Law aims to help early readers

Everyone wants students to be able to read at grade level.

Proponents and critics of a new Indiana law crafted to boost reading proficiency at an early age agree on that basic principle.

Where they differ on Senate Enrolled Act 1, a new Indiana law that went into effect in July, centers around the issue of holding back students that can’t pass a crucial reading assessment.

Included in the law is a section that requires schools to retain students who do not pass the IREAD-3 assessment

Sen. Linda Rogers, R-Granger, authored the bill, which was signed into law by Gov. Eric Holcomb in.March.

Rogers told Indiana Lawyer when she saw the 2021-2022 IREAD (Indiana Reading Evaluation and Determination) assessment results, which found about one in five students were ending third grade without basic reading skills each year, she thought it was time the state focused on making sure every child was able to read.

Legislators worked for a couple of years on the new law, Rogers said.

For her, the law and the state’s commitment to reaching students at an early age comes down to a basic question.

“Do you really want a child that can’t read to continue to move on,” Rogers said.

A signification portion of legislative debate on the new law centered around its retention provision for students who can’t pass the IREAD-3 test.

“It gives them at least three opportunities to take the IREAD before retention is considered,” Rogers said.

There are exceptions written into the law, with students exempted from retention if:

• The student was already retained in the prior year.

• The student has a disability or the student’s IEP specifies that retention is not appropriate.

• The student is an English learner who has received services for fewer than two years and a committee has determined that promotion to fourth grade is appropriate.

• The student received a math score of proficient or higher on ILEARN in third grade.

• The student was retained twice in kindergarten through second grade and has received intensive intervention for two or more years.

The law also requires certain schools, beginning with the 2024-2025 school year, to offer summer school courses for students who are not reading proficient or are at risk of not being reading proficient.

According to the state’s Department of Education, SEA 1 requires IDOE to procure a universal screener assessment for elementary schools that have an IREAD pass rate below 70%.

The screener will provide information to parents and families about a student’s current reading ability, as well as areas where they may need additional support. The cost of utilizing the preferred universal screener will be covered by the state, and technical assistance will be provided.

Beginning with the 2024-2025 school year, Indiana schools are required to proactively administer the IREAD assessment to second grade students to obtain an earlier measure of reading proficiency and inform earlier intervention and support.

IDOE reported nearly 1,100 schools opted to administer IREAD to second grade students during the 2023-2024 school year.

Students who demonstrate reading proficiency in second grade will not be required to test again, and their passing score will be reflected in the following year’s IREAD results for third grade students.

SEA 1 also requires schools to offer summer school reading programs for second grade students identified as “At Risk” on IREAD, as well as non-passing third grade students.

Teachers, superintendents react to new law

After the Indiana Senate passed Senate Bill 1 earlier this year by a 29-16 vote, Indiana State Teachers Association President Keith Gambill issued a statement that read:

“Senate Bill 1 introduces critical changes designed to enhance reading proficiency with new support and intervention strategies. While ISTA recognizes these efforts’ potential to positively impact student learning, the emphasis on retention is shortsighted. This approach does not tackle the fundamental issues affecting educational outcomes. Educators are prepared to implement these initiatives, focusing on early intervention and comprehensive support to reduce the need for retention as much as possible.

“Today’s literacy challenges did not happen in a vacuum but are the result of longstanding systemic problems, including the chronic underfunding of public schools and lack of support for educators. These problems have compounded, bringing us to the urgent situation we currently face. ISTA strongly encourages lawmakers to confront and address these foundational challenges. By doing so, we can truly ensure the success and well-being of all Indiana students.”

Superintendent Jeff Butts of the Metropolitan School District of Wayne Township said he liked the fact that the new law emphasizes the understanding of how critical reading proficiency is and the importance of a child to be able to read at grade level.

“Obviously we know that a student that is reading-deficient will face other challenges,” Butts said.

Butts said the research on retention and its adverse effects on students has been clear for some time.

He said he has not spoken with any superintendents in the state that feel retention on a scale possible with the new law is the right answer or beneficial to students.

In the past, students were able to advance to the next grade with their same age peers, but also get intensive reading intervention if needed, Butts said.

Indiana has done a commendable job of identifying students that are not reading at grade level, Butts said, with the state’s universities and colleges partnering with school districts to offer intensive reading services.

Indiana’s IREAD assessment

IREAD is a reading assessment developed in accordance with state legislation, according to the state’s department of education. It is designed to measure foundational reading skills based on Indiana Academic Standards through grade three.

The Indiana Capital Chronicle reported in March that last year, 13,840 third-graders did not pass the state’s IREAD assessment, according to test data.

Of those students, 5,503 received an exemption and 8,337 did not. But about 95% of students without an exemption moved onto 4th grade and just 412 were retained.

In August, WFYI reported that, across the state, 82.5 percent of nearly 82,000 third graders at public and private schools passed the IREAD-3 2024 assessment. About 14,300 students did not pass.

What will the impact be?

Butts shared with Indiana Lawyer a section of a report, “Visible Learning: The Sequel, A Synthesis of Over 2,100 Meta-Analyses Relating to Achievement,” that was published in 2023 by Dr. John Hattie, Melbourne Laureate Professor Emeritus, Chief Academic Advisor for Corwin, Technical advisor to i-Ready Assessment, and Co-Director of Hattie Family Foundation.

One of the areas Hattie addressed was retention.

Hattie wrote, “Retention is the practice of not promoting students up a grade level in school (that is, the student repeats the level), and it is based on the belief that children learn more academically by repeating a grade. This is one of the few areas in education where it is difficult to find any studies with other than a zero or negative effect. Overall, there are negative effects for retained students, and there are more positive effects in the long term for promoted students than for retained students—even when matched for achievement at the time of the decision to retain or promote.”

The Wayne Township superintendent said he hoped that as data comes in on retention in the coming years, there might be some opportunities to tweak and adjust the law.

Butts said the state also needed to consider the potential long-term fiscal impact of retaining potentially thousands of students each year.

Rogers said she hopes the new law, as well as previous laws like HEA 1558, which defines “the science of reading” will help bump Indiana up to the top of the nation in terms of student reading proficiency.

“I’m an optimist. I’m confident it’s going to help,” Rogers said.•