Subcommittee told third-grade ELA passing rate fell to 39%; subgroup trends mixed

Executive Director Sean Ross presented the subcommittee with 2024 statewide assessment trend data and told members that the third-grade combined proficient and highly proficient passing rate dropped two percentage points to 39%.

Ross emphasized that the minimally proficient category is the largest segment, with about half of students scoring in that band. Members asked whether the cohort tested in spring 2024 consisted of children who experienced the pandemic during early childhood; staff confirmed those students entered kindergarten in 2021 and may have had reduced access to early learning. Members noted that past progress made after the pandemic has stalled and stressed that the subcommittee’s work should focus on earlier identification and intervention.

The presentation clarified that the data shown are for the full ELA assessment (not only the reading subscore) and that the oral reading fluency component was previously field tested and has recently been added to the exam. Ross also explained that good-cause exemptions and multiple promotion pathways exist under Move On When Reading; he reported that roughly 0.3% of third graders are retained after such exemptions, making retention a relatively small share of final outcomes under current rules.

Members raised technical and policy questions—whether states pursue single-grade catch-up strategies (most panelists said states generally prioritize earlier grade interventions), and whether a targeted runway and funded supports should accompany any effort to increase promotion standards. The subcommittee did not take a vote but directed staff to factor these data and cohort considerations into the conditions framework they will draft for a future meeting.

The subcommittee will review the staff draft at the next meeting; no changes to the board’s rules or cut score were adopted at this session.