Hack
Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. is continuing to make significant progress in fostering the skills of young readers, according to IREAD-3 projections provided to school board members on Monday night.
IREAD is an online test given to second- and third-graders across the state to determine their ability to understand letter sounds and assess their vocabulary and reading comprehension.
Just over 89% of BCSC third-graders passed the IREAD-3 assessment last year, up nearly 10 points from 2022-23, and projections show that figure is expecting to climb to 90% in 2026 at school year’s end.
The current crop of third-graders took the test as second-graders to give district officials and teachers the chance to find out ways to support those who are at risk of not passing, and that strategy has proved effective.
Students are able to take IREAD three different times before the year is out, and if they don’t pass, state law requires they be held back.
Students can also qualify for a good-cause exemption that would allow them to move on to fourth grade even if they don’t pass, including students who have been in the United States for fewer than two years or those who have an individualized education plan (IEP).
Students took the first administration of the test during the first two weeks of March. Director of Elementary Education Laura Hack, Elementary Curriculum Specialist Jeannie Long, and Taylorsville Elementary Principal Jennifer Dettmer talked about the results.
Of the current second-graders who took the test meant for third-graders, 54% were able to pass the test, Long said, up from 50% in 2025 and 44% from 2024.
“Over the past two years we’ve made intentional investments in structural consistency with teacher development grounded in the science of reading,” Long said. “These efforts have yielded measurable results.”
The science of reading is a way of teaching reading based on a large body of research on how kids actually learn to read.
Of the 819 second-graders testing, 441 passed. There are 90 students on track to pass the assessment next year as third-graders and 288 identified as at risk of not passing. There were 2% fewer students deemed at risk of not passing compared to 2025, according to BCSC.
Of the 810 current third-graders, 664 of those either passed the test in second grade or during the first administration of the test, or 82%. Of the remaining third-graders, 72 are on track to pass over the next to administrations and 74 were identified as at-risk of not passing.
“We still have intentional work to do with these students,” Hack said. “This comes in the form of small-group instruction and progress monitoring from now until the next two (test) administrations.”
The next two chances to take IREAD will be in May and June.
Some of strategies that district officials say have paid dividends include the small-group instruction and progress monitoring, but also mentoring of first year K-3 teachers by experienced colleagues; clear and consistent communication with student families about where their child is at; and strategic staffing of teachers in second- and third-grade that have experience with the science of reading.
