In a recent episode of Independence Institute’s Learning Curve education podcast, Erin Brantley and Ross Izard look at Mississippi’s dramatic improvement in public school reading achievement and whether Colorado can apply similar strategies to boost literacy outcomes through the state’s READ Act.
Mississippi shot from 49th nationally in fourth-grade reading proficiency in 2013 to ninth in 2024. The hosts credit much of that success to the state’s Literacy-Based Promotion Act, combining science-based reading instruction, early identification of struggling readers, targeted interventions, and, when necessary, requiring students who fall short of reading benchmarks to repeat third grade before advancing.
Compare that with Colorado’s READ Act, based primarily on early screening, individualized reading plans, and intervention rather than mandatory retention. Only about 42 percent of Colorado third graders meet the grade-level reading benchmark, despite more than a decade of the Act, and over than $40 million in annual spending.
Brantley and Izard argue that successful literacy programs depend on school priorities, and accountability at the local level, noting Colorado’s constitutional commitment to local control of education gives school districts broad authority over instructional decisions, making statewide third-grade retention mandate more difficult to implement than in states like Mississippi.
You can see the entire episode on You Tube here, or watch it below.
