Intentional investments in summer reading & math support continue to show return on investment for students

A summer learning opportunity designed to increase access to high-quality programming for more Hoosier students continues to show a return on investment. For the second consecutive year, data show that after just five weeks of intentional, high-quality instruction during the summer, students who attended the Summer Learning Labs in 2025 achieved double-digit percentage point proficiency gains in both reading and math. 

“Once again, the Summer Learning Labs are showing what is possible when schools and communities work together to support student learning with high-quality curriculum and consistent progress-monitoring,” said Dr. Katie Jenner, Indiana Secretary of Education. “By continuing to measure return on investment, we can ensure that our resources are allocated to those strategies and supports – such as the Summer Learning Labs – that have the greatest impact for Hoosier students.”

In 2025, the Summer Learning Labs served more than 12,000 students in grades one through nine across 37 cities, providing free or low-cost, high-quality reading and math instruction, along with enrichment activities. All participating students take a pre-test during the first week of the program, followed by a post-test in the final week to measure academic progress. Every Summer Learning Lab location utilizes the same curriculum, developed by Lavinia Group, which is designed to help students accelerate learning in core subjects and start the next school year at or above grade level.

The results below, which were presented at Wednesday’s State Board of Education (SBOE) Meeting, represent the overall learning gains achieved during summer 2025: 

• All students enrolled achieved a 25 percentage point increase in English/language arts (ELA) proficiency and 24 percentage point increase in math. 
• Black students achieved a 25 percentage point increase in ELA proficiency and 24 percentage point increase in math. 
• Latino students achieved a 25 percentage point increase in ELA proficiency and 24 percentage point increase in math. 
• Students receiving free/reduced price meals achieved a 25 percentage point increase in ELA proficiency and 25 percentage point increase in math. 
• English learners achieved a 23 percentage point increase in ELA proficiency and 27 percentage point increase in math. 

The Summer Learning Labs first launched in Indianapolis through funding from the state’s Student Learning Recovery Grant in 2021. This initial partnership between The Mind Trust and United Way of Central Indiana formed with the goal of accelerating student learning following the pandemic. After initial data indicated statistically significant academic growth, the Indiana Department of Education partnered with The Mind Trust to scale the successful Indy Summer Learning Labs model to additional regions across the state.

“The Mind Trust is proud to support another year of double-digit math and reading learning gains for more than 12,000 Hoosier students,” said Brandon Brown, CEO of The Mind Trust. “Through the work of anchor partners, educators, schools, districts, and community organizations across the state, more students have access to high-quality summer learning and enrichment. We are grateful for the Indiana Department of Education’s continued support to make this impactful investment possible to help students across the state access safe, productive, and fun learning opportunities." 

Additional information regarding Summer Learning Lab can be found here. 

Indiana’s New Good Cause Exemption Dashboard
Also highlighted at Wednesday’s SBOE meeting is a new public dashboard, which provides transparent reading data at the state-, corporation-, and school-level. In 2025, Indiana achieved an unprecedented nearly five percentage point increase in third grade literacy rates. Statewide, 73,500 of Indiana’s third grade students – or 87.3 percent – demonstrated proficient reading skills on the IREAD assessment. Indiana’s third grade literacy rates have now increased for four consecutive years, indicating that Indiana’s strategic, intentional investments in early literacy are working. 

The new dashboard shows 2024-2025 IREAD pass rates for all school types, data on Good Cause Exemptions (GCE), and promotion status. The creation of this dashboard follows a new law passed in 2024, which aims to increase literacy supports and reduce the number of students being promoted to fourth grade without foundational reading skills. Students who did not pass IREAD and are eligible to receive a GCE per Indiana statute can be promoted to fourth grade and will continue to retest each spring and summer until they pass or enter seventh grade.

Key takeaways from the data include:

• Approximately 8 percent of students statewide received a GCE in 2025 and will continue to receive intentional, targeted reading supports to help them become proficient readers.
  • This represents less than 7,000 students out of over 84,000 students who tested.

• Eligibility criteria for a GCE are defined in state statute. 
  • Of the approximately 8 percent of students statewide who received a GCE in 2025:
    • Nearly 75% were for students in special education. 
    • Nearly 24% were for EL students who have received services for less than two years. 
    • Approximately 1% were for students with a math exceptionality and students who had previously been retained. 

• Approximately 3.6 percent of students were retained in 2025 and will continue to receive intentional, targeted reading supports to help them become proficient readers.
  • This represents approximately 3,000 students out of over 84,000 students who tested.

In addition to the Summer Learning Labs, below are examples of how Indiana continues to help more students learn to read - 

• A universal screener to identify K-2 students who are not on track to become proficient readers;
• Assessment and Instructional Frameworks updates to provide science of reading support;
• Assessing reading ability on both ILEARN Checkpoints and the summative assessment via Lexile scores;
• Advisory lists to assist schools in identifying high-quality curricular materials (HQCM Advisory lists);
• Teacher training in science of reading (Early Literacy Endorsement);
• A one-stop shop providing educators and families with instructional resources, professional development opportunities, and other best practices (Indiana Learning Lab);
• The Dolly Parton Imagination Library to increase access to books for our youngest Hoosiers; and
• Free or low-cost reading and math support (Indiana Learns).

Click here to view Indiana’s new IREAD Good Cause Exemption Dashboard.