Mississippi Superintendent And Governor At Odds About Whether To Increase Standards For Third Grade Reading Test. The AP (9/14, Amy) reports Mississippi Superintendent of Education Carey Wright wants to increase the minimum score required on the third grade reading test before students can advance to fourth grade, but Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant says such a change should only happen gradually and with additional funding to support schools and educators. The Mississippi DOE says that 8% of last year’s third graders did not pass the reading test after three attempts, but that a much smaller percentage are repeating the third grade because many students who failed the test got exemptions. Wright says increasing the standard to pass the test will ensure that students will only move on to fourth grade when they have the necessary reading skills.