Indiana Department of Education Tuesday officially released the results of the first administration of Indiana’s third-grade reading assessment, the Indiana Reading Evaluation and Determination for grade 3.
According to an IDOE press release, statewide 84 percent of students assessed during the March 19-21 testing window “demonstrated foundational third-grade reading skills.”
Locally, most school corporations previously released their results at school board meetings or during interviews to the Times-Union, based on test results they received from the state. The IDOE shared student-level scores with schools in early April so schools could begin intensive remediation for those students who did not pass, according to the release.
According to the IDOE, Manchester Community Schools had 113 total students take the test, with 98 passing (86.7 percent). English language learners accounted for 4.3 percent, with 54.3 percent being free and/or reduced lunch students.
Triton School Corp. had 68 of 71 students pass, or 95.8 percent. English language learners accounted for 5.6 percent, and 43.7 percent of students being free and/or reduced lunch.
Of 117 third-graders, Whitko had 105, or 89.7 percent, pass. The school corporation has no English language learners, and 45.3 percent of students who took the test are free and/or reduced lunch students.
For Tippecanoe Valley School Corp., the IDOE reports 127 of 140 students in third grade passed, or 90.7 percent. Valley has 6.4 percent English language learners and 66.4 percent are free and/or reduced lunch students.
There were 522 third-graders who took the IREAD-3 for Warsaw Community Schools, with 453 passing, or 86.8 percent. It has 16.3 percent students categorized as English language learners, and 51.9 percent free and/or reduced lunch students.
Wawasee Community School Corp. had 191 of 218 students pass, or 87.6 percent. Of the students taking the IREAD-3, 7.3 percent are English language learners, and 54.5 percent are free and/or reduced lunch students.
Rochester Community School Corp. had 125 of 137 students pass, or 91.2 percent. They have 2.2 percent English language learners, and 54 percent free and/or reduced lunch students.
Wa-Nee Community Schools had 210 of 233 third-graders pass, or 90.1 percent. It had 6.4 percent English language learners take the test, and 42.1 percent free and/or reduced lunch students.
“Our goal is to make sure all students in Indiana gain the reading skills they need to be successful in school and life,” Dr. Tony Bennett, Indiana superintendent of public instruction, said in a press release. “We know students who do not have these skills by the end of grade 3 rarely catch up to their peers. The IREAD-3 assessment helps educators and parents ensure all children receive the support they need before moving forward with more challenging reading instruction.”
Students who did not pass IREAD-3 during the March testing window will have another chance to do so this summer, June 13 to July 28, according to the IDOE press release. Students who do not pass IREAD-3 either time this year will take the third-grade ISTEP+ and IREAD-3 next school year to ensure they are prepared for fourth-grade reading instruction, the IDOE release states.
There are three exemptions included in the rules implementing Public Law 109 for students taking the IREAD-3. Those exemptions, according to the release, are: a student who has been previously retained twice; a student with disabilities whose case conference committee has determined promotion to grade 4 is appropriate; and an English language learner whose Individual Learning Plan committee has determined promotion is appropriate. The students passing IREAD-3 with exemptions were not included in the percentage of students passing provided by the IDOE.
Seven hundred of the 77,384 third-graders who took the IREAD-3 in March were special education students who attend non-public schools but receive services in public schools. These 700 students do not count in schools’ final results. With these students removed, 122 schools had an increase in their pass rates and 13 schools had decreases in pass rates, according to the IDOE press release.
In the coming weeks, the Department of Education will release more updates that show results for non-public voucher schools as well as disaggregated results at the school and corporation level.
For more information about IREAD-3, including school and district results, visit the website www.doe.in.gov/achievement/assessment/iread-3
