I was in New Orleans at AERA yesterday, but learned of one of the more interesting studies presented after returning home and reading through my blog list. This summary of the AERA paper by Donald J. Hernandez indicates that reading proficiency by the end of third grade offers remarkable predictions of differences in eventual graduation rates. I tell my class that 4th grade is the pivot between learning to read and reading to learn which turns out to be the same point made in this paper. Poor reading skills contribute to a general slide in performance as students are expected to learn from information sources. The detrimental effect of being behind in third grade is larger for the children of poverty. Put another way, as I understand the core argument of the paper – reading proficiency can negate other typical challenges to success.