Students learn to read by the end of third grade so that they can “read to learn” in 4th grade and beyond. Success in school and life is dependent on a solid foundation of reading skills that will continue to be honed as students progress though school. Research has shown that students who cannot read proficiently by the end of third grade are four times more likely than proficient students to drop out of school before earning a diploma. Students who fall behind in reading between kindergarten and third grade (the early grades) are unlikely to catch up to their peers, and the gap between struggling and proficient readers only tends to grow over time.