N. Carolina third-graders struggling to meet reading goals

Far fewer North Carolina third-graders in public schools have demonstrated reading proficiency, compared to before the COVID-19 pandemic. State educators say the finding is troubling and needs to be urgently addressed. A report presented this week to the State Board of Education showed 31% of third-graders had not met promotion standards. That means these students are either repeating third grade this fall or receiving specific kinds of fourth-grade class instruction. The past school year was marked by limited in-person instruction due to the pandemic. A new law this year is designed to improve the state's reading proficiency efforts.