As we enter the second semester of the school year, the Mississippi Department of Education is sharing several resources and reminders about the upcoming 3rd Grade Reading Assessment.
The state of emergency Gov. Tate Reeves declared in March 2020 to combat the COVID-19 pandemic expired on Nov. 20, 2021. Therefore, the Mississippi State Board of Education no longer has the authority to suspend assessments required by state law.
Testing Window Dates
- April 4 – 22, 2022: 3rd Grade MAAP ELA Assessment testing window
- May 9 – 13, 2022: 3rd Grade Reading Alternative Assessment (first retest opportunity)
- June 20 – July 8, 2022: 3rd Grade Reading Alternative Assessment (second retest opportunity)
Resources to Share with Parents and Guardians
- 3rd Grade Reading Assessment Flyer: Includes information about testing dates, format, results, the importance of passing the assessment, and how families can support reading development at home. Please distribute this flyer to the families of all 3rd graders in your school district.
- StrongReadersMS.com: Provides the needed resources, activities and information for families to help their children become strong readers.
Literacy-Based Promotion Act Requirements
- The LBPA requires 3rd graders to score at level 3 or higher on the reading portion of the Mississippi Academic Assessment Program (MAAP) English Language Arts (ELA) assessment to qualify for promotion to the 4th grade.
- Kindergarten through grade 3 students must be administered an approved Universal Screener three times a year.
- K-3 students identified through the beginning-of-the-year screener whose results are below grade level should be assessed to determine targeted instructional support and interventions.
- Parents or legal guardians must be immediately, and with each quarterly progress report, notified of the determination and plans for addressing the deficiency, including sharing strategies that parents can use to support reading at home.
- Intensive reading instruction and intervention must be documented for each student with a reading deficit in an Individual Reading Plan (IRP).
- During the 2021-2022 school year, a grade 3 student who fails to meet the requirements for promotion to grade 4 may only be promoted if they meeting a good cause exemption.
Good Cause Exemptions
Intensive interventions are appropriate and expected for students who exhibit deficiencies in reading. However, the MDE recognizes that there may be challenges with producing two (2) years of documented intensive interventions for some students to qualify for Good-Cause Exemptions C and E.
The guidance below may be used to assist with collecting documentation as districts consider approving Good Cause Exemptions C and E:
- For the 2021-2022 school year, schools and districts should provide evidence of documented intensive, explicit, reading interventions for students.
- For the 2019-2020 and/or 2020-2021 school years, schools and districts should provide evidence of monitored and documented academic supports for struggling readers provided by the school district, such as, high-dosage tutoring, summer school support, after-school remediation, and/or any other literacy-specific academic interventions that may have been provided to the student.
Resources for Teachers
- A Third Grade Teacher’s Guide to Supporting Family Involvement in Reading Skills
- Teachers – Advance Word Study: Multisyllabic Word Reading and Morphology
- Recommended MPB lessons for 3rd graders with titles and links
- Literacy-Based Promotion Act Resources
Additional guidance and resources may be found on our literacy webpage: www.mdek12.org/literacy.
For questions about K-12 literacy, contact:
Kristen Wynn
State Literacy Director (K-12)
601-359-2925 | kwells@mdek12.org
For questions about MTSS, contact:
Laurie Weathersby, Ed.S., LDT, CALT
Bureau Director of Intervention Services
601-359-2586 | lweathersby@mdek12.org
For other questions, contact:
Tenette Smith, Ed.D.
Executive Director, Office of Elementary Education and Reading
601-359-2586 | tenette.smith@mdek12.org