Just over 75 percent of the state’s third graders passed the third grade reading assessment, but local public schools continue to struggle to get their students to read that the third grade level.
The Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) said 76.3% of 31,623 third graders passed the initial administration of the third-grade reading assessment given this spring for the 2022-23 school year.
State lawmakers created the Literacy-Based Promotion Act in 2013, which requires all third-graders to pass a reading test before moving up to the fourth grade. The assessment is known as the “Third Grade Reading Gate” and aims to make sure students are at the third grade reading level before passing them on to the next grade.
The law was implemented after high school students were found unable to read at a functional level. The goal is to spot struggling students and get children help before they fall behind.
Students must score a three or higher out of five on the test to be promoted, which indicates they are competent in skills such as identifying main ideas, paraphrasing texts, understanding figurative language, and using root words, prefixes and suffixes to change word meanings.
Clarksdale scored the worst of local schools with only 37% of students reading at a third grade level. Coahoma County faired the best at 64.4 passing the test with Lyon Elementary scoring a 75% passing rate. Clarksdale Collegiate Charter School fell in the middle with a 52% passing rate.
Statewide the percentage exceeds the 2021-22 initial rate of 73.9% as well as the 2018-19 initial rate of 74.5% before the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I applaud the teachers, administrators, literacy coaches and families who worked to support students in achieving this goal. The work will continue until all students are proficient and showing growth,” said Mike Kent, interim state superintendent of education.
In accordance with the Literacy-Based Promotion Act (LBPA), third graders who do not pass the initial administration of the reading test are given up to two attempts to retest. After the final retest in 2021-22, 85% of third graders passed the test. After the final retest in 2019, 85.6% of third graders passed the test. Students did not test in 2020 due to the pandemic. The test was given in 2021, but the passing requirement was waived so no retests were administered.
The LBPA became law in 2013 to improve reading skills of kindergarten through third-grade students in public schools so every student completing the third grade is able to read at or above grade level. The LBPA requires Mississippi third graders to pass a reading assessment to qualify for promotion to fourth grade. An amendment to the law in 2016 raised reading-level expectations starting in the 2018-19 school year, requiring third graders to score at level three or higher on the reading portion of the Mississippi Academic Assessment Program (MAAP) English Language Arts (ELA) assessment.
Students who did not pass the reading assessment on their first attempt last month were retested May 8-12. The second retest window is June 19 – 30. Local schools have worked hard on catching students with deficiencies and have poured resources into getting those third graders up to speed by the fall to allow them to advance into the fourth grade.
Some students may qualify for good cause exemptions to be promoted to fourth grade.
Final district-level pass rates will be published this fall in the Literacy-Based Promotion Act Annual Report of Performance and Student Retention for the 2022-23 school year.
SCHOOL Passed Deficient
Clarksdale Charter 52.0% 48.0%
Clarksdale School Dist. 37.8% 62.2%
Booker T. Washington 44.0% 56.0%
George H. Oliver 35.1% 64.9%
Heidelberg School 40.0% 60.0%
Kirkpatrick School 36.0% 64.0%
Cleveland Schools 59.7% 40.3%
Bell Academy 87.1% 12.9%
D.M. Smith Elementary 49.2% 50.8%
Hayes Cooper Center 76.9% 23.1%
Parks Elementary 52.2% 47.8%
Pearman Elementary 44.4% 55.6%
Coahoma Co. School Dist. 64.4% 35.6%
Friars Point Elementary 52.4% 47.6%
Jonestown Elementary 57.9% 42.1%
Lyon Elementary School 75.8% 24.2%
East Tallahatchie Schools 66.7% 33.3%
Charleston Elementary 66.7% 33.3%
Quitman School District 76.0% 24.0%
Quitman Upper Elementary 76.0% 24.0%
Tunica County School Dist. 60.7% 39.3%
Dundee Elementary 66.7% 33.3%
Robinsonville Elementary 75.5% 24.5%
Tunica Elementary 46.2% 53.8%-30-
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LBPA 2021-22 Assessment
District/School Passed Deficient
Clarksdale Charter 55.6% 44.4%
Clarksdale School Dist. 51.0% 49.0%
Booker T. Washington 63.0% 37.0%
George H. Oliver 30.3% 69.7%
Heidelberg School 50.0% 50.0%
Kirkpatrick School 61.5% 38.5%
Coahoma Co. School Dist. 52.1% 47.9%
Friars Point Elementary 43.5% 56.5%
Jonestown Elementary 36.8% 63.2%
Lyon Elementary 69.0% 31.0%
