Indianapolis, IN
What potential new rules for holding back students means in Marion County
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This story was co-published with Mirror Indy and WFYI.
Grace Martin, a tutor at Vision Academy charter school in Indianapolis, teaches the alphabet.
âAâ makes the sound for âapple.â âIâ is for words like âimportantâ and âice.â
Itâs a lesson she uses with students in kindergarten â but to her surprise, she has to teach it to third graders as well.
âItâs like they ⦠just paused at kindergarten or first grade, and now theyâre in third grade,â Martin said. âIâm helping them pick up on basically two years of learning.â
Itâs a challenge that existed before the COVID-19 pandemic but grew much worse after schools switched to remote learning for part of 2020. Third grade reading scores remain near the lowest point in a decade, and that means thousands of kids lack essential skills necessary to learn as they grow older, such as phonics and comprehension.
Now Marion County educators are preparing for the likely rollout of Senate Bill 1, which would require districts to hold back more students who fail the stateâs elementary school reading exam. That bill emerged as one solution proposed by the Gov. Eric Holcomb administration and state lawmakers after seeing that nearly one in five Indiana students failed the reading test in each of the last three years.
Schools currently have the option to retain students yet few do. In 2023, of the 13,855 third graders who didnât pass the stateâs spring reading exam, according to state data, only about 400 were held back.
Reporters from Chalkbeat Indiana, Mirror Indy, and WFYI contacted educators across Marion County to learn how school administrators and teachers were preparing for the probable changes coming just a year after the state required schools to adopt new reading curriculum.
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Some support the legislation and see benefits in giving students another year to learn how to read. Others, though, worry about what would happen next: a wave of overcrowded classrooms beginning with a âbubbleâ in the third grade.
âThen weâre going to see that bubble go into our middle schools and into our high schools,â Wayne Township Superintendent Jeff Butts said.
Thousands could retake third grade
If enacted, the legislation could have an outsized impact in Marion County.
Thatâs because lawmakers are looking at how many third graders are passing the state standardized exam known as the Indiana Reading Evaluation and Determination, or IREAD-3. That test, given to all third graders, assesses whether the students are proficient in reading.
In Marion Countyâs public school districts, about 2,700 students were allowed to advance into fourth grade even though they failed IREAD, according to state data. That amounted to 28% of the districtsâ third graders. Statewide, that promotion rate was about 17%.
To be clear, not all of those students would necessarily be held back under Senate Bill 1.
Under the legislation, kids would be given three opportunities by the end of third grade to pass IREAD. Students who donât pass would become eligible for literacy-focused summer school and repeat a year of classroom instruction. But some students â including English language learners with less than two years of learning English, students with disabilities, and those who pass the math portion of state exams â would still move on to fourth grade.
Itâs difficult to know how many students would be affected by the legislation. An online portal from the state Department of Education does not outline how many Marion County students would be exempt, and the state did not answer questions about how that number could be estimated.
Statewide, though, as many as 7,050 students would be held back in 2026, according to the Legislative Services Agency, which advises lawmakers on policymaking. That could cost the state an additional $57 million as the students age.
Indiana Secretary of Education Katie Jenner, however, says with multiple opportunities for students to take IREAD, retaining the estimated 7,050 students statewide is âa worst-case scenario.â
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âThis number, we should never hit,â Jenner said. âIt would be unacceptable if we do.â
Marion County schools less likely to hold back
State education officials set a goal in 2022 to ensure 95% of Hoosier students pass IREAD by 2027.
Some officials say meeting that goal will require a shift in how schools decide to hold back students.
At two Marion County public school corporations â Indianapolis Public Schools and Lawrence Township â roughly one in three students were sent to fourth grade without passing IREAD. Both districts declined to comment for this story.
At Pike Township, where 29% of third graders advanced to fourth grade without passing IREAD, Superintendent Larry Young noted the likely effect this legislation would have on urban schools during a January school board meeting. He said heâd like lawmakers to also consider studentsâ potential for growth.
âI would ask that they look at trajectory,â Young said. âWe have children that ⦠in the next year or two, not only will they catch up, they will potentially surpass where their age-same peers may potentially be.â
Butts, the Wayne Township superintendent, said there are valid concerns about holding back students. Studies have found that students who were retained dropped out of school and faced negative social-emotional outcomes. Overall, however, research is mixed on whether retention is ultimately beneficial.
âBut we also understand the negative impact of children not being able to read at grade level,â he said. âAnd that gets exponentially more challenging for them as they get into more difficult content.â
Thatâs what Rachelle Fisher, a fourth grade teacher in Franklin Township, is seeing. An educator for nearly two decades, Fisher said she loves to teach reading, but by fourth grade, itâs about content.
âIt is nearly impossible to teach Indiana history and Indiana state science standards to students that are not reading at grade level,â she said.
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Educators say retention isnât the only answer
Some educators support the legislation but question whether it is happening too quickly.
Indiana lawmakers passed legislation last year requiring schools to adopt curricula aligned with the science of reading, an approach to teaching reading that focuses on phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. While some districts have already trained staff and introduced this teaching, others are doing so for the first time this school year.
Indianapolis Public Schools, for example, introduced a new reading curriculum this year and while 96% of kindergarten through second grade classrooms were using it as of December, only about half of teachers so far have mastered teaching the new material.
âWe are three months into implementation of something that a year from now will be very well organized and articulated,â Brookside Elementary School 54 Principal Jeremy Baugh told IPS Board Commissioners during a Feb. 20 meeting.
Other educators stressed that a one-size-fits-all approach to retention may not be best for students.
Stephanie Cotter, principal at Beech Groveâs Central Elementary, said her colleagues consider more than test scores when making a decision about retention. A school committee evaluates what interventions have been tried in the past, how many questions were missed on reading exams and whether retention is socially appropriate for a student. They also consider a studentâs size and birthday, and bring parents into the conversation.
âWhatâs being proposed is even more constraining compared to whatâs out there,â Cotter said. âWe all want our students to be able to read. We want to hit that 95% target. We want them to have those early literacy skills, and we have to look at specific children and decide, âIs this whatâs best for them at this time?ââ
Cotter and others say retention alone only goes so far. Schools continue to grapple with attendance challenges as students settle into classroom learning after 2020â²s pandemic-driven disruptions. About one in five Hoosier students were considered chronically absent last year, and additional legislation has been introduced this year in response.
Some educators say they hope the state will invest in greater literacy support for students before they reach third grade. That could mean universal preschool or mandatory kindergarten.
Barbara Wellnitz, a tutor with United Wayâs ReadUP program, said she supports efforts to start students in school earlier.
âFully funding pre-K for all children, paying teachers of those children decent wages, and requiring children to attend school by age five would all go a long way toward helping children up their reading skills,â Wellnitz said. âFewer students would face the possibility of retention in all grades.â
Whatâs next
Parents of students who would have been held back have spoken out against the bill, saying they are concerned about the weight put on students taking a test.
Rachel Burke, president of the Indiana Parent Teacher Association, told lawmakers that she knew when her daughter was in first grade that she would struggle to pass the IREAD. But what she didnât know until December of her third grade year was that her child had been having seizures at the rate of dozens per day, and likely missing instruction as a result.
Even after receiving medication, she didnât have enough time between December and the March testing window to catch up, Burke said. She failed, and had to take summer school and repeat the test, but those results were lost.
Now that sheâs at the top of her class, itâs clear that holding her back would not have been the right course, Burke said.
âSheâs not unique. There are kids whose parents die who take the test the next day. There are kids whose houses burned down who have to take this test the next day,â Burke said. âKids are people. Theyâre not statistics. There has to be some room.â
But at the Statehouse, the bill continues to advance. It passed out of the House on Tuesday and now returns to the Senate before heading to Holcombâs desk.
Thatâs good news to Martin, the tutor, who said she agrees with the proposal. She said no parent wants to hear that their child needs to be held back, but itâs about making sure they have âthat extra support that they need to set them up for success.â
âWhere do you want your kids to be at? Do you want to pass your kid and then heâs gonna continue failing and then heâs gonna graduate and he actually didnât retain anything?â Martin said. âNo, you canât do that. You got to put the kid first.â
Aleksandra Appleton, Amelia Pak-Harvey, and MJ Slaby from Chalkbeat Indiana contributed to this article. Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news organization covering public education. Contact the bureau at in.tips@chalkbeat.org
Carley Lanich and Emily Hopkins from Mirror Indy contributed to this article. Mirror Indy is a nonprofit news organization covering Indianapolis.
Eric Weddle from WFYI contributed to this article.
Way too often in the NFL, the quarterback receives too much credit for a win and too much of the blame for a loss.
But that is exactly the opposite of what we will be doing today. Anthony Richardson is not the reason the Indianapolis Colts lost to the Detroit Lions, 24-6. Richardson’s supporting cast failed him too many times to count as the offense repeatedly shot themselves in the foot against arguably the best team in the league.
“We lost, so it wasn’t good enough,” Richardson remarked about his performance. “Just got to get back to the drawing board. Like I said, focus on the details and just be better as a whole, not just individual.”
Richardson’s performance was, admittedly, not one to write home about. The quarterback was 11-of-28 (39%) for 172 yards with zero touchdowns or interceptions while adding 61 yards on the ground. But as has been the case for most of the season, the box score does not tell the whole story.
Richardson was under constant duress as the offensive line produced their worst game of the season. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, Richardson was pressured on 46.7% of his dropbacks yesterday. Despite taking zero sacks due to Richardson getting rid of the football or evading the rush, he hardly had any time to deliver the football to his receivers.
Anthony Richardson took zero sacks vs DET despite being pressured on 46.7% of dropbacks per @NextGenStats
There have been three instances this season where a QB is pressured on 45%+ of his dropbacks in a game but has taken zero sacks: Anthony Richardson is two of them (Wks 7/12)
— Noah Compton (@nerlens_) November 25, 2024
The offensive line also had killer penalties that negated big plays or stalled drives. Quenton Nelson, who may have played the worst game of his career, was called for three penalties. Holding calls on Braden Smith and Dalton Tucker eliminated plays of 21 and 19 yards, respectively.
Altogether, the Colts had eight offensive penalties on plays that totaled 98 yards. 79 of those 98 were passing yards on four completions by Richardson. That is a lot of yardage and big plays erased by self-inflicted wounds.
“As a team, it hurts us,” Richardson admitted. “Whenever you’re out there playing a good team like that, you can’t beat yourself and try to beat the other team at the same time. So, the penalties definitely hurt us, but that’s just getting back to the drawing board, just understanding the minor details and discipline between each and every play. Just want to make it work.”
It was not just the offensive line that failed to provide any help. The tight end group was abysmal as Drew Ogletree and Kylen Granson continued to waste opportunities.
Ogletree was called for a hold that negated a 21-yard gain by Granson and then proceeded to drop a wide-open touchdown pass. Granson failed to look for the ball when he was a wide-open hot read and then cut off his route when he was not supposed to, causing two more incompletions.
While the play of the tight ends was as bad as it has been all season, causing the position to become the top need this offseason amongst fans, Richardson tried to take some heat off of Ogletree after the game.
“Just stick with it,” Richardson said when asked what he told Ogletree after the drop. “He’s not going to catch every pass. I’m not going to throw a great ball every time. So, like I said, it’s the nature of the game. Whatever the game throws at you, you’ve got to just adjust and just play ball. He dropped the ball – so what. I don’t throw great passes all the time, so it is what it is. We’re going to get the next one.”
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Combine the disappointments from the offensive line and tight ends with a failure to get Jonathan Taylor going, not getting two feet inbounds on a dime from Richardson to Ashton Dulin, and continued miscommunication from AD Mitchell, the offense was a brutal mess.
Richardson did his best to take the blame after the game and not single anyone out, but the film does not lie. Michael Pittman Jr. (six catches for 96 yards) and Josh Downs (three catches for 27 yards) showed up to help their quarterback, but that was about it. The supporting cast has to be better.
“Just execution, dropped passes, delivery,” Richardson explained. “I could’ve thrown some better passes, especially the one to the left, to JD (Josh Downs) right there. But just execution, no penalties in the red zone and just finishing. We didn’t finish play calls that we did have. We just didn’t execute.”
The failure to execute and undisciplined penalties also falls on the coaching staff. Offensive line coach Tony Sparano Jr. and tight ends coach Tom Manning did not have their groups ready to play on Sunday. But the buck stops with head coach Shane Steichen, who must get his unit better prepared and ready to execute.
“Penalties hurt us. Starts with myself,” Steichen stated. “We’ve got to get those cleaned up. We had a season-high 10 penalties I believe for 75 yards – that’s on me. We can’t have that. We’ve got to play clean football going forward.”
Those who only look at the box score, did not watch the game, or are trying to push a narrative, will say that Richardson’s accuracy issues reared their ugly head yet again and it doomed the Colts. It is the same lazy analysis that the FOX halftime crew, particularly Michael Strahan, put forth at the break.
Those who know ball and watched the game know the group around Richardson failed him. They failed their quarterback by taking away opportunities or failing to convert plays that legitimately could have changed the course of the game. And when playing a team like the Lions, that cannot happen if you hope to win.
“We’ve just got to execute,” Richardson proclaimed. “We knew that was a great team right there, but they didn’t really do anything spectacular to beat us. They played that game the right way and we didn’t go out and execute the way we knew that we were supposed to.
“We let them throw a few penalties on us because (of) our discipline and our details. We’ve just got to keep playing, play complimentary football, keep the details the details, and keep trusting the process and just going out there and trying to find a way to win.”
The difference between a good team like the Lions and a lesser team like the Colts was evident yesterday. One was disciplined, executed, and took advantage of their opportunities. The other could not stop tripping over themselves.
The Colts are now 5-7 and seeing their playoff hopes dwindle by the week as they look more and more like a mediocre team yet again. Since Richardson’s return, he has been one of the few players contributing at a high enough level to win games. But football is a team sport, and one player cannot do it alone when his teammates are failing to hold up their end of the bargain.
Maybe it is time for accountability to be enforced at other positions too, not just the quarterback position.
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It’s Thanksgiving in Detroit and that means it’s a short week to get ready for Thursday’s game at Ford Field against the Chicago Bears.
The Lions have some new injuries they are dealing with from the Colts game, though Campbell seemed optimistic about a few of them. Montgomery (shoulder), Decker (knee, ankle), cornerback Carlton Davis III (knee) and wide receiver Kalif Raymond (foot) left the game.
Decker and Montgomery said afterward they could have returned and should be good to go Thursday. Davis was standing on his leg talking to reporters and said it felt pretty good, but imaging would determine more. Campbell seemed more concerned about Raymond’s injury after the game.
“I don’t know Chicago’s deal yet. I don’t know what they’re dealing with, but I’m sure they’ve got injuries,” Campbell said. “Everybody’s got them, and the league doesn’t care. They make the schedule, and we play this and we roll, you know?
“Seven days later we got Green Bay. So be it, man and that’s the way it rolls, and we’ll be ready. We’ll have our unit ready to go Thursday back home, Thanksgiving, division opponent, and we’ll be locked in and ready to roll.”
Detroit hasn’t won on Thanksgiving since 2016, and that’s a streak they are looking to end Thursday.
“We haven’t won on Thanksgiving in a while and that’s something we want to change,” Goff said.
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