St. Joseph County is basking in the glow of a marked achievement in education as local legislators celebrate a substantial rise in third grade literacy rates in Indiana. Reaching a nearly five percentage point improvement, results from the 2024-2025 Indiana Reading Evaluation and Determination (IREAD) assessment show that over 87% of Hoosier third graders are reading proficiently. This surge brings the state's literacy levels for these young learners back to where they stood before the pandemic struck.
State Rep. Dale DeVon (R-Granger) effusively praised the collective efforts of the state's education stakeholders. "This historic jump in literacy rates is an incredible achievement and we couldn't have done it without everyone working together," DeVon stated, in a release spotted by the Indiana House Republicans. The improvement represents the largest single-year leap since the inception of IREAD in 2013 and it's attributed to collaborative endeavors across the educational spectrum.
Further good news was shared by a member of the House Education Committee, State Rep. Jake Teshka (R-North Liberty), who confirmed that literacy rates rose for all student populations. "This unprecedented increase is exciting news for our students and state," Teshka mentioned. "I worked on two pieces of legislation to improve literacy rates and it's encouraging to see these efforts contribute to positive results in the classroom." He extended his gratitude to the various members of school communities whose tireless support underpinned the successful outcomes, as per Indiana House Republicans' release.
Commenting on the broader educational landscape, State Rep. Tim Wesco (R-Osceola) pointed to Indiana's notable rankings in national reading assessments. "These scores are a great turnaround from what we saw just a couple years ago," said Wesco, who brought up Indiana's position as sixth in the country for fourth and eighth grade reading in the 2024 National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP). The state's proactive approach has, ostensibly, set up Hoosier students with the skills to thrive academically.
To catalyze improvements in reading proficiency, Indiana's General Assembly took concrete actions, passing a law in 2023 that embraced science of reading standards. Then, in the following year, additional legislation was enacted to identify students at risk for reading difficulties sooner and to intervene earlier. Full results from 2025 IREAD and information about the state's literacy standards can be viewed on Indiana Department of Education's website.
