Lawmakers push plan to lift Georgia’s lagging literacy rates 

A majority of Georgia’s third graders – 62% – are not reading proficiently, according to the Georgia Council on Literacy.

That’s a big deal because research suggests reading proficiency at this age is a major predictor of future success, with kids who cannot read well by third grade four times as likely to drop out of school before getting their diploma.

Third grade marks the transition point between learning to read and reading to learn, said Mindy Binderman, executive director of the Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students, a nonprofit supporting early learning.