Many Ohio Third Graders Not Ready For Fourth Grade Says Test

The state’s education superintendent says a substantial number of third graders have failed Ohio’s reading test and are in jeopardy of being held back because they don’t meet state standards. Education Superintendent Richard Ross will release detailed third-grade test results Friday. He said earlier this week that a third of third-graders taking the Ohio Achievement Assessment test failed to reach the proficiency standard. Under a new state law a student must score at least 392 on the test. If not, he or she is ineligible to move on to the fourth grade. The achievement assessment test is given at least twice a year – once in the fall and again in the spring. An education department spokesman says fall results typically “are not greatâ€? but they always improve in the spring because the student has had several more months of instruction. Ohio Achievement Assessment results will be posted on the state education department website.