FRANKFORT, Ky. — The Interim Joint Committee on Education received an update Tuesday on literacy outcomes showing Kentucky students are recovering faster than most states from COVID-19 disruptions, state education officials told lawmakers.

According to the Education Scorecard, a collaboration between Harvard University, Stanford University and Dartmouth College, Kentucky students ranked fifth among 35 states in reading recovery and eighth among 38 states in math recovery between 2022 and 2025, said Micki Marinelli, the Kentucky Department of Education's chief academic officer.

"It does put us as a top performer across the nation," Marinelli said during the meeting. "After the pandemic, most states saw an improvement or a rebound in math achievement relatively quickly. But we are just now beginning to see in 2025 the turnaround for reading."

The reading recovery appears directly tied to the Read to Succeed Act, which became law in 2022, Marinelli said. All states that improved in reading between 2022 and 2025 were implementing comprehensive "science of reading" reforms, according to the scorecard report.

The Read to Succeed Act advanced several initiatives to enhance literacy outcomes, including Kentucky Reading Academies with LETRS—Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling—professional learning for educators. A recent analysis found that schools with more LETRS-trained teachers experienced stronger growth in the share of students reaching proficiency and a greater reduction of novice-level readers.

With more than 7,000 educators and administrators participating, the findings reinforce LETRS as a powerful, no-cost professional learning opportunity. Schools above average in LETRS participation saw a 4.26% increase in proficient readers, compared to 2.9% in schools below average.

The KDE also plans to launch a repository of high-quality instructional resources to reduce cost variability and increase approved reading and writing materials across school districts, Marinelli said.

Rep. Kevin Jackson, R-Bowling Green, praised the collaborative approach. "I don't think I've ever seen any other initiative that's had the collaboration between the legislature, KDE, the school systems, the whole nine yards, parents, everybody," Jackson said.

However, Rep. Steve Bratcher, R-Elizabethtown, cautioned that the rankings reflect improvement rather than absolute performance. "We rank fifth in the improvement," he said, noting Kentucky was not at pre-pandemic levels in all areas.