Reading by 3rd Grade
The Indiana Reading Evaluation and Determination (IREAD-3) is a state assessment to measure foundational reading skills based on the Indiana Academic Standards. All students are required to take the I-READ assessment in spring of their third-grade year, unless they have already passed the I-READ in second grade. The purpose of I-READ is to ensure students have the grade level reading proficiency needed for success in fourth-grade academic curriculum.
Source: IREAD-3, All Elkhart County Public Schools, including charter, as reported by the Indiana Department of Education, Aggregated by Horizon Education Alliance, 2016-2025
*Data not available for 2017 and 2020.
IREAD-3, All Indiana Public Schools, as reported by the Indiana Department of Education, collected by Horizon Education Alliance, 2016-2025
Third-grade reading is a critical milestone for children because of the academic transition during late elementary school from a focus on “learning to read” to “reading to learn” across all content areas. As children begin reading to learn, they are using their reading skills to acquire new information, think critically, problem solve, and apply their learning to the world around them. Without grade-level reading proficiency, students risk falling behind across all subject areas. Research has shown that gaps in reading proficiency at third-grade are difficult to close. For this reason, third-grade reading is predictive of later success in school and life – including high school graduation and success in college and career. Third-grade reading is a lagging indicator of school readiness as students who come into kindergarten with strong foundational skills are more likely to be proficient readers at third-grade.
By Race/Ethnicity
* Results not available for corporations with fewer than 10 students in the demographic in a given year. The denominator was adjusted to reflect the total number with available results.
By Meal Status
By English Language Learner Status
By Race/Ethnicity
By Meal Status
By English Language Learner Status
The Indiana Department of Education’s Graduates Prepared to Succeed Dashboard includes comprehensive data on I-READ scores for the state and for all school districts, disaggregated by demographic groups.
The Kids Count Data Center also provides data on I-READ scores for Indiana, with comparisons across counties, as well as state comparisons of reading proficiency using data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reading test.
