Maryland 3rd Grade Retention for Reading Policy

[Anonymous]

Maryland's literacy policy approved in 2024 has a provision to retain/not promote students from 3rd to 4th grade if they don't pass grade level reading standards. It goes into full effect in the 2027-2028 school year, which would mean this year's 1st graders will be impacted. Parents can waive the retention by signing the child up for extra intervention (summer school), and kids with identified learning disabilities who have two years of intervention won't be retained, so it is not an inflexible policy.

For those of you whose kids are in pre-k, K or 1st and have been flagged as struggling readers, what are your thoughts? Are you aware of this policy? Are you preparing for it in any way?

[Anonymous]

Nothing will change and no one will be held back. It’s impossible to implement this because there are far too many kids not proficient.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nothing will change and no one will be held back. It’s impossible to implement this because there are far too many kids not proficient.

They have done it in other states, and the person who led Mississippi is now our head of education in Maryland. And the legislation passed into law, so something legislatively would have to happen to prevent it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nothing will change and no one will be held back. It’s impossible to implement this because there are far too many kids not proficient.

They have done it in other states, and the person who led Mississippi is now our head of education in Maryland. And the legislation passed into law, so something legislatively would have to happen to prevent it.

Ugh. Mississippi doesn’t have a lot of ESL kids like Maryland does. They were 3.1% of the population in 22-23 in Mississippi and 34% of 0-5 population in Maryland. One more way to attack immigrants I guess….

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nothing will change and no one will be held back. It’s impossible to implement this because there are far too many kids not proficient.

They have done it in other states, and the person who led Mississippi is now our head of education in Maryland. And the legislation passed into law, so something legislatively would have to happen to prevent it.

Ugh. Mississippi doesn’t have a lot of ESL kids like Maryland does. They were 3.1% of the population in 22-23 in Mississippi and 34% of 0-5 population in Maryland. One more way to attack immigrants I guess….

I think being an English Language Learner is one of the exceptions. Hopefully the improved instruction required in the new legislation helps them, too.

[Anonymous]

There are lots of exceptions. If parents don’t agree to it, schools have to allow them to go to the next grade.

[Anonymous]

We have a similar policy (law?) in North Carolina. Vast numbers of third graders are not passing, but nearly every single one of them gets promoted. They hand out those waivers like candy.

[Anonymous]

Hopefully the parents are signing their kids up for summer school and going into the school to ask what else can be done.

[Anonymous]

They can't stop parents from withdrawing their children to homeschool or attend a small private.

[Anonymous]

This is going to disproportionately impact students with dyslexia who haven’t received adequate services.

It’s hugely damaging to the kid. They should instead be doing universal dyslexia screenings in 1st grade and provide services to all kids who have dyslexia.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have a similar policy (law?) in North Carolina. Vast numbers of third graders are not passing, but nearly every single one of them gets promoted. They hand out those waivers like candy.

Same. My kids go to a title 1 elementary school with poor test scores and I can’t think of a single 3rd grader that’s repeated. Not one.

[Anonymous]

This sounds unfair except if they are going to offer kids struggling in K/1 more reading supports.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is going to disproportionately impact students with dyslexia who haven’t received adequate services.

It’s hugely damaging to the kid. They should instead be doing universal dyslexia screenings in 1st grade and provide services to all kids who have dyslexia.

+1. They are so f-ing stingy with LD services in MCPS. This will be a meaningless policy if they don’t address the needs of students earlier. I bet they will do zip to help retained 3rd graders so what’s the point. My kids are older and nobody had dyslexia but MCPS failed to properly intervene for any of their disabilities. The IEPs were worthless. Like so many other parents, I had to pay for private services and even moved one to private for a few years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This sounds unfair except if they are going to offer kids struggling in K/1 more reading supports.

Improving reading instruction is part of the policy, as is additional support to struggling readers in K, 1st, and 2nd. But I’m not sure what that will mean in practice, if it will be enough.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nothing will change and no one will be held back. It’s impossible to implement this because there are far too many kids not proficient.

They have done it in other states, and the person who led Mississippi is now our head of education in Maryland. And the legislation passed into law, so something legislatively would have to happen to prevent it.

They included exemptions in the policy.