Colorado Third Grade Reading Scores Continue to Lag Despite Millions in Spending
By: Mike Krause | Complete Colorado
In a recent episode of Independence Institute’s Learning Curve education podcast, Erin Brantley and Ross Izard look at Mississippi’s dramatic improvement in public school reading achievement and whether Colorado can apply similar strategies to boost literacy outcomes through the state’s READ Act.
Mississippi shot from 49th nationally in fourth-grade reading proficiency in 2013 to ninth in 2024. The hosts credit much of that success to the state’s Literacy-Based Promotion Act, combining science-based reading instruction, early identification of struggling readers, targeted interventions, and, when necessary, requiring students who fall short of reading benchmarks to repeat third grade before advancing.
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