“Numbers, letters, learn to spell, nouns and books and show and tell, at playtime we will throw the ball, then back to class through the hall, teacher marks our height against the wall.” – Jack White

I never planned for the third grade to become a major part of my life.

I thought it was finished after Mrs. Marie Gay sweetly shepherded my Woodland High School classmates and me through all the requirements necessary to reach the fourth grade.

Little did I know I would later marry a third-grade teacher. Now the goings-on of eight-and-nine-year-olds consume a large portion of conversation in our home.

Third grade may have recently become more important to you and your kids, as well, thanks to the 2019 Alabama Literacy Act. The law requires third-grade students to be able to read at a third-grade level or face retention.

Third graders take an examination known as the Alabama Comprehensive Assessment Program Summative, ACAP Summative for short, to determine their reading level.

Those of us fond of repeating the phrase, “Thank goodness for Mississippi,” when it comes to our western neighbors often lagging behind Alabama’s poor education rating, can also thank Mississippi for this new standard to meet.

Mississippi passed wide-ranging educational reforms in 2013, including a statewide reading assessment and third-grade retention policy. The Alabama Literacy Act mimics several of Mississippi’s policies.

While Mississippi’s reforms have not been a cure-all for educational woes, the Associated Press reported the state went from second worst for fourth-grade reading all the way up to 21^st in 2022, according to U.S. Education Department’s National Assessment of Educational Progress.

Mississippi based its reforms on Florida’s policies which are credited with landing Florida near the top of educational assessments for years.

The ultimate reasoning behind the focus on literacy is reading comprehension is thought to give students a better chance of succeeding in all subjects, even science, social studies and math.

Students who are still not reading at grade level by third grade are less likely to be able to read about and comprehend more advanced topics in all subject areas. Time spent on improving reading skills beyond early elementary is time lost for studying more complex topics covered in later grade levels.

The good news so far in Alabama is 91 percent of students in the state passed the ACAP Summative this past spring. The less good news is the passing score was set artificially low as the test is being fine-tuned and teaching staffs get better adjusted to teaching the curriculum.

AL.com reported Alabama State Superintendent of Education Eric Mackey told the Alabama Board of Education he would like to see the required passing score rise gradually over the coming years.

While this could seem like a lot of pressure for just one examination, students who fall short of the necessary score can receive extra instruction in the summer and can take a supplemental examination to reach the required score to be promoted.

There are also exemptions built in for students who are learning English as a second language or who have special educational needs addressed by an individual education plan or who are able to generate a reading portfolio with work samples “independently produced by the student” to show mastery of reading standards.

Including all these exemptions, interventions and the supplemental assessment, the actual retention rate for the past year will likely be significantly lower than the 9 percent of students who failed the first assessment, AL.com reported.

The education think tank ExcelinEd supports policies like the Alabama Literacy Act but points out there are criticisms to consider.

One is retention can be emotionally challenging for students and their families. It also could be that states’ greater commitment to funding assistance to struggling students is much more of an indicator of improved student success than the threat of retention.

Additionally, while I do not have any statistics on this point, I can share, anecdotally, my wife’s third-grade teaching cohort at her school has seen a tremendous amount of turnover in the past few years as teachers have transferred to other grades.

The possibility of receiving an outsized amount of blame for students being retained in third grade as compared to the blame received while teaching other grades in addition to extra pressure to get struggling students across the literacy finish line could have third-grade teachers seeking greener pastures.

While the criticisms and drawbacks of the Alabama Literacy Act are valid, the results of nearby states with similar programs are difficult to overlook.

I think we have to give the Literacy Act policies an honest chance. Otherwise, educators in our neighboring states may soon be saying, “Thank goodness for Alabama,” to save face when receiving any disappointing educational statistics.