Only a few short years ago, Indiana faced a literacy crisis. Nearly one in five third grade students were not able to read. Today in Indiana, we have a much brighter story to tell. For the fifth consecutive year, more and more Hoosier students are mastering reading with nearly nine out 10 third grade students now reading.
Each August we learn the results of the state’s IREAD assessment from the prior school year. If you aren’t familiar, IREAD measures foundational reading skills, like the ability to recognize individual letter sounds and put those sounds together to form words. More than any other Indiana assessment, performance on IREAD is directly correlated to future success, both in academics and in life. As an example, when a student passes IREAD, they’re more likely to graduate high school, an achievement that impacts their lifelong opportunities.
In 2026, nearly 90 percent of Indiana third grade students were reading proficiently. Every yearly increase is a win for Hoosier students, yet this year marks an important shift. For the first time since the pandemic, we are no longer trying to get back to where we were: we are moving forward.
To understand the significance of this moment, it helps to remember where we started. Even before the pandemic, Indiana was consistently losing ground in literacy, with only one year of slight improvement for nearly a decade. Similar to what we saw across the country, Indiana’s literacy crisis deepened following the pandemic, resulting in the state’s lowest literacy rates on record. Indiana boldly chose to not admire the problem, but to go aggressively at the solution, and today, we are seeing the positive results.
Indiana made a strong statement that the status quo was no longer acceptable and committed record-breaking resources to improving literacy outcomes–investments in teachers, families, and ultimately, students. What’s clear today – after five straight years of improvement – is these investments are working.
One impactful example is the Indiana Literacy Cadre, which helps equip our teachers with the instructional strategies that we know work. This includes a focus on the science of reading, which explains how the human brain learns to read. Schools that participated in the Literacy Cadre last year saw gains nearly four times larger than schools that did not.
Strong state policies like we have in Indiana can certainly lay the foundation, but we know that the real impact for students happens locally. It happens in classrooms all across the state, where our teachers help students take the daily steps that, together, unlock a lifetime of learning through literacy.
Perhaps most encouraging, progress has reached every student population. Since 2021, Black students have increased over 18 percentage points and are now within one percentage point of their highest reading levels on record. Hispanic students have increased by more than 11 percentage points; students receiving special education services by 14.5 percentage points; students receiving free or reduced‑price meals by 11.5 percentage points…and the list goes on.
These are more than just data points. This is real action…real momentum…and real student lives changed for the better.
Thank you to our teachers for partnering with parents to ensure students receive the learning support they need, both during the school day and beyond…and thank you for believing that every child deserves the opportunity to become a confident reader.
As we celebrate this progress, we encourage schools and communities to do the same, and yet, we must also keep our focus on the future. With more students reading, this is an opportunity to think even more strategically about the tactics we deploy. That means directing evidence-based supports to the students who need them most, including students in special education and adolescent learners who are still working to master reading.
Indiana has proven for five consecutive years that sustained progress is possible. Let’s capitalize on this moment, continue to build on this momentum, and keep moving forward until every Hoosier student has the ability and the confidence to read, learn, and pursue their unique future.
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Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.