Harris Elementary teacher Sara Beasley works with her third-grade students during the 2023-24 school year. Photo by Tom Russo | Daily Reporter
HANCOCK COUNTY — The Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) recently released results from the 2023-24 Indiana Reading Evaluation and Determination (IREAD) assessment. The result shows third graders had the largest single-year increase since the assessment was launched in 2013.
“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.”
Statewide, results reveal more than 67,000 Indiana third-grade students, or 82.5%, demonstrated proficient reading skills on the assessment. That’s an improvement of 0.6 percentage points over results for the 2022-23 school year, which is the highest year-over-year increase since the launch of IREAD.
“When it comes to supporting every child to reach their full potential, the single-most important thing we can do is help them learn to read,” said Dr. Katie Jenner, Indiana Secretary of Education. “Over the past three years, Indiana has made historic investments in ensuring educators and families have the tools and resources they need to best support our students, and today, we are seeing positive results from this all-hands-on-deck approach. Our collective hard work is paying off, yet there is still more to be done. Let’s continue to work together and continue this positive momentum for Indiana and most importantly, our students.”
Locally, Hancock County Schools did well. Some 87 Eastern Hancock third-graders took the test last year and 81 passed for a 93.1% passing rate.
“We are always proud of the incredible things happening at Eastern Hancock, and these results truly reflect the hard work and dedication of our students, teachers, and staff,” Eastern Hancock superintendent George Philhower said. “As we celebrate this success, we’re energized and excited to continue building on these achievements in the days ahead.”
In the New Palestine Community Schools (NPCS) district Brandywine Elementary had 67 test-takers with 62 passing for a 92.5% rate. New Palestine Elementary School had 97 test-takers and 95 passed for a 97.9% rate. Sugar Creek Elementary had 112 test takers with 102 passing for a rate of 91.1%.
Superintendent of NPCS Gina Pleak said district officials are pleased with their overall IREAD-3 results.
“These results are a testament to the hard work and dedication of our students, staff, and families, who have shown a collective commitment to reading.” Pleak said. “We are excited to celebrate that our (overall) 93.8% passing rate has steadily grown and is our highest in the past four years. Our goal remains to be that all students achieve their personal best as we pursue excellence every day.”
In the Greenfield-Central Community School District, Eden Elementary had a high percentage passing rate of 97.8% with 45 of 46 students passing. J.B Stephens students finished with 91 students passing of the 103 who took the test for a 88.3% rate. Weston Elementary School’s rate was 88% passing after 66 of 75 students passed the test and Harris Elementary had a rate of 85.7% after 72 of 84 students who took the test passed.
Superintendent of Greenfield-Central schools Harold Olin said their overall passing rate for the spring of 2024 is 88% and noted how much better that is than the the Indiana passing rate which has been in the low 80s.
Still, he’s aiming for a higher over-all mark.
“As we look back over the last six years, G-C has been around a 90% passing mark, plus or minus 2%,” Olin said. “We have a goal of 95% passing, so we didn’t quite hit that mark in 2024.”
Students in the Mt. Vernon Community School District had mostly higher rates all the way around including at Fortville Elementary where students finished with a 95% rate after 115 of 121 students passed the test. McCordsville Elementary School finished with a rate of 93,2%. They had 118 students take the test with 110 passing. Mt. Comfort Elementary had a respectable 88% passing rate after 92 students took the test and 81 passed.
Mt. Vernon superintendent Jack Parker said they are proud of their third-grade IREAD test results, which demonstrated the hard work of the faculty and students.
“We are also very proud of the 193 second-grade students who passed the third-grade IREAD test a year in advance,” Parker said. “While we celebrate these great achievements, we continue to work in our collaborative teams to strive for even higher levels of learning in the future.”
Officials from the IDOE note for the third year, schools had an opportunity to proactively administer the IREAD assessment to second grade students at no cost – a tactic officials say 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.
