- After all retests were administered, the Mississippi Dept. of Education reported that 85 percent of all third graders passed the assessment during the 2024-2025 school year, an increase of a full percentage point.
A growing number of Mississippi third grade students passed their reading assessment tests in 2025.
The Mississippi Department of Education reported on Thursday that 77.3 percent of third grade students in the state passed their reading assessment on the first try.
Reading assessments are administered to all students in the third grade to determine their eligibility to be promoted to the fourth grade. The assessment has five levels, and a student must score a level three or better to be promoted. Students who score a level four are considered proficient, while students who score a level five are considered advanced readers.
Students who do not pass on the first try are allowed two retests in May and June.
MDE reports that after all retests had been administered, 85 percent of third graders passed the assessment. The overall pass rate last school year was 84 percent.
“I’m very proud of our students and teachers who have put in the hard work,” said House Education Committee Chair State Rep. Rob Roberson (R). “I would like to congratulate all of the good work Mississippi teachers are doing and encourage them that it does not go unnoticed.”
Students who do not pass the retests are held back unless they meet one of several exceptions, which can include students who have a disability, students whose native language is not English, and students who had been held back previously. MDE states that policies concerning student promotion and retention are made at the district level.
The increase in the overall pass rate by a full percentage point demonstrates that the polices put in place by MDE concerning expanded professional development opportunities and implementation of high-quality learning materials are paying off, the department noted.
Other efforts by MDE to increase the score include increasing the number of staff at the district and school level who are trained in the science of reading and through job-embedded training led by literacy coaches.
“I know MDE has implemented programs to help our teachers get the professional experience to help our students,” Roberson added. “The state of Mississippi continues to be innovative with our education policy. I suspect we will be increasing our reading coaches and hopefully be able to extend that up to the eighth grade where we need to be reinforcing what students have learned or maybe having trouble with.”
Jeremy Pittari
