Rep. Baird commends historic increase in Indiana's third grade literacy rates

State Rep. Beau Baird (R-Greencastle) is commending a historic increase in third grade literacy rates for Hoosier students following results from the 2024-2025 Indiana Reading Evaluation and Determination (IREAD) assessment.

Baird said third grade reading scores improved by nearly five percentage points, which is the largest single-year increase since Indiana launched IREAD in 2013. More than 87% of Hoosier third graders demonstrated proficiency in reading, putting Indiana's literacy rate at this grade level back to pre-pandemic levels.

He thanked Indiana's education leaders, schools, teachers and families for their dedication to help Indiana students achieve these results.

"The improvement in Hoosier students' reading scores is simply astonishing when you consider how far they had fallen after the disruptions caused by the pandemic," said Baird, who noted that literacy rates for all student populations also increased. "So many people are responsible for these results, including teachers, students and their families, and state leaders. It's an opportunity to celebrate and an affirmation that the steps taken are working."

Baird said these IREAD results follow Indiana placing sixth in the country for fourth and eighth grade reading in the 2024 National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) rankings.

To improve Indiana's literacy rates, the General Assembly passed a law in 2023 implementing science of reading standards, which is evidence-based instruction that increases students' reading competency through phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary development, fluency, oral language skills and comprehension. A law passed in 2024 added screenings for students at risk of falling behind on reading proficiency and providing earlier intervention.

Results from the 2025 IREAD for individual schools and corporations are available on the Indiana Department of Education's website.