By JEFF AMY
Associated Press
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) – The state Board of Education is scheduled to meet Thursday to vote on the reading test score third graders will be required to have to advance to fourth grade.
Mississippi’s 38,000 public school third graders took the 50-question computerized test in April.
It’s the first time the requirement, enacted by the Legislature in 2013, will take effect. Lawmakers and Gov. Phil Bryant have said it’s preferable to hold back students who can’t read at a basic level to give them special attention.
On a different test last year, about 6,500 third graders would have failed. State Superintendent Carey Wright warns the number could be higher this time.
Students who failed will be offered two more chances to pass and advance, one later this month and one during the summer.
