Indiana Secretary of Education Katie Jenner speaks to reporters on Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024, at the Indiana Statehouse. (Casey Smith/Indiana Capital Chronicle)
Nearly 300 Hoosier schools were recognized Wednesday for earning near-perfect passing rates on the state’s annual reading exam, IREAD.
The “celebration” event, held at the Indiana Statehouse, honored elementary schools where at least 95% of students who took the exam in 2024 demonstrated reading proficiency. Hundreds of teachers and local district staff were in attendance and honored by state officials.
“Coming into this role almost four years ago now, we immediately knew … that we had a lot of work to do. We knew that our reading scores were really struggling for a while in Indiana, and then COVID hit, and then it further exacerbated all of the progress we were trying to get to. (Scores) went down a bit at almost every school across the state, and we had to rebound as fast as possible,” said Indiana Secretary of Education Katie Jenner. “There were so many people that put their hands in to help … and make sure that every child is reading in our state.”
“We still have work to do,” she continued. “But as a state, it’s remarkable to see all the progress.”
The latest standardized test results — released last month — showed foundational reading competency among Indiana’s third graders improved slightly from last year. Even so, overall IREAD performance is still low, with roughly one in five test takers struggling to read.
Data from the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) indicates 82.5% out of the roughly 82,000 third graders at public and private schools in Indiana passed the exam, which was administered statewide this spring and summer.
Public school students passed at a rate of 81.5%, compared to 92.5% of students attending private schools.
As of this spring, 277 elementary schools have reached that goal — an increase from 242 schools a year ago.
“Thinking about what you all have bred, realize it’s going to have a generational effect for our state, statewide,” Gov. Eric Holcomb said, speaking to teachers and local school officials. “We all have to learn to read — and read to learn.”
‘Moving the needle’ on IREAD
The online, untimed, multiple-choice test gauges student progress on foundational reading skills — like phonics and vocabulary — as well as silent reading and comprehension, according to IDOE.
The IREAD is intended to help identify students who need additional support, and to determine if younger students — who take the exam in second grade or before — will be able to master reading skills by the end of third grade.
Students who don’t pass the exam typically receive remediation, and may be retained in third grade.
A new law passed earlier this year now requires reading-deficient third graders to be held back a year in school, although there are some exemptions, including for students with special education needs, English language learners, and students who have already been retained twice.
A separate mandate also requires schools to administer the statewide IREAD test in second grade — a year earlier than current requirements. Local educators must direct new, targeted support to at-risk students and those struggling to pass the literacy exam.
Hoosier education officials said they’re optimistic that recent score improvements are prompted by a slew of new reading-focused policies and initiatives, and signal a reversal of previously dismal literacy rates.
IREAD scores have been declining for a decade, well before the pandemic. Since 2012, the number of students who are not able to read at the end of third grade has more than doubled.
In response, the state is shifting its literacy instruction to implement the science of reading as part of an effort to improve students’ reading skills.
The phonics-based literacy approach incorporates phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Education experts say it gives students the skills to “decode” any word they don’t recognize.
During the 2024 session, state lawmakers additionally approved a training requirement for all Pre-K to Grade 6 and special education teachers to complete 80 hours of professional development on science of reading concepts and pass a written exam.
The licensure mandate has received heavy criticism from Hoosier teachers, who argue that the new training mandate is unfair and overwhelming. But state education officials maintain the training will help ensure that students across the state receive consistent reading education.
Looking ahead — and making further gains
Jenner told reporters on Wednesday the new science of reading curriculum has helped, but she emphasized it’s the state’s literacy cadre program that has “really” helped students in their schools to earn higher scores on IREAD.
Some schools in the program jumped more than 20 percentage points on the assessment, according to IDOE. Around 75% of eligible schools have already opted into the cadre.
“We have momentum right now,” Jenner said. “We saw a return on investment with the Indiana Literacy Cadre, which significantly moved the needle for teachers who had that level of support. So, we are just going to keep investing in what works. And if something doesn’t necessarily work, we will reallocate those dollars to what is working for our schools and our students.”
She further pointed to IDOE data showing that several million dollars worth of competitive grants made available for schools to deploy science of reading improved IREAD scores “by only point one,” while the literacy cadres are credited with ticking test results up by roughly 2.5%.
“You’re going to see us really talking a lot about the data and what’s working for students — all students. You’ll hear that a lot in the upcoming legislative session,” Jenner continued. “We’re going to invest in what is working the literacy cadre, right now, is showing the most return on investment in Indiana.”
State funding for the cadre — currently funded through Lilly Endowment grants — could be among the education department’s asks in the 2025 legislative session, Jenner added. She said, too, that the State Board of Education, in tandem with Indiana legislators, will also be increasing their focus on specific support for Hispanic and English learner students. Both student groups saw decreases in their 2024 literacy rates.
Improving student attendance and addressing chronic absenteeism is also on the agenda.
Indiana’s top education officials applauded the state’s improved chronic absenteeism rates earlier this month but conceded that too many Hoosier students are still missing a “significant” number of school days.
The latest attendance numbers reported by IDOE show that 17.8% of K-12 students — roughly 219,00 kids — were “chronically absent” during the most recent 2023-24 school year, meaning they missed at least 18 days.
“We have reviewed that data to look at some correlation and causation, and we know that if a child is chronically absent, they are less likely to be a reader. They are less likely to have language arts and numeracy skills. They are less likely to be college and career ready,” Jenner said. “But on the flip side, saying it more positively, if a student is at school every day, they are more likely to really maximize their success.”
Indiana Capital Chronicle is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Indiana Capital Chronicle maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Niki Kelly for questions: info@indianacapitalchronicle.com. Follow Indiana Capital Chronicle on Facebook and X.
