Data from Idaho’s early literacy test, the Idaho Reading Indicator, shows moderate gains from Idaho students in kindergarten through third grade. The data shows increases for kindergarteners, first graders and third graders while Idaho second graders maintained their proficiency rate.
Each spring and fall, Idaho students in kindergarten through third grade take the IRI as required by Idaho Code 33-1806. The assessment allows Idaho educators to better understand the needs of early learners in phonics, phonemic awareness, fluency, vocabulary and reading comprehension.
“Though gains in the spring-to-spring IRI numbers are modest for kindergarteners, first and third graders, data suggests that an increased emphasis on effective instruction in early literacy, including a focus on teaching the science of reading, is showing a return on investment,” said Chief Deputy Superintendent Ryan Cantrell. “I’m pleased to see these results from this assessment cycle.”
Highlights from the spring-to-spring IRI data include:
- One percentage point increase for kindergartners reading at grade level, up to 66 percent from 65 percent in 2023.
- Two percentage point increase for first graders reading at grade level, from 62 percent proficient in 2023 to 64 percent proficient in 2024.
- One percentage point increase for third graders reading at grade level, up to 67 percent in 2024 from 66 percent in 2023.
- All grade levels held steady on the number of students reading below grade level.
|
Spring 2023 |
Kindergarten |
Grade 1 |
Grade 2 |
Grade 3 |
All Grades |
|
Below Grade Level |
16% |
18% |
18% |
15% |
16.69% |
|
Near Grade Level |
19% |
20% |
16% |
16% |
17.65% |
|
At Grade Level |
65% |
62% |
66% |
69% |
65.66% |
|
# participated |
21,842 |
23,060 |
23,259 |
23,294 |
91,437 |
|
Spring 2024 |
Kindergarten |
Grade 1 |
Grade 2 |
Grade 3 |
All Grades |
|
Below Grade Level |
16% |
18% |
18% |
15% |
16.7% |
|
Near Grade Level |
18% |
18% |
16% |
15% |
16.8% |
|
At Grade Level |
66% |
64% |
66% |
70% |
66.5% |
|
# participated |
20,422 |
22,540 |
23,448 |
23,036 |
89,446 |
“Ensuring our students leave third grade prepared for ‘reading to learn’ is absolutely essential,” said Superintendent of Public Instruction Debbie Critchfield. “We can expect to see steady improvements that our policy goals, like developing growth models that target our lowest performing readers, offering optional full-day kindergarten and emphasizing that our colleges prepare our educators to teach phonics were meant to bring. As these policies are further implemented, district and statewide, we expect to see continued growth.”
Long-term departmental goals for the IRI involve reducing the rate of students reading below grade level to below 12 percent by the spring of 2027. Goals for third graders and the final group to receive instruction specific to reading include elevating the percentage of students reading at grade level to 80 percent by 2027 with 8 percent or fewer performing near grade level.
“As we continue to provide training for educators in the science of reading and ways to work successfully with students showing signs of dyslexia and more, I expect that many of these longer-term goals will come into focus,” said Cantrell. “If we can maintain this trend of steady improvement, I believe that an increasing number of Idaho fourth graders will be fully prepared to perform to the best of their abilities through the rest of their academic careers.”
