A New Chapter in Literacy Education for Indiana
Indiana leaders have turned to the science of reading to significantly improve student reading proficiency across the state.
In 2023–2024, an overhaul of how reading is taught was introduced, and during the 2024–2025 school year, Indiana schools will be required to adopt curriculum that aligns with the science of reading.
By 2027, officials want 95 percent of students to pass the iRead third grade test, a significant jump from the less than 82 percent of students who passed in 2023. To support this goal, new academic standards based on the science of reading are being developed, and teachers entering the profession after June 2025 must have a special literacy endorsement to teach reading in early grades.
Even the approach to student assessment is changing with new reading screeners and earlier testing being introduced.
Additionally, legislation now requires certain students who do not demonstrate reading proficiency to be retained a year. The law signed by Gov. Eric Holcomb in March 2024 requires most third grade students who fail the state's reading proficiency exam to be held back to better prepare for the complex reading content they will encounter in future grades. The goal is to ensure students move forward with the fundamental literacy skills they need to be successful learners.
Educators are looking for tools to help meet these new requirements and support their students' success. They will now be able to use Acadience® Reading K–6, an assessment tool approved by the Indiana Department of Education.
Acadience Reading K–6, authored by Dr. Roland Good and Dr. Ruth Kaminski, is a universal screener that responds to students' needs by identifying those at risk for dyslexia and assessing the essential early literacy skills proven to be predictive of student success. It measures how students are performing on critical literacy skills, such as phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension.
By identifying students who struggle and need extra help, Acadience Reading is an invaluable tool for literacy educators. It enables teachers to:
- Predict early reading success
- Predict state test performance
- Identify students needing intervention, including those with dyslexia
- Evaluate the effectiveness of interventions
- Select instructional interventions and group students
- Prepare instruction to support students in reaching rigorous state standards
- Provide universal screening, progress-monitoring, and diagnostic assessments
- Use a web-based, data-management system with online scoring
Acadience Reading Tools
Acadience Reading tools include:
- Progress monitoring for struggling students
- Online test administration
- Increased flexibility with time-saving technology
- Simplified test administration and scoring
- Data management at student/parent, teacher, school, and district levels
- Real-time tools to support teachers
- Flexible implementation options
Indiana educators are committed to the reading success of their students—the gateway to academic success and lifelong learning. Science of reading-based instruction and assessment when implemented with fidelity can transform students’ lives, including students with dyslexia and English language learners. That is the promise of evidence-based literacy instruction.
To see Acadience Reading K–6 in action, schedule a LIVE demo today: