Montgomery County third graders who do not meet reading standards could be held back a grade starting in the 2027-28 school year under a state literacy policy that MCPS Superintendent Thomas Taylor addressed during a school visit Friday, Aug. 28.

Schools cannot make the retention decision without communicating with parents through multiple channels, according to the state policy guidelines posted by MCPS. No child repeats third grade without parent consent.

State Superintendent Carey Wright toured Odessa Shannon Middle School in Silver Spring on Friday as part of a first-week visit to Montgomery County schools. Wright told reporters the priority was clear: "High expectations, and I think that's the name of the game."

Taylor said the district was preparing for the state's retention requirements. On the first day of school, Aug. 25, he said the district was focused on parent communication, as Bethesda Magazine reported. "We are very intentionally planning on how we communicate with parents about their child's literacy and mathematics performance," Taylor said. "That's going to be absolutely essential moving ahead."

What Potomac families should know

The policy rolls out in stages. According to MCPS, teachers began training on Science of Reading methods in the 2024-25 school year. This school year, parents of struggling readers will start receiving notifications. Universal reading screeners will be given three times a year, in fall, winter and spring.

The reading-based promotion decision takes effect in 2027-28. Potomac-area elementary schools in the Churchill and Wootton clusters, including Beverly Farms, Cold Spring, Wayside, Travilah and Burning Tree, fall under the policy.

CKLA curriculum had 'bumpy start' but gains expected

Separately, Taylor offered a candid assessment of the district's reading curriculum. Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA) is now in its third year for kindergarten through fifth grade and its second year in middle school. The middle school rollout included more novels and paper-and-pencil exercises.

Taylor called the middle school launch "a bumpy start because it introduced new, higher expectations for students." He expects results. "I think it's positioned us well for some big gains," he said Friday.

The Science of Reading approach emphasizes phonics, vocabulary, fluency and comprehension over older methods that relied on strategies like guessing words from pictures, according to the MCPS policy page.

On the first day of school, Taylor framed literacy as central to the year's theme. "I see literacy as a civil right," he said at James Hubert Blake High School in Silver Spring, according to Bethesda Magazine's first-day coverage. "Our kids need to have strong literacy skills and strong numeracy skills in order to be future ready."

No Board of Education meeting specifically addressing the retention policy or CKLA progress has been announced. The next scheduled board session, Oct. 8, focuses on school closures and boundary changes.