For years, state education officials and stakeholders have stressed the importance of reading comprehension by the third grade. They point to studies that show that students who cannot read proficiently at their grade level by the end of third grade are four times more likely than their proficient counterparts to drop out of high school, regardless of poverty or parent or caregiver education status, and are more likely to experience long-term behavioral and mental health issues.
In Georgia, where in 2019, only one-third of fourth graders could read at or above proficient levels in the National Assessment of Educational Progress, lawmakers and educational leaders hope to address this issue. During the 2022 legislative session, members of the General Assembly passed House Resolution 650, which created the House Study Committee on Literacy Instruction. The committee is ready to go to work with the appointment of state Rep. Matt Dubnik, R-Gainesville, as chairman.
“A child’s ability to read is pivotal to their academic success, but the pandemic’s lasting effects continue to plague Georgia’s reading levels,” said Dubnik. “I look forward to developing legislative recommendations that will help secure the best and brightest futures for Georgia children.”
This study committee will examine the extent of different programs across the state that provide literacy instruction to Georgians of all ages. The study committee will also determine policy and legislative recommendations to help improve coordination and expand these effective programs, as well as recommend changes to the state’s educational standards to support evidence-based instruction. The study committee will conclude its work and submit legislative recommendations ahead of the 2023 legislative session, which will begin in January.
According to HR 650 “Georgia’s economic well-being depends on a skilled workforce, who must be able to read proficiently to perform current jobs and to upgrade skills for new jobs as the labor market changes; and COVID-19 accelerated automation by five years, two-thirds of Georgia’s workers have a high school diploma or less, and 45 percent of the workforce are at risk for unemployment, highlighting the need for workers to be able to upgrade skills to meet changing demands.”
The bipartisan study committee also includes state Reps. Demetrius Douglas, D-Stockbridge, Chris Erwin, R-Homer, Becky Evans, D-Atlanta, and Matt Gambill, R-Cartersville, as well as Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning Commissioner Amy Jacobs, Georgia Department of Education Deputy Superintendent Tiffany Taylor, and representatives of the Technical College System of Georgia and the University System of Georgia.
“Georgia’s troubling literacy rates have only been exacerbated by the pandemic, and we are still finding out how much it has impacted students. I look forward to developing policy recommendations that will bring new evidence-based literacy instruction into Georgia classrooms,” said Douglas.
