The Alabama State Board of Education is touting promising results from summer reading camps as students return to classrooms.

The latest statewide data shows that 8.5 percent of third graders finished summer still reading below grade level—a number shaped by a higher cut score than last year. Of 55,930 third graders tested in the spring, 6,470 were below grade level. About 4,000 of those took part in summer programs and were retested, with 1,743 still below grade level afterward.

As for the 2,400 students who did not test at the end of summer, Mackey said there were a few different reasons this could be.

“So one, they could have gone to summer camp and just opted not to take the test, or parents opted not to test, to just keep them in third grade. That is an option that parents have. So

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