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Mandatory retention will no longer be required under Ohio鈥檚 Third Grade Reading Guarantee.

A parent will now be able to request a student be promoted to fourth grade 鈥� even if they are not reading at grade level, according to the state budget that Gov. Mike DeWine recently signed.

Now a student鈥檚 parents must consult with the reading teacher and principal before a decision is made, and the student would continue to receive reading intervention until they are reading at grade level 鈥� something educators see as a win.

鈥淲e think it鈥檚 a very positive step forward to return decision making regarding how best to serve students who might need extra support in reading to the parents and educators who know those kids best,鈥� said Ohio Education Association President Scott DiMauro.

The Third Grade Reading Guarantee was enacted in 2012 and requires third graders pass a reading test to advance to fourth grade.

鈥淏ecause there was so much pressure put on those tests, that created a whole lot of test anxiety for kids,鈥� DiMauro said.

A do not meet the Third Grade Reading Guarantee鈥檚 promotion threshold, according to the Ohio Department of Education.

About 1% of third grade students did not meet the promotion threshold for the 2021-22 school year; 1.38% for the 2020-21 school year; 1% for the 2019-20 school year; 5% for the 2018-19 school year; 5% for the 2017-18 school year; 6.1% for the 2016-17 school year; and 6.6% for the 2015-16 school year.

Melissa Kmetz, a third grade teacher in Lakeview Local Schools in Trumbull County, thinks changing the retention piece of the Third Grade Reading Guarantee will ultimately better help students struggling with reading.

鈥淎llowing parents, teachers and administrators to sit together and look at multiple data points, student testing anxiety and looking at an array of features together, will really help a family and the school make a decision that鈥檚 in the best interest of the child,鈥� she said.

Educators said providing early reading intervention and additional support for students who may be struggling to read would be more helpful then holding them back.

鈥淟et鈥檚 not put 100% of the focus on one test on one day,鈥� DiMauro said. 鈥淟et鈥檚 allow the people that know our children best and can see how they perform throughout the year with the autonomy to make decisions about what鈥檚 in the best interest of the kids.鈥�

Kmetz has seen how the Third Grade Reading Guarantee hangs like a dark cloud over students and parents all year long.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a lot of stress on little kiddos,鈥� she said. 鈥淚s it just anxiety across the board. 鈥� It鈥檚 just sad to see so much pressure put on a little child about one test when it doesn鈥檛 need to be that way.鈥�

She鈥檚 had parents email her the night before the test saying how their child is so nervous they are crying, and she鈥檚 seen strong students who are poor test takers stress over the exam. Third graders also worry about their friends passing the test and being able to go to fourth grade together.

鈥淚 understand that they want to make sure the kids aren鈥檛 too far behind before moving to fourth grade, which I completely agree with, but just basing it on one test is not the way to do it,鈥� Kmetz said.

Karen Carney, a fourth grade teacher in Northeast Ohio, remembers overhearing students stress over the Third Grade Reading Guarantee during the first year of implementation.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 such a burden for an eight and nine-year-old to have to carry and worry about,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t was almost like you鈥檙e setting these kids up to fail. 鈥� you鈥檙e just totally destroying them. 鈥� You cannot judge a student on one moment in time.鈥�

Retention can have lifelong consequences, Kmetz said.

鈥淜ids really internalize that and they tie their worth and their intelligence to being able to pass a test,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just a vicious cycle.鈥�

is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Ohio Capital Journal maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor David DeWitt for questions: info@ohiocapitaljournal.com. Follow Ohio Capital Journal on and .

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