(Indianapolis, IN) – Results from the 2024-2025 Indiana Reading Evaluation and Determination (IREAD) assessment show an unprecedented increase in third grade literacy rates.
Eighty-seven-point-three percent of third grade students demonstrated proficient reading skills, a jump of nearly five percentage points over the previous year.
This marks the largest single-year increase since the IREAD assessment was launched in 2013 and is the fourth consecutive year of growth.
State leaders are crediting the success to strategic investments in early literacy initiatives aimed at reversing a years-long decline in reading proficiency.
“The number of Indiana students learning to read is growing at an unprecedented pace,” said Governor Mike Braun. “We will continue to raise the bar and set the model for what is possible when we prioritize educational outcomes.”
“Indiana has made extraordinary progress from where we began just a few years ago, when nearly one in five Indiana third graders could not read, to today when literacy rates have increased by nearly five percentage points in just one year,” said Dr. Katie Jenner, Indiana Secretary of Education. “Thanks to the hard work and collaboration of our educators, parents and families, students, and local communities – we have turned the page, with literacy rates now soaring at a historic pace. 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. The data is clear – what we are doing is working – so let’s keep at it, ensuring a brighter future for Hoosier students.”
The data shows positive results across all student populations. Literacy rates for Black students, special education students, and students receiving free or reduced-price meals have increased for four consecutive years. For the 2024-2025 school year, each of these groups saw a jump of more than 6.5 percentage points.
The state’s literacy rates are now back to pre-pandemic levels, with a new goal of having 95 percent of third-grade students reading proficiently by 2027.
Tactical solutions such as the Indiana Literacy Cadre and a new early assessment for second graders have been credited with helping to identify and support students who need intervention.
