education, From The Capitol To The Classroom

Third Grade Statewide Reading Testing Begins Monday

    Kyle Stokes / StateImpact Indiana

    Two third grade students at Bloomington's Clear Creek Elementary play 'Concentration' as part of teacher Amy Swafford's lesson on syllables. The exercises were helping the students prepare for statewide reading testing that begins Monday.

    Indiana’s third graders being taking one of the highest-stakes exams of their academic careers on Monday.

    The IREAD-3 exam is a test of each students’ reading ability. Students who ultimately cannot pass the exam cannot move on to the fourth grade.

    The IREAD-3 testing window, which runs between Monday and Wednesday of this week, is sandwiched in between the two ISTEP testing windows. The ISTEP is the state’s benchmark exam for all children in grades 3-8.

    The IREAD-3’s stakes are so high because research has shown third grade to be a critical time in a student’s development. Studies suggest students who are behind in reading in third grade are likely to stay behind.

    The decision to intervene by holding students back has proven controversial.

    As students begin the exams, here’s a look at some of the reporting StateImpact Indiana has done on the testing:

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