Reading Matters To Maine is a small but growing group of Maine parents, educators, advocates, and academics who know that the failure of our children to learn to read is a national crisis. In Maine alone, according to current state and national assessments, almost 30 percent of third graders are failing to attain “adequate yearly progress.” The percentage is much higher for at-risk Maine readers (English language learners, students of poverty, students with language-based learning disabilities). We cannot afford to lose these students to functional illiteracy. We know how to teach 95% of children to learn to read. We must do this.