Budget Bill Changes to the Third-Grade Reading Guarantee
House Bill 33 of the 135th General Assembly included several legislative changes to the Third Grade Reading Guarantee. Information about the most significant changes to the Third Grade Reading Guarantee is available below.
Promotion of 2022-2023 School Year Third-Grade Students
Under House Bill 33 of the 135th General Assembly, any district, community school, STEM school or chartered nonpublic school that would have retained students who did not meet the promotion score on Ohio’s State Test for grade 3 ELA during the 2022-2023 school year must promote those students to fourth grade unless a student’s parent or guardian requests otherwise.
Students promoted to fourth grade must continue to receive at least 90 minutes of reading instruction that includes intensive intervention until the student is able to read at grade level.
2023-2024 Third Grade Reading Guarantee Promotion Score
State law requires the State Board of Education to annually increase the promotion score on Ohio’s State Test for grade 3 English language arts until it reaches proficient for the 2024-2025 school year. Accordingly, the State Board voted to raise the promotion score for grade 3 English language arts to 690 for the 2023-2024 school year. Any student who scores 690 or higher on the English language arts scaled score will be eligible for promotion to fourth grade at the end of the 2023-2024 school year.
In addition, the Ohio Department of Education has set the reading subscore alternative assessment score for Ohio’s State Test for the grade 3 English language arts test at 48 for the 2023-2024 school year. Any student who scores 48 or higher on the reading subscore will be eligible for promotion to fourth grade at the end of the 2023-2024 school year, even if the student scores below 690 on Ohio’s State Test for grade 3 English language arts.
Changes Beginning in the 2023-2024 school year
Parent Request Exemption
Beginning in the 2023-2024 school year, a student’s parent or guardian, in consultation with the student’s reading teacher and principal, may request that a student be promoted to fourth grade regardless of student’s score on Ohio’s State Test for grade 3 English Language Arts. Students promoted to fourth grade through this exemption must continue to receive intensive reading instruction until the student is able to read at grade level.
Parent Notification Requirements
Beginning in the 2023-2024 school year, districts must include the following information in the written communication to parents of students in grades K-3 who are not reading on grade level according to the reading diagnostic:
- A statement that connects the child’s proficiency level in reading to long-term outcomes of success related to proficiency in reading.
RIMP Requirements
The following are additional requirements for RIMPs beginning in the 2023-2024 school year:
- High-dosage tutoring opportunities aligned with the student’s classroom instruction through either a state-approved vendor or a locally approved vendor that aligns with high-dosage tutoring best practices. High-dosage tutoring must include additional instruction time either:
- Three days per week, or
- At least 50 hours over 36 weeks.
- Intervention services must be aligned to the science of reading.
- Districts and schools must continue to provide the RIMP until the student is reading proficiently at their current grade level.
Please send questions to ThirdGradeGuarantee@education.ohio.gov.
State-Funded High-Dosage Tutoring Programs & Mathematics Support for Schools and Districts
State-Funded High-Dosage Tutoring Programs & Mathematics Support for Schools and Districts
Aligned with the priorities of Future Forward Ohio, the Department is using federal and grant funds to provide two research-backed opportunities to accelerate student learning at no cost to districts and schools.
- First, districts may apply for state-funded high-quality tutoring programs offered by one of the providers on the High-Quality Tutoring Provider (HQTP) Vendor Directory for the 2023-2024 school year. Research shows that high-dosage tutoring can produce “large learning gains for a wide range of students, including those who have fallen behind academically.”
- Second, all Ohio districts and schools serving students in grades 6-8 will have no-cost access to Zearn, the nonprofit educational organization behind the top-rated math learning platform Zearn Math. Onboarding will begin in the fall, with access to resources beginning in the winter and continuing through June 30, 2025. There is strong research showing Zearn has transformative results for students.
Visit Future Forward Ohio to learn more about these important opportunities to help Ohio students continue recovering from the pandemic.
Save the Date! Literacy Leaders Network
Literacy Coaches, Curriculum Directors and principals are encouraged to participate in the Regional Literacy Leaders Network, sponsored by State Support Team 16. This is an opportunity to get updates on literacy and collaborate with districts across the region. Our first meeting will be located at the Athens Meigs ESC on September 19 from 9:00-11:00. Additional information and a registration link will be coming soon! If you have any questions, please email me at andrea.bobo@sst16.org.
Dyslexia K-3 Course
Ohio’s Introduction to Dyslexia, Kindergarten-Grade 3 course is now available in the Department’s Learning Management System.
Instructions for Accessing the Introduction to Dyslexia Course
Learning Management System for Ohio Education
Contact Andrea Bobo at andrea.bobo@sst16.org to schedule dates for your district.
