EBR Schools K-3 Reading Proficiency Jumps 14 Points

East Baton Rouge Parish schools ended the 2025-26 school year with 62% of kindergarten through third-grade students reading on or above grade level, up from 48% at the start of the year.

Kindergarteners showed the most dramatic progress, jumping from 36% to 64% proficiency. First-graders improved from 50% to 62%, second-graders from 54% to 61%, and third-graders from 54% to 63%.

Superintendent LaMont Cole credited the gains to investments in evidence-based literacy instruction, high-quality materials, targeted intervention and educator training rooted in the Science of Reading. Teachers used real-time data from state literacy screeners to identify student needs and track progress throughout the year.

Louisiana requires all public school students in grades K-3 to complete literacy screeners that measure skills predictive of future reading success. Nearly every school in the EBR district showed growth from fall to spring.