State Rep. Cathy Joy Loy, a Republican from Carthage, said her bill to automatically retain third-graders in Missouri who are struggling to read is a “chokehold” to “stop the bleeding of kids who don’t read.”
But speaking to the Senate Education Committee on Tuesday morning, school administrators said literacy rates are showing improvement after three years of the state implementing a teacher training program in phonics-based reading instruction. They say Loy’s bill could disrupt that dynamic.
“We are seeing progress,” Taneyville School District Superintendent Brandi Turner said. “However, meaningful and systemic change requires time, consistency and sustained support.”
In 2022, state lawmakers passed one bill mandate “evidence-based reading instruction” with interventions for struggling readers. In response, the state’s department of education came forward “Read, Lead, Excel” Initiativewith resources for educators and teacher training programs. In three years, more than 10,000 educators have completed the training.
Turner said lawmakers should “allow time for full implementation” of the 2022 law.
“Memorization does not address the root cause of dyslexia,” she said. “It simply delays progression without ensuring improved outcomes. While the goal is to support struggling readers, the approach itself does not overcome the underlying challenges students face.”
Many states became interested in mandatory student retention after Mississippi adopted the policy in 2013 as part of a larger literacy law.
As of 2013, Mississippi fourth grade reading scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress have improved from 49th nationally to ninth. Educators have seen the data as at least indicative of short-term benefits for students, but it is harder to discern whether the policy will lead to long-term success.
While Mississippi’s fourth-grade scores have skyrocketed over the past decade, eighth-graders have made more modest progress. In 2013, the state scored 50th on the 8th grade reading assessment, compared to 41st in 2024.
Troy Lentz, superintendent of the Mexico School District, told the committee he did not see enough evidence that making students repeat third grade would help them in the long term. He worries about students who are good at some subjects but struggle with reading.
“There are things that kids are good at but they can’t improve (if they hold back),” he said. “I believe our schools provide intensive reading support for students who are behind.”
But for the committee chairman, state Sen. Rick Brattin, a Republican from Harrisonville, moving struggling readers into fourth grade is “a recipe for disaster.”
“Transferring them is not a help or a benefit or anything,” he said. “In my view, it would probably lead to more disastrous results.”
Craig Carson, assistant superintendent of learning for the Ozark School District, said student retention remains an option for the student’s guardian to decide.
“We look at the whole child and help parents decide if this is a good idea,” he said. “Sometimes that’s the best idea and when that happens I’m all for it.”
“I don’t think mandatory activation is good,” he added.
As it stands, the bill would automatically retain students who score “at risk” on a reading test taken at the end of third grade. Students with disabilities, English learners, and those who have been held back once may qualify for a waiver.
Otto Fajen, legislative policy director for the Missouri National Education Association, said the bill should “at least” include options for students to enroll in a program like tutoring or summer school to avoid being forced to repeat a grade.
“It is difficult for us to see the law changing to remove parental autonomy in these placement decisions,” he said. “Especially since, as it stands, it will essentially be based on just a single event point.”
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