The Florida Department of Education announced Friday that 58 percent of third-graders scored a 3 or higher on testing that determines whether or not they will be promoted to the next grade. That's four percentage points higher than in 2016.
The third grade test is important because it is one of the main factors used to determine if a student should be promoted to the 4th grade.
More than 228,000 third graders took the language arts portion of the Florida Standards Assessment.
A group of parents last year sued the state after their children were held back because they "opted out" of the reading test.
That legal challenge is now pending before the Florida Supreme Court.