This is information on Arizona’s Move on When Reading (MOWR) legislation and the importance it places on your child’s ability to read at or above grade level by the end of 3rd grade.  Arizona Revised Statute §15-701 states that if a student scores below the cut score on the reading portion of the 3rd grade AzMERIT exam, he/she will not be promoted to the 4th grade until sufficient progress is made to demonstrate that the student is reading proficiently. 

There are four exemptions to retention in ARS §15-701. In accordance with the law, a school district governing board or the governing body of a charter school is permitted to promote a student who fails to meet the cut score on the reading portion of the 3rd grade AzMERIT exam for any of the four following reasons: 

• A third grade student is an English Language Learner or is Limited English Proficient and has received fewer than two years of English instruction; or 

• A  third grade student with disabilities has an individualized education plan (IEP), and the IEP team, which includes the student’s parent/guardian, agrees that promotion is appropriate; or

• A third grade student is in the process of a special education referral or evaluation for placement in special education and/or students that have been diagnosed as having a significant reading impairment, including dyslexia; or

• A third grade student has demonstrated or subsequently demonstrates sufficient reading skills or adequate progress towards sufficient reading skills of the 3rd grade reading standards as evidenced through a collection of reading assessments approved by the State Board.  

Additional information about Arizona’s Move on When Reading legislation can be obtained at www.azed.gov/mowr.