The group has written model legislation for early reading instruction that includes 3rd grade retention. A 3rd grade student reads to the rest of her class at Beecher Hills Elementary School on ...

A total of 6,470, or 11.6%, of Alabama third graders scored below grade level on recent spring reading tests, new state data shows. That’s up from 4,808, or about 9%, of students in 2024.

Louisiana joins more than a dozen states that require third graders who are significantly behind in reading to repeat the grade, according to a 2023 analysis by the Education Commission of the States.

The testing window for the IREAD-3 assessment opens in just a few days. Legislation passed last year requires 3rd grade students to be retained if they do not pass the Indiana reading assessment.