Preventing Literacy Gaps Before 3rd Grade: What the NAEP Results Mean for Early Learning

Christina Taylor-Donovan
Feb 6
3 min read

Only 32% of fourth graders in Georgia are reading at or above proficiency. That means nearly 7 out of 10 kids are behind before they even hit middle school.

2024 NAEP Georgia Reading Results — Source: 2024 NAEP Reading Assessment – Georgia Results

We’ve all heard the conversations:

“Third-grade reading scores are alarming.”
“We need stronger interventions.”
“How do we close the literacy gap?”

But here’s the truth no one talks about: Literacy gaps don’t start in third grade. They start long before a child ever sets foot in a classroom. So why are we waiting until they struggle to do something about it?

The Problem: We’re Reacting Instead of Preventing

The latest NAEP reading scores confirm what educators have been seeing for years: the system is reactive, not proactive. According to the 2024 NAEP results, reading scores have dropped to a 30-year low nationally, and only 32% of Georgia’s fourth graders are reading at or above grade level.

Right now, schools are focused on remediation—addressing reading struggles after they’ve already formed. Millions are spent on intervention programs that try to close the gaps that have been widening for years. But by the time a child is flagged as “struggling,” they’re already years behind.

The Missing Piece: Parent Engagement & Early Intervention

We constantly discuss building teacher capacity, but what about parents? Parents are their child’s first teacher, and the early years (ages 4-8) are when literacy skills begin to develop—or falter.

📌 FACT: Children with engaged parents are twice as likely to meet reading benchmarks by third grade. Yet, most parents don’t have access to the same knowledge about phonological awareness, phonics, and decoding skills that educators do. These are the foundational skills that predict reading success.

This is where PAIR Program comes in.

The PAIR Program Approach: Prevention Over Remediation

At PAIR Program, we’re not just filling gaps—we’re preventing them from forming in the first place. We don’t just tell parents to “read to their child”—we equip them with the same powerful literacy strategies once reserved for classrooms. Here’s how:

✅ Phonological Awareness Strategies: Helping children understand the sounds in words is the foundation of reading success.

✅ Practical, Research-Based Activities: Parents get tools they can easily integrate into daily routines.

✅ Focus on Early Intervention: This approach is all about prevention, not remediation. We empower parents to start before the gaps appear.

Why does this matter? Because literacy isn’t just a school issue—it’s a home-to-school partnership. And when parents are equipped early, we’re not just closing gaps—we’re preventing them from forming in the first place.

NAEP Data and the Urgency for Change

The 2024 NAEP data shows that reading proficiency is declining. But instead of only investing in interventions and remediation, what if we put resources into early prevention? What if we empowered parents to become partners in literacy—starting before their child enters school?

PAIR Program is that missing link. By building parent capacity, we’re changing the approach from reactive to proactive—because the best way to address a literacy gap is to stop it from forming.

A New Approach: Parents as Literacy Leaders

The key to lasting change is early intervention and parent engagement. We know that literacy gaps don’t start in third grade—they start at home, in the critical early years. That’s where parents come in.

PAIR Program equips families with strategies for:

Phonological awareness (understanding sounds in words)
Phonics and decoding (mapping sounds to letters)
Building literacy-rich environments at home

The Time for a New Approach is Now

The NAEP reading scores highlight an urgent need for change. We can’t keep waiting until children are struggling. It’s time for a new approach—one that includes parents as active partners in literacy development.