Bittersweet Students Achieve 95.9% Pass Rate on 2026 IREAD

Bittersweet Elementary students continued their strong literacy performance on the 2026 IREAD assessment, with 95.9% of students passing.

Bittersweet’s pass rate is 7.2 percentage points above Indiana’s statewide passing rate of 88.7% and is one of five Penn-Harris-Madison elementary schools to achieve a passing rate of 95% or higher.

The school’s 95.9% passing rate also maintained Bittersweet’s strong performance from 2025, when 95.9% of students passed.

Across P-H-M, 94.7% of students passed IREAD in 2026, 6 percentage points higher than the state average. 

“These results are a reflection of the incredible dedication of our teachers, the hard work of our students, and the partnership of our families,” said Superintendent Dr. Heather Short.

P-H-M continues to prioritize research-based literacy instruction aligned with the Science of Reading, providing educators with professional learning, instructional resources, and opportunities to collaborate around student data and effective instructional practices.

P-H-M also administers IREAD to all second grade students, providing educators and families with an early indicator of whether students are on track to read proficiently by the end of third grade. In 2026, an impressive 72.1% of P-H-M second graders passed IREAD a year early.

Bittersweet’s results reflect P-H-M’s continued commitment to building on a culture of academic excellence and ensuring students develop the foundational literacy skills necessary for continued academic growth.

By the Numbers

• 95.9% — Bittersweet 2026 IREAD pass rate
• 7.2 percentage points — Bittersweet performance above the state average
• 94.7% — P-H-M corporation-wide pass rate
• 88.7% — Indiana statewide pass rate
• 72.1% — P-H-M second graders passing IREAD