Read to Succeed
On June 11, 2014, Governor Haley signed into law Act 284 (Read to Succeed). The purpose of this piece of legislation is to improve literacy rates of the students in South Carolina and put in place a comprehensive system of support to ensure SC students graduate on time with the literacy skills they need to be successful in college, careers and citizenship. Act 284 provides for a strong assessment and intervention system for kindergarten through twelfth grade with a goal of all students becoming proficient readers by the end of third grade.
Third Grade Retention
The Read to Succeed law requires that, beginning with the 2017-2018 school year, a student must be retained in the third grade if the student fails to demonstrate reading proficiency at the end of third grade as indicated by scoring at the lowest achievement level on the state summative reading assessment SC READY. A student may be exempt for good cause from the mandatory retention but shall continue to receive instructional support and services and reading intervention appropriate for their age and reading level.
Summer Reading Camp
One of the many components of Read to Succeed is third grade summer reading camps. Each district must identify third grade students who are not reading proficiently on grade level and provide them with the opportunity to attend a summer reading camp. During the summer reading camps, students will be taught by highly qualified teachers who have experience in working with struggling readers. Students will have the opportunity to receive small group and individual instruction to work on their reading, writing, listening, and researching skills. Although the summer reading camp is not mandatory for students who are not reading proficiently and parents have the option to not have their child participate, families are encouraged to have their children take part in the literacy adventures that will be occurring at these summer reading camps.
Teacher Training
Another goal of the Read to Succeed Act (R2S) is to ensure that every educator at every grade level in every school and subject area is committed and able to support reading development of the South Carolina students they serve.
All teachers are required to earn a teacher endorsement or literacy requirement which indicates a special skill, extra qualification, and/or ability to teach particular courses. Read to Succeed endorsement or requirement has been made mandatory for educators in the state of South Carolina and indicates that the educator has the baseline knowledge of South Carolina Literacy Competencies needed to support reading development of the students he/she serves.