Early Grades Reading

By third grade, reading proficiency shifts from “learning to read” to “reading to learn.”

“Learning to read” happens when quality early care and brain development meet the teaching of literacy skills from kindergarten onward. If children cannot read proficiently in third grade, they fall behind. And, the academic gap will grow each year thereafter. Our local data, shown below, allows us to see achievement gaps across a wide variety of factors so that we know where interventions are needed.

Note: The data is best viewed in full screen mode.

SC Ready, the State assessment, has been used consistently for 3 years, however, scale and scale score changes have only been consistent for the last two years. While the challenges to children in poverty remain clear, looking at specific demographic groups helps to further assess where interventions may be most impactful.  

SAM’s current emphasis is The Four Schools Project with its success guiding the expansion of Continuous Improvement practices in classrooms and adjacent sector partners county-wide. All work focuses on local research + local data -> local action. 

Data note: Due to the coronavirus pandemic, SC Ready was not administered in 2020. SAM continues to monitor progress toward proficiency goals working with teachers and schools across the county.