At the time Georgia became involved in the PIRLS study a major educational reform project was running touching all aspects of Georgian general education. New curricula, syllabi, and textbooks were being introduced, new assessment and evaluation methods were implemented, new school management techniques disseminated, and a thorough revision of teacher training was undertaken. One of the activities carried out within the framework of this reform was a National Assessment effort administered in 2003 by the newly established National Examination Center and meant to provide a baseline for measuring the effectiveness of the reform. This study reconfirmed the serious need of extensive changes in teaching and learning in Georgia.One of the main elements of the National Assessment was assessing the level of reading literacy among 9-10 years old students. Results were alarming - serious problems were identified in the developmental stage of basic reading literacy.Obviously, when already in the first stage of learning it is hard for students to grab the main idea of a text, one is bound for even greater developmental difficulties at later stages. Moreover such deficiencies may become the cause of losing motivation and obstructive behavior. Therefore, designing and implementing instructional methods to improve reading comprehension were given high priority in the development of the new curriculum.PIRLS - Reform Indicator:Monitoring the effect of the reforms taking place in Georgian general education required precise indicators. PIRLS research provides a very good set of such indicators. As the 2003 National Assessment effort was based on the framework of PIRLS 2001 and released PIRLS items had been included in the tests, a comparison of results of the 2003 NA and PIRLS 2006 could be justified. Initial analysis of the outcomes of these two assessment efforts gives us the opportunity to discuss trends in the level of reading literacy among Georgian students. Methods of using detailed analyses of national results (statistical reliability of differences in means, correlation analysis, factor analysis) for obtaining indicators in the framework of the ongoing reform will be discussed in the presentation. PIRLS - Reform CatalystHow can the PIRLS research become a catalyst for the reform in our country? Our country strives to integrate into the international educational area, an indivisible part of which it was throughout the centuries. Therefore the outcomes of cross-cultural comparative studies, analyses of these outcomes and recommendations will play an important role in obtaining public support for the reform and help make the process adequate and efficient.During the presentation we would like to discuss findings and outcomes that indicate the importance of participation in international studies and the efficient use of research results and recommendations for a country which is conducting reforms in the field of education.