85% of Mississippi 3rd graders passed the reading assessment

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - The majority of 3rd graders in Mississippi passed the 3rd-grade reading assessment from the 2021-22 school year.

Eighty-five percent of students passed the test.

The assessment was not administered in 2019-20 due to COVID-19.

It was administered the previous year, but the passing requirement was waived.

The Literacy-Based Promotion Act enacted in 2013 was created to help ensure kindergarten through 3rd-grade students develop good reading skills.

The law was amended in 2016 and requires all Mississippi 3rd-grade public school students to score at level 3 or higher on the reading portion of the Mississippi Academic Assessment Program English Language Arts test to qualify to be promoted to 4th grade.

“The current 3rd-grade reading results are very encouraging,” said Dr. Kim Benton, state superintendent of education, interim. “Not seeing a steep decline in the passing rate is positive news, considering disruptions to learning caused by the pandemic.”

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