Section 59-155-120 - DefinitionsAs used in this chapter:
(1) "Board" means the State Board of Education.(2) "Department" means the State Department of Education.(3) "Foundational literacy skills" means phonological and phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and reading comprehension and excludes models based on meaning, structure, syntax, and visual cues.(4) "Formative Assessment" means nationally normed formative assessments approved by the board and aligned with state standards used during the school year to analyze general strengths and weaknesses in learning and instruction, to include reading comprehension, of students individually as to adapt instruction, make decisions about appropriate intervention services, and inform placement and instructional planning for the next grade level.(5) "Literacy" means the mastery of foundational literacy skills and the use of those skills to comprehend texts and write proficiently to meet grade-level English/Language Arts standards.(6) "Readiness assessment" means an assessment used to analyze students' competency in prekindergarten or kindergarten.(7) "Reading interventions" means individual or group assistance in the classroom and supplemental support based on curricular and instructional decisions made by classroom teachers who have proven effectiveness in teaching reading and a literacy endorsement or reading/literacy coaches who meet the minimum qualifications established in guidelines published by the department.(8) "Reading proficiency" means the ability of students to meet state reading standards in kindergarten through grade five, demonstrated by readiness, formative, or summative assessments.(9) "Reading proficiency skills" means the ability to understand how written language works at the word, sentence, paragraph, and text level and mastery of the skills, strategies, and oral and written language needed to comprehend grade-level texts.(10) "Science of reading" means the comprehensive body of scientific research on how proficient reading develops, why some students have difficulty learning to read, and the scientifically based approaches to effectively, explicitly, and systematically teach students to read, including foundational literacy skills. The science of reading also addresses the developmental stages of reading, effective instructional strategies, the identification and support of diverse learners to include those with reading difficulties such as dyslexia, and the application of these research findings in an educational setting to ensure effective reading instruction and literacy develops for all students.(11) "Scientifically based" means reading instruction, interventions, programs, and other reading services provided to students that are aligned with the science of reading. These approaches and methods must be grounded in systematic and objective research conforming to established scientific principles.(12) "Substantially fails to demonstrate third grade reading proficiency" means a student who does not demonstrate reading proficiency at the end of the third grade as indicated by scoring Does Not Meet Expectations or at the lowest achievement level on the statewide summative reading assessment.(13) "Summative assessment" means state-approved assessments administered in grades three through eight and any statewide assessment used in grades nine through twelve to determine student mastery of grade-level or content standards.(14) "Summer reading camp" means an educational program offered by each local school district or consortia of school districts for students who are unable to comprehend grade-level texts and who qualify for mandatory retention.(15) "Third grade reading proficiency" means the ability to read grade-level texts by the end of a student's third grade year as demonstrated by scoring Meets or Exceeds Expectations as a result of state-approved summative reading assessments administered to third grade students, or through other assessments as noted in this chapter and adopted by the board.(16) "Universal reading screener" means a nationally normed formative assessment used to screen and monitor the progress of students in foundational literacy skills to identify or predict students at risk of not meeting grade-level proficiency and determine effectiveness of instruction and intervention. All universal reading screeners must be aligned with state standards to English/Language Arts, meet the criteria of a nationally normed formative assessment, and be recommended by the department and approved by the board.Amended by 2024 S.C. Acts, Act No. 114 (SB 418),s 2, eff. 3/11/2024.Added by 2014 S.C. Acts, Act No. 284 (SB 516), s 1, eff. 6/11/2014.