Here’s how many students were held back thanks to Indiana’s retention law

by MJ SLABY

This story was originally published in Chalkbeat Indiana.

Roughly 3,000 Hoosier students are repeating third grade this school year, due to the state’s retention law.

This is the first school year students were held back under the 2024 law that mandates retention for students who don’t pass the state’s reading test, the IREAD-3.

The law sought to address the growing number of students who were promoted to fourth grade without passing the test, which is an indicator of the early literacy skills tied to success in later grades. It has exemptions for certain students such as those with disabilities or those who are learning English, and gives students multiple chances to pass the test, including twice in the summer after third grade.

The state’s department of education presen