Statewide reading scores dip slightly in preliminary report

Test results show that 83.8 percent of Indiana students passed the spring IREAD-3 assessment. The official passage rate and school and corporation level data will be finalized after the summer re-test period.

This is the third year in a row that the preliminary test results have declined in early reporting.

Moreover, the preliminary results show African American and and Latino students continue to lag far behind in their reading skills, with the Indiana Department of Education reporting pass rates of 69.5 percent and 74.3 percent for those ethnic groups respectively.

In 2015, the preliminary statewide Spring IREAD-3 passage rate was 84.2, down from 85.58 percent in 2014.

The IREAD test has been given to all third-grade students for the past five years to determine if they have developed the reading skills necessary to be successful learners in higher grades.

Students who fail the reading exam are required to complete remediation and re-test this summer.