Pat Mapes sat down with WFYI to discuss his plans for Hamilton Southeastern Schools.

The IREAD-3 will be given to all third graders and most second graders during the March 4-15 through testing window.

Marion County educators are preparing for proposed legislation that would require school districts to hold back more students who fail the state’s elementary literacy reading exam.

Indiana will soon require districts to use reading curriculums that follow the science of reading. The Lafayette schools have already begun to change how they teach reading.

The Indiana Department of Education says too many third graders who fail IREAD-3 are advancing to fourth grade. The IDOE is working on a new data visualization tool that shows student progress on key literacy skills.

The IREAD-3 test measures third graders reading aptitude and helps determine if they are reading at their grade level. Third graders are not the only ones taking the IREAD-3, however over half of Indianas second graders are also taking the test.

The majority of Marion County districts and charter schools remain well below the statewide pass rate of 81 percent for public school students.

Nearly 15,000 third graders did not pass Indiana's 2023 reading assessment.

The most recent data on how many students at each Indiana school are proficient in reading.

A new law requires a science based way of teaching literacy for K-12 schools and educator prep programs. Can this reverse Indiana's decline in literacy?