Georgia Early Literacy Report
Every Georgia public school screens its kindergarten through third-grade readers three times a year. This is what the 2025–26 screeners showed across all 16 RESAs, and how the schools served by Let's Read, Georgia! literacy coaches moved compared with the rest.
- Schools
- 1,324
- School systems
- 223
- Served by LRG coaches
- 707 (53%)
- At risk, K–3, fall → spring
- 22.3% → 17.6%
Fewer students at risk by spring, in every grade
The share of students each school's screener flagged as at risk of not reaching grade-level reading, in the average Georgia school. Each grade counts the schools that reported it in all three screening windows.
- Kindergarten21.0%to14.6%−6.4 pts fall to spring1,236 schools
- Grade 121.2%to18.1%−3.1 pts fall to spring1,237 schools
- Grade 223.9%to19.3%−4.6 pts fall to spring1,237 schools
- Grade 322.9%to18.5%−4.4 pts fall to spring1,229 schools
| Measure (K–3) | Fall | Winter | Spring | Fall to spring |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| At risk — of not reaching grade-level reading | 22.3% | 19.5% | 17.6% | −4.7 pts |
| Support plan — needing a tiered reading support plan | 15.1% | 15.7% | 14.5% | −0.6 pts |
| Screened — of students screened | 96.0% | 96.2% | 95.9% | −0.1 pts |
Schools served by LRG coaches and the rest
Let's Read, Georgia! places regional literacy coaches in all 16 RESAs. In 2025–26 its coaches served 707 of the 1,324 schools here. Each line is the average school in its group.
Across kindergarten through third grade, the share of students at risk in the average LRG-served school fell 4.8 points (22.6% to 17.8%); in the average other school it fell 4.5 points (21.9% to 17.4%).
The widest difference is in kindergarten: LRG-served schools fell 8.1 points, other schools fell 4.7 points. Served schools started the year higher (22.5% against 19.4%) and finished at 14.4% against 14.7%.
Compared only with other schools in the same RESA, the kindergarten difference shrinks from 3.4 to 1.8 points, and served schools came out ahead (their share fell further or rose less) in 7 of the 13 RESAs with at least five schools on each side.
- Kindergarten% of students at risk, average school
- Grade 1% of students at risk, average school
- Grade 2% of students at risk, average school
- Grade 3% of students at risk, average school
| Grade | LRG-served (707) | Other schools (617) | Difference | Same RESA | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Spring | Change | Fall | Spring | Change | |||
| Kindergarten | 22.5% | 14.4% | −8.1 | 19.4% | 14.7% | −4.7 | −3.4 pts | −1.8 pts |
| Grade 1 | 20.7% | 18.1% | −2.6 | 21.8% | 18.1% | −3.7 | +1.1 pts | +0.8 pts |
| Grade 2 | 23.9% | 19.7% | −4.2 | 23.9% | 18.9% | −5.0 | +0.8 pts | +0.4 pts |
| Grade 3 | 23.3% | 19.0% | −4.3 | 22.4% | 17.9% | −4.5 | +0.2 pts | −0.9 pts |
| K–3 combined | 22.6% | 17.8% | −4.8 | 21.9% | 17.4% | −4.5 | −0.3 pts | −0.4 pts |
Difference is the served schools' change minus the other schools' change. Below zero, the share at risk fell further (or rose less) in LRG-served schools. Same RESA measures that difference only between schools in the same RESA, pooled across the RESAs with at least five schools on each side; most “other” schools statewide are in Metro, so it is the closer like-for-like comparison. Counts in the headings are all schools; each grade uses the schools that reported it in all three windows.
This compares two groups of schools; it does not isolate what coaching caused. The groups can differ before any coaching begins, and each school's “at risk” line is set by the screener it uses.
All 16 RESAs
Listed alphabetically. Select a RESA for its grades, its LRG comparison, and every school system in it.
| RESA | Schools | LRG-served | At risk, K–35–35% | Fall | Spring | Change | LRG difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Savannah River Area RESA | 65 | 37 | 18.7% | 22.0% | +3.3 | −5.6 | |
| Chattahoochee-Flint RESA | 49 | 27 | 28.8% | 21.0% | −7.8 | +1.7 | |
| Coastal Plains RESA | 43 | 37 | 18.6% | 14.2% | −4.4 | +3.3 | |
| First District RESA | 109 | 74 | 25.4% | 15.9% | −9.5 | −3.9 | |
| Griffin RESA | 78 | 70 | 20.6% | 20.6% | +0.0 | −1.5 | |
| Heart of Georgia RESA | 16 | 16 | 14.6% | 9.9% | −4.7 | — | |
| Metro RESA | 488 | 119 | 21.7% | 17.9% | −3.8 | −0.7 | |
| Middle Georgia RESA | 63 | 30 | 25.1% | 19.4% | −5.7 | −1.6 | |
| North Georgia RESA | 49 | 24 | 25.3% | 16.7% | −8.6 | −3.9 | |
| Northeast Georgia RESA | 65 | 57 | 20.3% | 16.8% | −3.5 | +0.7 | |
| Northwest Georgia RESA | 99 | 53 | 25.0% | 14.7% | −10.3 | +8.5 | |
| Oconee RESA | 12 | 10 | 19.1% | 16.6% | −2.5 | — | |
| Okefenokee RESA | 27 | 27 | 27.1% | 15.4% | −11.7 | — | |
| Pioneer RESA | 63 | 46 | 25.9% | 21.1% | −4.8 | +2.8 | |
| Southwest Georgia RESA | 44 | 36 | 19.6% | 19.6% | +0.0 | −9.7 | |
| West Georgia RESA | 54 | 44 | 14.9% | 11.6% | −3.3 | +2.4 |
FallSpringGeorgia, springAverage school, K–3 combined; change in percentage points. A dash means no school reported a grade in all three windows. LRG difference: served schools’ change minus other schools’; below zero means served schools came out ahead (their share fell further or rose less), blank where either group has fewer than five schools.
Which screeners schools used
Schools choose their screener from the State Board's approved list, and each product sets its own line for “at risk”. Read comparisons between RESAs with the mix in mind.
| RESA | Amira ISIP | i-Ready | Star | mCLASS DIBELS 8 | Other | Schools |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Savannah River Area RESA | 6% | 89% | 5% | — | — | 65 |
| Chattahoochee-Flint RESA | 18% | 6% | 71% | 4% | — | 49 |
| Coastal Plains RESA | 33% | 16% | 23% | 23% | 5% | 43 |
| First District RESA | 73% | 19% | 2% | 6% | — | 109 |
| Griffin RESA | 42% | 38% | 18% | 1% | — | 78 |
| Heart of Georgia RESA | 56% | 6% | 38% | — | — | 16 |
| Metro RESA | 65% | 28% | 4% | 2% | — | 488 |
| Middle Georgia RESA | 44% | 3% | 46% | 6% | — | 63 |
| North Georgia RESA | 39% | 6% | 47% | 8% | — | 49 |
| Northeast Georgia RESA | 43% | 31% | — | 26% | — | 65 |
| Northwest Georgia RESA | 69% | — | 15% | 16% | — | 99 |
| Oconee RESA | 58% | 42% | — | — | — | 12 |
| Okefenokee RESA | 33% | — | 67% | — | — | 27 |
| Pioneer RESA | 60% | 14% | 10% | 16% | — | 63 |
| Southwest Georgia RESA | 43% | 20% | 9% | 27% | — | 44 |
| West Georgia RESA | 69% | 4% | 28% | — | — | 54 |
| Georgia | 54% | 23% | 15% | 7% | <1% | 1,324 |
Each school counts once, under the screener it reported first; shares are of the schools that named one. Amira ISIP is the free screener the state provides; districts may choose any tool on the State Board's approved list.
About this data
Source
The Georgia Department of Education's universal screening report under the Georgia Early Literacy Act, covering screenings from 1 September 2025 to 1 June 2026, as shared with the RESAs (data as of 26 June 2026). Schools report at the 1 October, 1 February and 1 June cycles, shown here as fall, winter and spring. Figures are as each school reported them; a few spring submissions were still awaiting approval when the file was pulled.
The three measures
For each of kindergarten through grade 3, schools report the percentage of students screened, the percentage at risk of not achieving grade-level reading proficiency, and the percentage requiring a tiered reading support plan. “At risk” is defined by each screener, so the same child could land on either side of the line on a different product.
How the averages work
The report gives percentages, not student counts, so every figure is the average school: each school counts once, whatever its size. Fall-to-spring changes compare the same schools, those that reported a grade in all three windows. The 18 schools that changed screener products mid-year are left out of changes, since their fall and spring numbers come from different tests.
Which schools LRG served
The state report doesn't record this. It comes from Let's Read, Georgia!'s own copy of the report, where each served school is highlighted. A served-versus-other comparison is shown only where both groups have at least five schools.
What was left out
Schools that marked every K–3 field not applicable (alternative, virtual and residential programs) are not included. 19 schools are missing results for at least one window and drop out of fall-to-spring changes for the grades affected; each RESA's page names them. Brantley County's spring screening was waived after the wildfires. Clinch County Elementary appears under Okefenokee RESA; the state file lists it under Metro.
Georgia Milestones
The state report also carries third-grade Milestones reading columns, but they are filled in for too few schools to use. Third-grade Milestones results by school are on our Milestones dashboards for First District RESA.