BCS Third-Grade Reading Pass Rate Jumps to 89.4%

From the Blackford County Schools Board meeting on May 19, 2026

Blackford County Schools' third-grade iRead pass rate has reached 89.4% after the first retest — up from 80.8% last year and part of a four-year upward trend, Assistant Superintendent Leslie Molton reported to the board.

The progression: 72.5% in 2022-23, 77.3% in 2023-24, 80.8% in 2024-25, and now 89.4%. The state average last year was 87.4%, putting BCS above that benchmark before this year's statewide results are known.

Only three students remain at risk for retention, down from nine retained last year. Under Indiana law, students who do not pass and lack a good-cause exemption must be held back in third grade. A third testing attempt is available after summer school in June.

Teachers volunteered to tutor students after school one to two nights per week this year, which administrators credited as a factor in the improvement. The district is also in its second year on a new reading curriculum.

Second-grade students, now required statewide to take the third-grade iRead test, have a current pass rate of 47.7%, with retesting still underway. Last year's final second-grade rate was 49%, which exceeded the state average.

BCS plans to add reading and math intervention blocks to the junior/senior high schedule for 2026-27, with intervention time also planned for grades 3 through 7.

Source: YouTube transcript — BCS School Board Meeting, May 19, 2026

Some information may be inaccurate due to video audio quality.