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Indiana third graders’ reading proficiency improved at a record-breaking rate in 2025, putting students’ scores on par with pre-pandemic levels.
Statewide, 87.3% of third graders scored proficient on the state test, the IREAD, up nearly 5 percentage points from the 82.5% proficiency rate in 2024. The jump represents the largest single-year increase since the assessment began in 2013, according to state data presented Wednesday. And it breaks the improvement record set last year, when scores increased less than one percentage point from 2023 to 2024.
The increase comes after concerted efforts in elementary schools to help students pass the IREAD and thereby avoid mandatory retention in third grade under a law that went into effect for the 2025-26 school year. In total, 73,500 out of 84,163 third graders scored proficient on the IREAD.
It’s not yet clear how many students were held back. State education officials say the data won’t be available until after the Oct. 1 count day, when student enrollment is finalized.
“This is a time for celebration, and it is also a time to double-down on our commitment to helping even more students learn to read,” said Secretary of Education Katie Jenner in a news release about the scores.
Students across all ethnic and socioeconomic student groups improved in 2025. Black students’ proficiency rate improved by 7.5 percentage points this year, and their proficiency rate has risen four years in a row. Scores for English learners improved seven percentage points from last year, although their scores have declined since 2021.
State education officials say early intervention — along with a statewide shift to instruction backed by the science of reading — has played a critical role in improving proficiency.
Beginning in 2022-23, Indiana began administering the IREAD to second grade students on an opt-in basis. This program expanded to all students in 2024-25.
Students who pass in second grade do not have to take the test again, and their scores are counted in their cohort’s overall pass rates. That means students who passed as second graders in 2024-25 were not counted in this year’s overall pass rate. They will be counted in 2025-26 scores. Around 48% of second graders passed the IREAD in 2024-25, while another 20% were on track to pass in third grade.
Meanwhile, students who score below proficiency in second grade receive additional reading support in class and over the summer. They retake the test in the summer after their second grade year, and then have three more opportunities to pass in the spring and summer of third grade.
Schools that participated in the Indiana Literacy Cadre — which places instructional coaches in schools to work with teachers on the science of reading — had a greater rate of improvement than schools that didn’t, according to the department of education’s presentation.
Students who don’t pass in third grade are retained, unless they meet the criteria for a Good Cause Exemption. This can include having an Individualized Education Program, being an English learner, or being previously retained. Students who pass the math portion of the ILEARN, which is administered in grades 3-8, can also qualify for a retention exemption.
The trend for IREAD scores is notably different than for ILEARN results, which came out last month and showed that English language arts scores have remained essentially unchanged across the state even as math scores have improved.
State officials said the bulk of the state’s work to improve reading scores has been focused on early literacy, while more intervention is needed for students in middle school.
“That’s the only needle we have not moved in the state of Indiana,” Jenner said of middle school English scores. “We believe we’ve solved multiple other challenges and we’re up for the challenge there.”
There’s also a difference in what the tests ask of students, according to the state presentation Wednesday. The IREAD tests foundational reading skills, including phonics, vocabulary, and comprehension, while the ILEARN also tests writing and communication.
The IREAD results were met with applause at Wednesday’s State Board of Education meeting, which recognized several public and private schools that had made improvements in reading proficiency.
In Evansville-Vanderburgh schools, Dexter Elementary posted a 24 percentage point increase in proficiency rates, Fairlawn Elementary posted a 36.5 percentage point increase, and Glenwood Leadership Academy saw a 44 percentage point increase.
“We explicitly taught the research-based stuff and cut the fluff,” said India Williams, a literacy cadre coach at Fair Lawn Elementary School.
Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.
