The Mississippi Department of Education reports that 25,399 or 77.3 percent, – the highest-percentage ever – of third graders passed the initial administration of the third-grade reading assessment given this spring for the 2024-25 school year.
“These results are outstanding and the MDE applauds all educators and families across the state that make literacy a priority,” said Dr. Lance Evans, state superintendent of education. “With a continued emphasis on the science of reading as well as implementation of high-quality instructional materials, we believe Mississippi students will continue to make progress.”
A total of 32,839 third graders took the assessment. In 2023-24, 75.7 percent of third graders passed the initial administration of the reading assessment. After the final retests in 2023-24, 84 percent of third graders passed the test.
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. Students who did not pass the initial reading assessment retested in early May. The second retest window is June 16 – 27.
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. Some students may qualify for good cause exemptions to be promoted 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.
Success rates in DeSoto County schools ranged from 58.9 percent at Horn Lake Intermediate School to 89.6 percent at both Hernando Hills Elementary and Overpark Elementary schools. As a district, DeSoto County Schools reported 76.8 percent of third graders passed on the first try. Each school’s percentage is listed here:
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 2024-25 school year.
