Revised school plan would give parents some choice in making children repeat third grade

Parents would be able to let their children advance to the fourth grade, even if they failed to meet reading standards that would otherwise lead to them being held back, under a proposed revision to the state’s controversial literacy program. The change, reviewed Tuesday by the state Board of Education, comes as parents and advocates have filed nearly 1,000 comments in response to the literacy plan unveiled last month, and its proposal to retain third graders who are not reading at level.