Indiana literacy rates surpass pre-pandemic levels

Third-grade literacy rates in Indiana have surpassed pre-pandemic levels, marking the fifth consecutive year of academic gains on the Indiana Reading Evaluation and Determination (IREAD) assessment. According to the Indiana Department of Education, 88.7% of students are now reading proficiently by the end of third grade. This represents an increase of nearly 1.5 percentage points over the 2024-25 school year, which was the second-largest single-year increase since the assessment began. Since 2021, scores have climbed by 7.5 percentage points.

Key factors contributing to these results include the participation of all second-grade students in the IREAD assessment, providing an early indicator of reading readiness. Additionally, the Indiana Literacy Cadre—a partnership between the state, the University of Indianapolis’s Center of Excellence in Leadership of Learning (CELL), and Marian University’s Center for Vibrant Schools—has provided instructional coaching to approximately 770 schools.