Paul L. Thomas comments on third grade retention in The Post and Courier

Because of a 2024 law that retooled South Carolina’s elementary literacy education system, the state saw a threefold increase in the number of students who had to repeat third grade in 2024-2025 compared to the previous year due to low reading scores. While test scores tend to improve for students the second time in third grade, lasting impact is in question, and the practice of holding back students has other repercussions, reports The Post and Courier.

Furman University’s Paul L. Thomas weighed in on the value of reading assessments. Thomas, a longtime public school educator and professor of education, said standardized test outcomes are highly correlated with out-of-school variables like race and income, and students should not bear the negative consequences of repeating a grade. “It’s just punishing them for our negligence,” he said. Instead of holding students back, Thomas said the focus should shift to addressing poverty and homelessness.