Arkansas' rising 3rd graders will be first to be held back under new literacy standards

Arkansas' rising 3rd graders will be first to be held back under new literacy standards

A group of elementary schoolchildren take a test. A 2023 Arkansas law requires third graders who fail to meet literacy standards to be held back beginning with the 2025-26 school year, but the rules haven't been written yet. (Getty Images)Arkansas students entering the third grade at public schools and open enrollment charter schools this fall will be the first cohort to be retained if they don’t meet literacy expectations, a policy established …