Utah leaders want to hold back third graders who aren’t on reading level. Here’s what you need to know.

“Who here likes to read?”

Small hands shot up across the Indian Hills Elementary School library, followed by excited chatter as the students shouted out their favorite books and series. “Percy Jackson & the Olympians” by Rick Riordan seemed to win a consensus.

Despite the students’ enthusiasm, though, Utah’s latest reading scores reveal a more sobering reality: About half of the state’s kindergarten through third grade kids can’t read at grade level, according to a new report from the University of Utah’s Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute.

And with less than a year remaining for Utah to reach its goal of 70% of third graders reading proficiently by 2027, state officials are looking to other states for solutions.

Particularly Mississippi, which has made significant progress since implementing the Literacy-Based Promotion Act in 2013. As part of that effort, Mississippi introduced a third‑grade retention policy – which means students who don’t meet reading proficiency levels repeat that school year. Senate President Stuart Adams says Utah is likely to adopt a similar rule this legislative session.

“There will be some focus on retention,” Adams told The Salt Lake Tribune last week during a legislative preview hosted by United Ways of Utah. “But it won’t be so much, hopefully, about retention as making sure none of them are retained.”

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox held a conference in Ogden focused on the topic earlier this month. “It’s not that we want to hold kids back,” he said. “It’s that we want them reading at a third grade level so we don’t have to hold them back.”

In 2012, then-Utah Gov. Gary Herbert had set a goal of having 90% of third graders reading on grade level by 2020. After the state did not hit that mark, Cox updated the goal to 70% by next year.

Here’s a breakdown of what parents and others need to know.

What happened in Mississippi and did it work?

Retention policies often center on third graders because that year marks a crucial moment in a child’s academic career and future success. In fourth grade, reading becomes the primary way students are expected to absorb information across all subjects, and those who have not mastered it risk falling behind.

But retention was just one piece of a complicated puzzle that propelled Mississippi from from 49th to ninth place nationally for fourth grade reading over the course of about a decade. The state also aligned its curriculum, expanded statewide coaching, provided sustained professional learning and invested in early screening and intervention.

Retention “was not even the main player” in Mississippi’s approach, said Seung-Hee Claire Son, an associate professor of educational psychology at the University of Utah.

“The ‘Mississippi Miracle’ is a great slogan, but I think we can see that it’s not as simple as just retention,” she said. “… Let’s remember that it’s so complicated. We may not see miracles here.”

Son leads the EARLY Lab at the U. The name stands for Early Assistance of Reading and Literacy in Youngsters Lab , and her research focuses on early childhood development with literacy and language.

It was easier for Mississippi to move up, since it started at the bottom nationwide, Son said. It will take more time to show if the growth it’s seen is sustained, she noted.

“There is a lot of debate about the data Mississippi has presented,” Son said, based on the inability to separate out the impact of different policies.

Tiffany Hall, executive director of teaching and learning for the Salt Lake City School District, echoed Son’s concerns.

Holding back a student to repeat more of the same is ineffective, Hall said, and retention can be a helpful only when students’ individual needs are being identified and addressed.

Mississippi is one of at least 17 states that require third graders be held back if they don’t score on grade level in end-of-year tests, according to a report from the Education Commission of the States, a nonprofit that studies state education policies.

What does retention look like in Utah now?

The Utah Legislature has at least twice in the past considered holding third graders back who aren’t proficient in reading. Both times, in 2006 and 1987, the measures failed.

Utah’s education laws and policies have long put the parent first. And, currently, this area is no different.

State law considers it the responsibility of parents to ask if they want their child to be held back a year. Under Utah’s “parental right to academic accommodations, the state “is in a secondary and supportive role to the parent.”

A school or school district needs to “reasonably accommodate” a request from a parent, based on the student’s “academic ability or the student’s social, emotional, or physical maturity” in kindergarten through grade 8.

It’s unclear how often that happens, though. The Utah State Board of Education says it does not track how often students are held back a year.

Hall said each school district has its own processes. At Salt Lake City District, parents must initiate the request, but a committee examines a number of factors before coming to a recommendation.

“Parents always have the final say,” she added.

And there is no statewide reading benchmark that would automatically trigger someone being held back — which Cox and state lawmakers are now proposing.

What are the concerns with holding students back?

There should be carve-outs and exceptions for students with disabilities, said Julie Clark, K-12 English language arts coordinator with the Utah State Board of Education.

“That is not putting them in the best situation by retaining them,” Clark said.

She also noted that additional resources and funding would be needed, given the sheer number of third grade students who would be retained if a law took effect immediately.

There’s also social stigma — students might be bullied if classmates think they’re not as smart, or if they’re older than their peers in the classroom.

Cox said during his conference: “I think there’s a way we can do it that treats kids and families with dignity and respect.” He didn’t specify what that might look like.

In her research, Son said she’s seen the potential for students held back to lose friendships and connections with their classmates. She also said that it can be a “huge event” in a student’s life that makes them feel incompetent.

Automatically holding a student back doesn’t take into account the individual needs of a kid, she added. Some kids might only need a few more months of instruction to get on grade level and don’t need to repeat the entire year.

Data on reading levels points pretty heavily to socioeconomic status as the No. 1 reason that students fall behind, she said. Those from lower-income families often have parents who work and don’t have as much time to spend with their child on reading; those households often have less access to books. And in rural communities, there aren’t always nearby libraries.

She worries that could be further stigmatizing in a school if only poorer kids are held back and those with money can move forward.

What other interventions are there?

Interventions work best when multiple efforts are applied together, Son said. Intensive summer school programs, for instance, can help those who have fallen behind, as well as after-school programs.

Support from paraprofessionals and part-time reading coaches can also help bolster what happens in the classroom. Training provided to educators under earlier legislation is great, too, she said. “All of those things make a difference,” she said.

She also stressed that interventions have to start before third grade. “If we really want to help them, we need to help earlier, before they fail,” Son said.

Kindergarten and first grade are where students first learn to read, and those years are pivotal. Parents can also do more at home with their young kids, including reading them to them and talking to them to develop oral skills.

One thing that’s complicated, Son noted, is that Utah doesn’t require students to attend kindergarten. And many who choose to attend end up taking only a half-day class, so there’s not much time for reading.

Hall also emphasized the importance of school libraries and librarians who know their students. Simply having materials that interest students can have a significant impact, she said.

For instance, she said, a couple years ago students at Indian Hills Elementary took an interest in “Nancy Drew,” a series about a teenage detective.

“None of my other schools were reading ‘Nancy Drew,’” Hall said. “They all sent their ‘Nancy Drew’ books over here because they were getting checked out like there was no tomorrow.”

What steps has Utah already taken to improve student reading levels?

In 2022, the Utah Legislature passed SB127, which required that all schools and school districts adopt science of reading curriculum and intervention programs.

The measure, sponsored by Sen. Ann Millner, R-Ogden, also provided grant funding of about $19 million over two years — which districts could seek to provide professional training for their teachers.

One option was a two-year program called Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling, or LETRS, based on research and designed to improve the literacy instruction skills of educators.

More than 10,500 Utah educators completed all of the LETRS learning sessions, an update in September 2024 showed.

Hall said every K-3 teacher, and some principals and administrators, in the Salt Lake City School District has LETRS training, which she considers one of the most effective tools for combatting low literacy rates.

The state also used about $12 million in federal dollars allocated during the COVID pandemic to support that training. And SB127 funded 32 state literacy coaches, according to the Legislature.

Now, Millner said, “phase two is accelerating the work.”

How can parents get involved?

Tami Austin, a librarian in the Salt Lake County Library System who also spoke at the governor’s Ogden conference, said libraries are a good resource for families who might not know where to start.

Most libraries offer story times that incorporate talking, singing, reading, writing and playing. All of those elements are important, and parents can use it as a model for what to do at home. And for those who may not be able to make it, there are also story times hosted on Zoom.

Sydnee Dickson, the former state superintendent, also applauded that under SB127 there was a provision to send out books to families and provide additional funds for the schools serving the most low-income students to buy extra books. “Access is everything,” she said.

Hall said that families, especially one-parent households, are extremely busy. Some work multiple jobs to make ends meet.

“Raising kids that are readers, it’s hard,” she said. “You have to make choices as a parent that are around prioritizing sitting down, reading to them, talking to them.”

She said reading one book a day can make a difference. “It doesn’t matter what language you’re reading to your kids in,” Hall said. “What matters is that you’re reading.”

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