Georgia educators rolling out literacy improvement steps

ATLANTA — The state Department of Education (DOE) laid the groundwork for the Georgia Early Literacy Act during the past school year.

Now, it’s time to implement legislation the General Assembly passed last year aimed at improving the quality of early reading instruction, Amy Denty, the DOE’s literacy director, told members of the Georgia Council on Literacy Monday.

The work got underway this summer with a requirement that all Georgia students in kindergarten through the third grade be screened for reading proficiency by Aug. 1, Denty said during the council’s meeting on the campus of Georgia College & State University in Milledgeville.

Under House Bill 538, which the legislature passed with only one “no” vote, students who are identified as falling behind in reading will receive an individual reading improvement plan within 30 days of being identified followed by intensive reading intervention until they catch up.

“The more quickly we can determine a child’s deficit, the quicker we can intervene,” Denty said.

The legislation also contains a teacher training component. By next July, the bill requires all K-3 teachers to complete a state-approved literacy training program. The emphasis will be on “the science of reading” — a method of literacy instruction that draws on evidence from psychology and neuroscience and includes phonics.

“Teaching reading is the most complex thing we do in our schools,” Denty said. “We are placing a lot on the plates of our teachers. (But) I believe our teachers can step up to this.”

Legislative Republicans made improving literacy in Georgia a major priority of their agenda for the 2023 General Assembly session, citing statistics showing not a single school district in the state had an acceptable percentage of third-grade students reading on level.

The news got worse this year. The 2023-24 Georgia Milestones test results released last month showed English/language arts proficiency declined by one point among the state’s third graders.

Allison Timberlake, the DOE’s deputy superintendent for assessment and accountability, attributed the decline to lingering effects of the pandemic, when many schools were closed and students were forced to rely on online instruction.