Importance of Reading
■Reading and comprehension are the foundations for all academic learning. Walk into any kindergarten, first, second, or third grade classroom and you will find students learning to read. Students may be talking about the sounds letters make, listening to the teacher read a story, reading aloud together, or talking and writing about what they have read.
■Reading is the core of the school day for young children because students need strong reading skills to learn in all other school subjects, such as science, social studies, writing, and even math.
Read to Succeed Law
■South Carolina law states, “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 the third grade as indicated by scoring at the lowest achievement level on the state summative reading assessment that equates to Not Met 1 on the Palmetto Assessment of State Standards (PASS).”
■This school year’s 2016-2017 second grade students will be the first group of students impacted by this portion of the Read to Succeed legislation when they reach third grade.