The third-grade reading skills of students in the East and West Tallahatchie school districts are not up to par with those of a majority of third-graders in Mississippi, a state Department of Education report has revealed.
In a recent news release, MDE announced that a record 77.3% of 32,839 third-graders statewide passed the initial administration of the third-grade reading assessment given this spring for the 2024-25 school year.
In the East Tallahatchie School District, 56.7% of Charleston Elementary third-graders taking the state assessment passed and 43.3% did not. This was a marked improvement from the 48.2% who passed the initial assessment for 2023-24.
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In the West Tallahatchie School District, 55.6% of R.H. Bearden Elementary third-graders passed the initial test this year while 44.4% did not. Again, the number meeting state requirements improved from 48% who passed the first 2023-24 test.
MDE said third-graders who do not pass the initial reading test are given up to two attempts to retest. Students who did not pass the first assessment retested in early May. The second retest window is June 16-27.
The so-called “third grade reading gate” is part of the Literacy-Based Promotion Act that 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,” MDE noted.
Students must pass the reading assessment to qualify for promotion to the fourth grade, although some students also 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 2024-25 school year, MDE explained.
