Literacy Assessment for the
Midlands of South Carolina
Prepared for Central Carolina Community Foundation
Prepared by:
April 2012
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
J. Hagood Tighe
Board Chair
Central Carolina Community Foundation
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Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgments ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4
Executive Summary --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5
The Issue--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5
Needs ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6
Recommendations ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7
Return on Investment ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 9
Call to Action ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 10
Introduction --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10
What is Literacy? --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11
The Importance of Literacy --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13
Children’s and Parents’ Literacy -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13
Out-of-School Youth Literacy ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15
Senior Literacy ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15
Inmate Literacy ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15
Workforce Literacy ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16
Health Literacy ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16
Financial Literacy -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16
Computer Literacy ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17
Strategies for Improving Literacy -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17
Methodology of Report --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 21
Task A: Identify Providers------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 24
Task B: Develop Provider Survey --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 24
Task C: Distribute Survey ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 24
Task D: Conduct Interviews and Focus Groups ---------------------------------------------------------------- 24
Background and Characteristics of Central Carolina -------------------------------------------------------------------- 25
Population and Education ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 27
Poverty, Employment and Literacy ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 28
Needs ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 30
Early Childhood and Family Literacy --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 32
Research --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 32
Regional Providers --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 33
Needs: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 36
The K-12 Education System --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 39
Research: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 39
Regional Providers --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 42
Needs: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 44
Out of School Time Programming ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 46
Research --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 47
Regional Providers --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 49
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Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
Youth and the Transition from School to Work and College-------------------------------------------------------------- 51
Research --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 52
Regional Providers: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 55
Needs: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 56
Adult Literacy and the Role of Further Education Institutions ----------------------------------------------------------- 58
Research --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 58
Regional Providers --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 59
Needs ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 60
Financial Literacy -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 64
Research --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 64
Regional Providers --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 66
Needs: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 67
Literacy and Senior Citizens -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 68
Research --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 68
Learning Disabilities and Differences --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 69
Research --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 69
Regional Providers --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 70
Needs ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 70
Technology and Computer Literacy ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 71
Research --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 71
Regional Providers --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 71
Literacy, Crime and Safety ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 72
Research --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 72
Regional Providers --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 73
Workforce Development and the Economic Impact of Low Literacy ---------------------------------------------------- 75
Research --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 75
Regional Providers --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 75
Program Quality and Access --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 77
Provider Survey Results -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 79
Conclusion ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 108
Appendices ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 110
1. Summary of Needs and Recommendations -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 110
2. Literacy Provider Survey ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 113
3. Glossary of Literacy Terms -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 117
4. Participating Organizations ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 121
5. NAAL Levels with Literacy Skills and Abilities --------------------------------------------------------------------- 124
6. References --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 126
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Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Many thanks to all the organizations and individuals of the Midland region of Central
South Carolina who talked with us about their work and their dreams for a future where
high levels of literacy are an accepted and expected community norm. Your time is
valuable and your contributions to this report helped frame both the issues and the
recommendations.
Thanks to the Central Carolina Community Foundation for its support, understanding of
the pervasive effects of low literacy, and its vision for a better future.
Prepared by:
Literacy Powerline
April 2012
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Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Midland Counties of Central South Carolina is an 11-county service area of
Calhoun, Clarendon, Fairfield, Kershaw, Lee, Lexington, Newberry, Orangeburg,
Richland, Saluda and Sumter counties. These counties are located in the middle of South
Carolina, between the mountains in the north and the beaches towards the south. The
area includes the state capital of Columbia in Richland County. The Midland Counties
have a rich history that dates back to the mid and late eighteenth century. The region has
several historic links to the Revolutionary and Civil Wars and was a leader in the region
for agriculture. Today, the Midland counties continue their strong foundation of
agriculture, manufacturing and military industries. The largest employers include
healthcare, poultry industry, and tire and automobile parts manufacturing.
THE ISSUE
The Midland Counties are challenged by a silent crisis: up to 19% of adult residents
live with low literacy skills. Many are unable to use a bus schedule effectively, calculate
change at a restaurant, complete a job application, or read the information on a
prescription bottle. This crisis severely limits the region’s potential for future growth and
prosperity. Parents with limited skills are less able to assist their children and a cycle of
intergenerational low literacy is perpetuated.
 93% early education providers below top quality in State’s ABC quality rating
program
 27% 1st graders not ready for school
 41% 3rd graders below standard in Math
 40% 8th graders below standard in Reading
 27% freshman do not graduate with class
 28% of adults with no high school diploma
How can we help families raise their literacy levels and break the cycle of poverty?
How can we increase the quality of early childhood education to better prepare our
children for school success?
How can we help more individuals acquire a high-school diploma and further
education?
How can we help more people succeed in self-sustaining employment?
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Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
Literacy 2030 is joining over 120 literacy coalitions across the country that are working
to raise their community’s literacy levels and answer these questions. Many work with
Literacy Powerline to strengthen literacy achievement. This report provides the data
needed to focus attention on literacy needs and services across the lifespan. The
assessment focuses specifically on the region’s special strengths and weaknesses, the
service gaps, the issues, and the community suggestions for increasing literacy levels.
Key informants were unanimous in a desire to improve literacy levels, were challenged
I believe this is important because the future of our community is based on our young
people. We will never reach our goals or potential with more than a third of the
population being incapable of participating. Dr. Susie H. VanHuss
by identifying appropriate strategies, were excited to offer help as needed and eager to
unite around a collaborative planning process.
NEEDS
Eighty-eight organizations participated in the needs assessment process, providing a
broad array of knowledge and expertise related to literacy and the community.
While some of the identified problems were unique to a particular group, agency or
county; a core set of challenges emerged that cut across the lifespan and are addressed in
the recommendations. These challenges include:
1. Fragmentation of the service delivery system and insufficient services to meet
needs. Fragmentation prevents strategic resources from being directed to the
areas of greatest need and inhibits collaboration among service providers. The
lack of programs across all age groups perpetuated low literacy levels. Without
increased services, effective strategies to develop a skilled workforce are
impossible. For example, employers are concerned that employees do not have
requisite skills needed for jobs, especially in math. Cross-sector issues, such as
innovative and flexible transportation and improved childcare are rarely
approached from multiple perspectives.
2. Need for a literacy service infrastructure. There is no coordination across
program types and funding streams. An integrated infrastructure brings
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Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
affordable, accessible and technologically relevant training opportunities to both
professional and volunteer providers. It increases the type and number of literacy
opportunities and the ability to track change in student‘s learning at the program
and community level.
3. Inability to recruit and retain learners. The stigma of low literacy and the
corresponding feelings of shame and embarrassment are significant barriers to
learner recruitment. The community does not hear the message that learning is a
life-long process and a necessary component to change and prosperity.
4. Literacy has not been consciously infused into all learning venues. Social
service, after school, recreation, arts and sports programs can all play a role in
strengthening community literacy. Infusing literacy into health and financial
programs/activities is essential to an improved quality of life. Computer literacy -together with health and financial literacy - is especially needed among senior
citizens, who are a significant growth segment of the Midland counties.
RECOMMENDATIONS
1. Create a community literacy plan to set goals and targets to make the Midland
counties a highly literate and employable region. Priority attention should be
given to the following:
a. Residents who live in poverty
b. Early childhood education and school preparation
c. Students reading and math skills on grade level
d. Workplace and vocational literacy programs
e. Health literacy services and networks.
f. Financial literacy services and networks.
g. Services for those newly released from prison and those in the parole and
probation system
2. Provide Literacy 2030 with resources to coordinate decision-making and
implementation of the community literacy plan. The coalition would support
the community in the following early actions:
a. Support leadership initiatives and provide a forum for coordination and
collaboration across program types and funding streams
b. Develop data tracking system to support performance indicators to assess
program and community performance
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Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
c. Establish evaluation and accountability practices
d. Identify key intervention points (kindergarten readiness, fourth grade,
transition to middle school, eighth grade, adult) and coordinate response
e. Develop a centralized literacy information and referral system
3. Launch a hard-hitting public awareness campaign:
a. Bring together marketing leaders of the community to create a public
awareness and advocacy plan
b. Develop messaging to create a culture of literacy across the community at
large
c. Design and launch community messages for recruitment of learners,
volunteers and donors
4. Build capacity of literacy providers to serve more students more effectively:
a. Create a literacy providers network
b. Provide high-quality professional development, curriculum and
instructional techniques to providers at all levels
c. Increase the number of family literacy programs available
d. Identify effective transportation strategies
e. Introduce creative opportunities for scheduling classes in accessible
locations and at times convenient to students
f. Provide distance learning
g. Increase childcare programs in adult literacy locations
h. Support additional training of childcare providers to help parents support
children‘s learning
i. Increase training to home-based and group childcare programs
j. Create a systematic communications/transition plan between early
childcare centers, parents and kindergarten teachers to communicate
kindergarten standards and expectations
k. Build literacy learning environments with ample pre-reading support
materials
l. Increase the numbers of volunteers/mentors trained to read with children
5. Develop a coordinated literacy infrastructure:
a. Formalize and streamline the path from school to college and work for
ease of access and navigation by learners
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Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
Without a community of 100% people who are literate, we will not have an engaged and
active citizenry. In today's society, we need the voice of all at the decision-making
table. Anne Sinclair
b. Analyze results of students‘ experience and publish results for the
community
6. Strengthen the literacy component of community programs
a. Infuse literacy into health, finance, job-training, faith-based, and schoolbased programs
b. Assist community organizations in developing literacy-based curricula
RETURN ON INVESTMENT
Not only does improved literacy pay huge dividends in quality of life but the dollars and
cents add up, too:
 By creating a more educated, more skilled workforce the region will be attractive to
businesses. The yearly increase in region’s earnings if all students completed high
school would be $18.9 million1.
 By eliminating high school dropouts, the Midlands region would save almost $18
million dollars of unnecessary health care expenses per year that can be attributable to
low literacy2.
 By infusing literacy goals into non-literacy programs, Central Carolina will grow its
capacity to serve learners at little additional cost. By developing a culture of literacy,
Central Carolina will build high expectations, high quality programs and high quality
results.
1
Calculated by multiplying the number of high school dropouts in all 11 counties by average weekly earnings.
Calculated by multiplying the number of high school dropouts in all 11 counties (105,766 as per US Census
statistics) by the average public health insurance cost per year per high school dropout ($2,700) minus the
average public health insurance cost per year per high school graduate ($1,000).
2
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Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
I want the ability to read and communicate effectively to become a given in the life of every
person in our community---almost an automatic function---one that we do without even
having to think about it. Sarah Conrad
CALL TO ACTION
In the twenty-first century, individuals require sophisticated skills to achieve personal and
economic advancement, to meet the demands of more difficult and technical jobs, to
navigate confusing health and financial systems and to help their children gain skills for
success in an increasingly complex future. Because communities are composed of
individuals, community success depends upon individual success. Therefore, barriers to
individual literacy must be viewed as a challenge for the whole community. The creation
of Literacy 2030 is a powerful start to this process of building on local initiatives and
filling gaps in service. Local leaders who call the community to action will elevate the
issue and find creative and effective solutions. A comprehensive literacy initiative is a
major investment that brings about a highly skilled workforce and a prosperous, informed
community.
LITERACY NEEDS AND SERVICES ASSESSMENT
INTRODUCTION
Literacy 2030 grew from conversation among literacy service providers. For many years,
there has been a need for a coalition to further the work of literacy providers in South
Carolina. In the fall of 2009, members of the original group, “A Community of Readers”,
began serious conversations about convening a summit. Funding was secured in the
spring of 2010 from Central Carolina Community Foundation. The first Literacy 2030
Summit was held on October 16, 2010. Literacy 2030 unites stakeholders under an
admittedly challenging yet important vision—reaching 100 percent literacy in the
Midlands of South Carolina by the year 2030—and works to connect, equip and support
them for the journey.
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Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
This needs assessment was conducted by Literacy Powerline, a nationwide consulting
network that assists communities in assessing local needs, building community literacy
plans, and developing strong coalitions that positively affect people's lives and
communities.
WHAT IS LITERACY?
The Workforce Investment Act defines literacy as “an individual’s ability to read, write,
speak in English, compute and solve problems at levels of proficiency necessary to
function on the job, in the family of the individual and in society”. All of these abilities
are outlined and measured by the National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL), which
tested a sample of over 19,000 American adults in 2003 and found that literacy levels had
changed very little since the previous assessment in 1992 (NAAL, 2003).
People often think of literacy solely in terms of reading and writing, but there are many
aspects of literacy that are broader than just the basic skills. These include health literacy,
workforce literacy, financial literacy, computer literacy, family literacy, and English for
Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL). A glossary of literacy terminology can be found in
Appendix 2.
The following NAAL chart shows what it means to be an adult with below basic skills.
Tasks and abilities of persons with higher literacy levels can be found in Appendix 4.
Level and definition
Key abilities associated with
level
BELOW BASIC
indicates no more than
the most simple and
concrete literacy skills.
Adults at the BELOW BASIC
level range from being nonliterate in English to having the
abilities listed below:
1. locating easily identifiable
Score ranges for
BELOW BASIC (OUT
information in short,
OF 500):
commonplace prose texts
2. locating easily identifiable
information and following
11
Sample tasks typical
of level

searching a short,
simple text to find
out what a patient
is allowed to drink
before a medical
test
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
Prose:
0–209
Document:
0–204
Quantitative: 0–234
written instructions in simple
documents (e.g., charts or
forms)
3. locating numbers and using
them to perform simple
quantitative operations
(primarily addition) when the
mathematical information is
very concrete and familiar


signing a form
adding the amounts
on a bank deposit
slip
The definition of literacy has broadened over time because of the changing nature of
society. With growth of technology and need for higher skill levels in the workplace,
students who might once have succeeded effectively in life with an eighth grade reading
level and a minimum package of basic skills must now have a high-school diploma and
college coursework demonstrating a more diverse and complex set of abilities. Numeracy
and oral skills are often also included in the broader definition under the umbrella of
critical basic skills.
We all need to be stewards of our community and the quality of life of its people. In
order to be successful, I believe we need to work collaboratively and in partnership
without barriers towards our shared vision of 100% literacy. Denise Lyons
Concurrently, the definition of literacy has expanded from just “adult literacy” to include
lifelong learning, including emergent literacy, the pre-literacy skills needed for success in
kindergarten. Literacy is a lifelong process that builds upon the previous stages. The
skills that are required for successful academic outcomes later in life are rooted in the
early learning experiences of the first few years, and cemented through the elementary
and secondary years, and beyond. Research shows that children who are unable to gain
these emergent literacy skills are less likely to catch up with their peers during the
elementary years and are more likely to drop out of school when they are older.
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Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
THE IMPORTANCE OF LITERACY
The literacy crisis is not unique to Central Carolina. A Nation At Risk (1983) sounded the
alarm about the quality of our nation's schools. By 1990, the bipartisan Commission on
the Skills of the American Workforce noted that the United States, unlike all of its
economic competitors, does not have a system of education standards identifying the
skills and knowledge all students need in order to compete in the 21st century economy.
Additionally, international statistics show that the United States as a whole is becoming a
less educated nation. As the National Commission on Adult Literacy reports:
The U.S. is the only one of the thirty Organizations for Economic Cooperation
and Development (OECD) free-market countries where young adults are less
educated than the previous generation...America’s workforce is compromised by
a lagging K-12 education system, a significant increase in immigration from nonEnglish speaking countries, and an adult education system that is now obsolete
and ill-equipped to meet the 21st century needs (NCAL, 2008).
The National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL, 2003) confirmed that those with the
highest literacy levels also have the highest incomes, and that literacy rates are the lowest
among the poorest people in a community. A high school graduate earns $267,000 more
than a non-graduate over a lifespan (Belfield, 2007). The NAAL study also found a
relationship between literacy and participation in public assistance. The main public
assistance program examined was Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF),
which supports families with children, especially single mothers. In the NAAL study,
10% of the women at the Below Basic Prose Level had previously received public
assistance, compared to just 3% of women in the Proficient Prose Literacy Level. Belkin
(2007) found that, for each high school graduate, there is a savings of $127,000 in the
cost of welfare support over a lifespan. In addition, $73 billion nationwide is spent each
year for unnecessary health care expenses that are attributable to poor literacy (NAAL,
2006). In the sections below, we describe the importance of literacy to children and
families, adults, seniors, incarcerated persons, and workers, among other community
members.
CHILDREN’S AND PARENTS’ LITERACY
The No Child Left Behind Act, proposed by President Bush and passed by Congress in
2001, has continued to push to strengthen schools through a system of state standards,
tests, and a national accountability system, as well as a targeted effort to help low13
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
performing schools and students. The success of this policy has not yet been
demonstrated but it did serve to highlight the issues of low literacy among children in the
K-12 system.
Literacy is key to children’s success. Children who have limited literacy skills experience
enormous difficulty in all academic subjects throughout their school careers as well as
major challenges in their adult lives. The National Assessment of Educational Progress
(NAEP) has concluded that a child’s success is closely related to the parent’s education
level (NCES, 2006). The higher the parent’s education level, the more likely the child
will perform well in school.
National Education Association research reports that when parents are involved in their
children's education at home, children do better in school3. Additionally, when parents
are involved in school, children go farther in school — and the schools they go to are
better. Other positive outcomes of parental involvement include improved student
achievement, reduced absenteeism, improved behavior, and restored confidence among
parents in their children's schooling.
Three kinds of parental involvement at home are consistently associated with higher
student achievement: (1) actively organizing and monitoring a child's time, (2) helping
with homework, and (3) discussing school matters. The earlier that parent involvement
begins in a child's educational process, the more powerful the effects.
Reading achievement is more dependent on learning activities in the home than is math
or science. Reading aloud to children is the most important activity that parents can do to
increase their child's chance of reading success. Talking to children about books and
stories also supports reading achievement. Research has found that a home environment
that encourages learning and emphasizes oral and written communication is more
important to student achievement than income, education level, or cultural background.
The outcomes of parental involvement have been documented in the following research: Parent
involvement leads to improved educational performance (Epstein et al., 2002; Fan & Chen, 2001; NMSA,
2003; Sheldon & Epstein, 2002; Van Voorhis, 2003). Parent involvement fosters better student classroom
behavior (Fan & Chen, 2001; NMSA, 2003). Parents who participate in decision-making experience greater
feelings of ownership and are more committed to supporting the school's mission (Jackson & Davis, 2000).
Parent involvement increases support of schools (NMSA, 2003). Parent involvement improves school
attendance (Epstein et al., 2002). Parent involvement creates a better understanding of roles and
relationships between and among the parent-student-school triad (Epstein et al., 2002). Parent involvement
improves student emotional well-being (Epstein, 2005). Types of parent involvement and quality of parent
involvement affect results for students, parents, and teachers (Epstein, 1995).
3
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Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
Many parents do not know about roles they could play in supporting their children in
school, have had difficult experiences themselves as school children, and have limited
literacy skills that make reading communications and invitations from school difficult to
understand. Given the negative impact of low literacy on children, NAAL research
demonstrates that, for each level of literacy improvement, there is an increase in children
moving out of poverty.
OUT-OF-SCHOOL YOUTH LITERACY
Even though schools are working diligently to increase retention rates for both middle
and high school students, dropouts are a continuing concern. Out of school youth, those
who have dropped out of school, face few educational options and even less work
possibilities. Individuals without a diploma earn significantly less over their lifetimes
than do those who complete secondary education. For example, in 1971, on average,
male dropouts working full-time earned $35,087. By 2002, this figure had fallen 35
percent, to $23,903. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, individuals with a high
school degree and some college or vocational training are more likely to be hired, to earn
more when they start a job and over a lifetime, and to become supervisors: "When an
occupation has workers with different levels of education, the worker with more
education is better able to compete for the job” (Moncarz, 2005).
SENIOR LITERACY
Reading is a skill that helps maintain mental acuity into old age and is especially
important to develop in men and women with limited literacy. As life expectancy
increases and as seniors become a larger proportion of our population, literacy skill
development for seniors will continue to take on greater importance. A study by Roman
(2004) notes that older learners experience more shame about their limited skills, which
many have effectively hidden for much of their lives. A United Healthcare Secure
Horizons study reports, “At the individual level, low literacy was reported to be
associated with greater shame and frustration, greater poverty and unemployment, poorer
health and health care access, and greater risk of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias
associated with cognitive decline.”
INMATE LITERACY
The United States has one of the highest incarceration rates in the world. One in every
100 Americans aged 16 and older is behind bars (2.3 million in 2008) (Pew Center for the
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Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
States, 2008). About 43 percent of these men and women do not have a high-school
diploma and 56 percent have very limited literacy skills. When they re-enter society,
formerly incarcerated men and women have an extremely difficult time getting jobs due
to their prison records. For those without sufficient education and literacy skills, finding
employment is nearly impossible (NCAL, 2008).
WORKFORCE LITERACY
The skills needed to get and keep jobs are referred to as workforce literacy or Vocational
English as a Second Language (VESOL) for workers who do not speak English well.
“Workers who were skilled with their hands and could reliably work in repetitive and
sometimes physically demanding jobs were the engine of the old economy. In today’s
New Economy, knowledge-based jobs are driving prosperity … jobs held by individuals
with at least two years of college” (Kauffman, 2008, In Reach Higher, America:
Overcoming the Crisis in the U.S. Workforce). The challenges to workforce literacy are
summarized bluntly: “America’s workforce is compromised by a lagging K-12 education
system, a significant increase in immigration from non-English speaking countries, and
an adult education system that is now obsolete and ill-equipped to meet the 21st century
needs” (NCAL, 2008).
HEALTH LITERACY
Research by the Institute of Medicine and Healthy People 2010 identifies the range of
health issues that are exacerbated for people with limited literacy. Even many people with
higher literacy in reading and writing still lack essential health knowledge and skills
necessary for a healthier life (Healthy People 2010, 2008). The 2003 NAAL executive
summary, The Health Literacy of America’s Adults, notes that 14% of adults surveyed
had below basic levels. Only 12% were deemed proficient. “Health literacy is of concern
to everyone involved in health promotion and protection, disease prevention, and early
screening, health care maintenance and policymaking” (NAAL, 2006).
FINANCIAL LITERACY
Research highlighting Americans’ alarming lack of financial skills has led to action in
recent years at the highest levels of government. The current mortgage crisis dramatizes
many of these issues. In 2002, the U.S. Treasury established an Office of Financial
Education because of growing concerns about low financial literacy not only among
those with limited literacy skills but among the general population as well. In 2003,
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Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
Congress created the Financial Literacy and Education Commission, followed in 2006 by
the National Strategy on Financial Literacy and the President’s Advisory Council on
Financial Literacy. Despite the federal government’s efforts, there is still a widespread
lack of financial literacy among the American people.
COMPUTER LITERACY
Computer literacy is the knowledge and ability to use computers and technology
efficiently. It also refers to the comfort level someone has with using computer programs
and other applications associated with computers. The Nielsen report, An Overview of
Home Internet Access in the U.S. (2008), reported that more than 80% of households
own a computer. With the price of computers decreasing year by year, access is rapidly
increasing. However, those who do not own or have access to computers are often those
with the fewest skills and resources (typing, for example, is a basic skill). Those who
might benefit most from this powerful tool to increase their skills are often the very
people for whom it is least accessible.
STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVING LITERACY
The importance of literacy in the lives of individuals and families cannot be
underestimated. Multiple strategies exist for increasing the literacy skills of community
members.
To increase children’s and parents’ literacy, family literacy programs—which serve
both low-literate adults and their young children—are a model for improving children’s
pre-reading skills and readiness for school. Padak and Rasinski (2003) reviewed the
effectiveness of family literacy programs and showed their benefits to the children, the
parents, the families, and the communities of those involved, especially in terms of
school attendance and achievement. Their research indicates that family literacy
programs influence children’s motivation, social skills, attitudes, and even health. Parents
enrolled in adult education programs that included a family literacy component persisted
longer than those enrolled in programs without a family literacy focus. Families in family
literacy programs reported improved relationships and increased parental involvement in
children’s educational activities. Research by Justice and Pullen (2006) demonstrates the
value of storytelling, literacy-in-play activities, and use of teacher-guided phonological
awareness in family literacy programs.
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Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
Unfortunately, not all reports describe the same level of success from family literacy
programs. Research on the Even Start program has been mixed; one study reported
disappointing results, especially in the areas of program intensity and quality (St. Pierre,
2005). However, learning from the best practices of successful programs in Central
Carolina will help to identify effective program models.
Quality early childhood programs also play an important role in increasing children’s
literacy. The impact of rich learning experiences, both in the home and at childcare
settings, has been demonstrated repeatedly in the literature. The first years of life provide
an opportunity to affect positive change in the literacy trajectory of children. This
opportunity to improve educational outcomes cannot be ignored. Children in general, and
low-income children in particular, must have access to regular, high quality, early
childhood experiences.
To increase literacy skills among school children, after-school and summer learning
programs are valuable. The National Institute for After School Programs reports that
after-school programs of high quality have a critical impact on youth. Research shows
that what children do after school has at least as much bearing on their success as what is
accomplished in the school day (NSBA, 2008). There is growing evidence that children
who participate in after-school programs earn better grades, have better work habits,
persist at tasks, are more confident, have less behavior problems, and have better attitudes
toward school. Durdak and Weisberg (2007) conclude that it is vital to invest in quality
after-school programs. While programs range from sports through arts and culture to
clubs and formal tutoring and mentoring, the goal is to infuse literacy deliberately in most
activities.
Keeping children in school is a key strategy for increased literacy. The National
Education Association identified the following strategies, after considerable research, to
encourage students to stay in school (NEA, 2007):

Mandate high school graduation or equivalency as compulsory for everyone below
the age of 21. Just as we established compulsory attendance to the age of 16 or 17
in the beginning of the 20th century, it is appropriate and critical to eradicate the
idea of "dropping out" before achieving a diploma. To compete in the 21st century,
all of our citizens, at a minimum, need a high school education.
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Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina

Establish high school graduation centers for students 19-21 years old to provide
specialized instruction and counseling to all students who would be more
effectively addressed in classes apart from younger students.

Make sure students receive individual attention in safe schools, in smaller learning
communities within large schools, in small classes (18 or fewer students), and in
programs during the summer, weekends and before- and after-school that provide
tutoring and build on what students learn during the school day.

Expand students' graduation options through creative partnerships with community
colleges in career and technical fields and with alternative schools so that students
have another way to earn a high school diploma. For students who are incarcerated,
tie their release to high school graduation by the end of their sentences.

Increase career education and workforce readiness programs in schools so that
students see the connection between school and careers after graduation. To ensure
that students have the skills they need for these careers, integrate 21st century skills
into the curriculum and provide all students with access to 21st century technology.

Act early with high-quality, universal preschool and full-day kindergarten; strong
elementary programs that ensure students are doing grade-level work when they
enter middle school; and middle school programs that address causes of dropping
out that appear in these grades and ensure that students have access to algebra,
science, and other courses that serve as the foundation for success in high school
and beyond.

Involve families in students' learning at school and at home in new and creative
ways so that all families can support their children's academic achievement, help
their children engage in healthy behaviors, and stay actively involved in their
children's education from preschool through high school graduation.

Monitor students' academic progress in school through a variety of measures during
the school year that provide a full picture of students' learning and help teachers
make sure students do not fall behind academically.

Monitor, accurately report, and work to reduce dropout rates by gathering accurate
racial, ethnic, and economic data, establishing benchmarks in each state for
reducing the number of dropouts, and adopting the standardized reporting method
developed by the National Governors Association. The National Governors
19
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
Association’s Common Core Standards were adopted by South Carolina in July
2010.

Involve the entire community in dropout prevention through family-friendly
policies that provide release time for employees to attend parent-teacher
conferences; work schedules for high school students that enable them to attend
classes on time and be ready to learn; "adopt a school" programs that encourage
volunteerism and community-led projects in school; and community-based, realworld learning experiences for students.

Make sure educators have the training and resources they need to prevent students
from dropping out, including professional development focused on the needs of
diverse students and students who are at risk of dropping out; up-to-date textbooks
and materials, computers, and information technology; and safe modern schools.
To increase the literacy of out-of-school youth, students who have dropped out of
traditional education settings—as young as 13 and as old as 21—need special assistance.
The 2003 NAAL study of literacy among incarcerated people demonstrated the need for
alternative pathways for youth, including programs that re-engage youth who have not
thrived in traditional settings.
To increase the literacy of adults, adult literacy and English programs serve adult
students over the age of 16. However, research in adult literacy and English-as-a-SecondLanguage learning demonstrates that traditional approaches in this field have not worked
well. National estimates suggest that fewer than five percent of those who could benefit
from services are actually enrolled in classes. Persistence studies (Porter, 2005) found
that the majority of adult learners who do attend programs do not put in the number of
hours needed to demonstrate success. (An estimated 150 hours of study is required to
achieve a grade level increase).
When programs put learning in a context that makes sense to the student, results
definitely improve. The 2006 study by Beder, Tomkins, Medina, Riccioni and Deng
concluded that teacher roles, contextualized instruction, and classroom norms all
positively influenced the participants’ success. Unfortunately, improving instruction is
difficult because part-time adult education instructors do not have ready access to
professional development (Center for Adult English Acquisition, 2005).
To increase the literacy of those who are incarcerated, research suggests that
education in prison is a major way to increase employment rates for men and women
20
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
reentering society, thus reducing the likelihood that they will return to criminal activities.
However, the 2003 NAAL report indicated that only nineteen percent of men and women
in prison had achieved a GED while incarcerated and just five percent were enrolled in
programs that might lead to a GED (NAAL, 2003).
METHODOLOGY OF REPORT
This document is one part of a two-part report on literacy in the region. The other part is
the Funding Analysis. Central Carolina Community Foundation commissioned these
reports as a part of the Literacy 2030 initiative taking place in the eleven-county region.
This Needs and Services report is an analysis of the literacy landscape of Central
Carolina. It demonstrates where the needs exist, both sociologically and geographically
and what services are in place to meet the needs. Data have been collected from a variety
of sources4 to help illustrate the social, demographic, economic, and educational
situation. Current literacy levels for both adults and children in Central Carolina have
been estimated using statistical materials from diverse sources. The assessment also
includes a review of scholarly literature that identifies factors associated with low
literacy, providing a context for the Central Carolina planning process.
Literacy Powerline conducted a customized survey with 92 literacy providers,
representing 86 organizations in the region. To determine the needs from the community
perspective, a Summit and a series of focus groups were set up using Interpretive
Phenomenological Analysis (IPA),5 a qualitative research method for gaining insight into
how individuals perceive a community issue. Responses were analyzed to identify themes
relevant to the issues of low literacy in Central Carolina. Comments are included
verbatim in several sections of the report. Respondents included service providers from
These include the most recent census information, the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy, and a number of
more recent national, state, county and city datasets. Additional information has been drawn from the U.S. Department
of Education and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
4
5
IPA is “phenomenological” because it focuses on the uniqueness of the individual’s perceptions and experiences and
“interpretive” because researchers must also make sense of the informants’ thoughts and perceptions in the context of
the issue and the community. A bottom up and inductive approach avoids prior assumptions and encourages openended dialogue. This process can help unforeseen information become known, bringing new perspectives to the issue.
IPA supports data-driven theorizing and results can be compared to the quantitative research to produce a more
complete picture of the literacy landscape in the community.
21
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
the full lifelong learning spectrum as well as health literacy, computer literacy, family
literacy, workforce literacy and financial literacy services.
Focus group attendees represented an impressive array of knowledge and expertise. Over
150community members participated in the entire process providing valuable insight,
perspectives, and data to inform the assessment. A list of participating organizations is
included in Appendix 3. Figure 1 demonstrates the range of services provided by survey
participants.
What types of literacy services does your
organization offer?
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
0
Computer Literacy
K-12 School
Early Childhood (Birth to 5…
Financial Literacy
Homework Help
Family Literacy
Parenting Education
Health Literacy
Pre-Kindergarten
Workforce Literacy
Volunteer Training
Basic Math
Other
Subject Tutoring
GED Instruction/Test…
English Languages Learners
Out-of-School Youth
Vocational Training
Adult Basic Reading and…
Literacy Testing
Learning Disability Assessment
Citizenship
Credential & Certificate…
Learning Disability Tutoring
Apprenticeship & Pre-…
GED Testing
Incarcerated Education
Vocational English Language…
Native Language Literacy
Parole and Probation
5
Figure 1
22
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
Participants included representatives from:
 Adult literacy programs
 Local and state government agencies
 Healthcare
 Faith community
 Children’s literacy programs
 Higher education system
 K-12 education system
 Businesses
 Civic organizations
 Funding agencies
 Workforce investment system
 Financial institutions
The guiding questions were designed to analyze perceived need, program benefits,
barriers to learning, and potential gaps in literacy services.
The Program Quality and Access section of this report is a critical tool in understanding
existing services. Its purpose is to determine the capacity and effectiveness of the current
system, thereby helping the community determine how best to improve services to meet
the needs outlined previously. This section focuses on: 1) the existing programs that offer
literacy services; 2) the needs of the learners, instructors, and administrators in those
programs; and 3) the capacity for expansion and growth within the current system.
23
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
The following steps were taken to complete the project:
TASK A: IDENTIFY PROVIDERS
With support from existing organizations, a database of human service organizations has
been compiled. Providers and community members have reviewed this list in order to
ensure the broadest inclusion possible.
TASK B: DEVELOP PROV IDER SURVEY
The consultants developed the survey questions. An internet-based online survey tool
was used to administer the survey.
TASK C: DISTRIBUTE SURVEY
Providers received notification by email describing the need for the survey and requesting
that they complete the online version. Providers were given a time limit for responses.
For sites requesting it, surveys were mailed, faxed, or completed by phone.
TASK D: CONDUCT INTERVIEWS AND FOCUS GROUPS
Consultants conducted focus groups with pre-school, family literacy, adult education, and
English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) locations throughout the counties.
Consultants learned of a wide range of instructional models and conducted interviews
with key stakeholders. Consultants were not able to visit all service providers, although
all known providers were invited to participate in the survey and in the various focus
groups.
24
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
BACKGROUND AND CHARACTERISTICS OF CENTRAL CAROLINA
Central Carolina faces a challenge that few people understand or even know about. The
community faces a silent crisis of low literacy that severely limits its potential for future
growth and prosperity and puts the entire future of the region in jeopardy. There is a
cycle of intergenerational illiteracy that impacts the level of preparedness of a
preschooler entering kindergarten and that child’s ability to maintain parity with his peers
in elementary, middle and secondary schools. Parents with limited skills are impeded in
their ability to help their children succeed, and adults with low literacy or limited English
proficiency are often unable to find jobs that pay a life-sustaining wage.
POPULATION CHANGE IN SOUTH CAROLINA COUNTIES (1900-2005)
Figure 2
(South Carolina’s Information Highway, http://.www.sciway.net/maps)
The majority of Midland Counties have seen their population increase in the last hundred
years (Figure 2). Fairfield, Lee, and Calhoun counties are the exception with decreases in
their total populations, and Saluda with no change in their population. Lexington and
Richland counties have experienced the largest increases in population, with their
populations increasing four-fold. The current combined population of all 11 counties
includes slightly more than 1 million inhabitants. This population is comprised of roughly
25
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
57% white, 38% black or African American, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, and 1.4% Asian
(Figure 3)6. The adult population over age 18 comprises 76.8% of all inhabitants, with
12% of the population over age 65, and 6.5% under age 57.
RACE AND ETHNIC POPULATIONS
County
Calhoun
Clarendon
Fairfield
Kerhsaw
Lee
Lexington
Newberry
Orangeburg
Richland
Saluda
Sumter
Region
Average
Percent
AfricanAmerican/
Black
42.6
50.1
59.1
24.6
64.3
14.3
31.0
62.2
45.9
26.3
46.9
38.0
Percent
Percent Number
Asian Hispanic/Latino
0.2
3.0
0.6
2.6
0.2
1.6
0.5
3.7
0.3
1.7
1.4
5.5
0.3
7.2
0.8
1.9
2.2
4.8
0.2
14.4
1.1
3.3
1.4
Percent
White,
nonHispanic
53.9
47.0
38.6
71.3
33.4
79.3
62.1
34.3
47.3
61.1
48.2
4.6
Percent who
speak English
less than well
1.0
1.4
0.9
1.3
2.9
2.2
3.1
1.0
2.8
5.6
1.8
57.0
Figure 3
Whenever possible, raw numbers were used to calculate region averages, however, when not available,
weighted averages were not used for our purposes.
6
7
US Census . (n.d.). Retrieved November 26, 2010, from http://www.census.gov
26
2.2
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
POPULATION AND EDUCATION
The 11 county region includes over 152,000 adults that lack basic prose literacy skills8
and over 111,000 adults over age 25 who lack a high school diploma. The percent of
students who tested below standard in reading (in 8th grade) is 40.2% for the entire
region. In math, 42.7% of 8th grade students scored below standard. Of the total 21 school
districts located in the 11 county region, only one school district (Saluda) met Adequate
Yearly Progress in 2011. In addition, 26.8% of first graders were assessed as not ready
for first grade and 10.1% of students failed one of the first three grades of school.
The data in high school are also bleak, with 20.7% of eighth grade students not enrolled
in 12th grade 4 years later and teen birth rates ranging from 33 to 72 per 1,000 depending
on the county.
PERCENT (AGES 18-24) NOT A HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATE
Figure 4
Calculated from the percentages published by the US Department of Education, National Center for
Educational Statistics. (n.d.). Retrieved December 20, 2011, from http://www.nces.ed.gov
8
27
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
POVERTY, EMPLOYMENT AND LITERACY
Percent of civilian labor force unemployed, June 2011
United States
9.1%
South
Carolina
10.5%
Midland
Region
9.8%
Low literacy and low income go hand in hand. The 11 county area in central South
Carolina suffers from an almost 10% rate of unemployment (Figure 5). Employment
levels across the region are indicative not only of fewer employment opportunities but
also of lower skills. With low skill levels and low literacy, new businesses are not
attracted to the area. The subsequent map (Figure 6) indicates the median family income
for all 11 counties, with Lee and Clarendon counties exhibiting the lowest median family
income in the region followed closely by Fairfield. This translates to 18% of the
population living under poverty with 27.9% of children under age 18 living under poverty
conditions (Figure 7). Figure 8 includes a side by side comparison of poverty indicators
per county.
Percent Population Unemployment
28
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
Figure 5
MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME
Figure 6
PERCENT OF CHILDREN UNDER 18 LIVING IN POVERTY
Figure 6
Figure 7
29
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
POVERTY INDICATORS BY COUNTY
County
Calhoun
Clarendon
Fairfield
Kerhsaw
Lee
Lexington
Newberry
Orangeburg
Richland
Saluda
Sumter
Percent children
in single family
homes
32.0
39.3
40.2
27.2
41.9
24.5
37.3
40.3
34.9
29.3
34.0
Median family
income
$39,823
$33,951
$35,941
$44,836
$34,209
$52,637
$40,580
$36,165
$49,466
$41,603
$38,970
Percent adults (25 and over)
with less than 12 years of
education and no diploma
27.2
34.7
33.0
24.5
38.6
17.0
30.9
28.5
14.8
30.7
25.7
Figure 8
I will support Literacy 2030 because it is critically important for the community in
which my family and I live and the industry in which I work. Dr. Mac Knight
NEEDS
Low literacy, poverty, and unemployment all contribute to the challenge of raising the
quality of life across the Midlands. Participants recognized that the few literacy service
providers were working hard to address the problem but did not meet the level of success
sufficient to impact community change because of lack of resources, outreach, social and
family attitudes, and the challenges of isolated rural communities. Overall, participants in
focus groups agreed that if literacy levels were increased:
 Parents would have increased ability to communicate with their children
30
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina




Students’ self-esteem would improve, changing the climate of schools
Children would read more
Society would experience a ripple effect -- better jobs and quality of life
Technology would be used effectively
In the sections below, we present the specific needs from the analysis, along with
recommendations for action, in the following categories:
 Early Childhood and Family Literacy
 The K-12 Education System and Literacy Acquisition
 Out of School Time Programming
 Youth and the Transition from School to Work and College
 Adult Literacy
 English for Speakers of Other Languages Instruction
 Numeracy
 Literacy and Senior Citizens
 Learning Disabilities
 Literacy and Faith-Based Communities
 Literacy, Crime and Safety
 Health Literacy
 Financial Literacy
 Technology and Computer Literacy
31
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
EARLY CHILDHOOD AND FAMILY LITERACY
Percent of children, ages 1 to 5, whose family members read to them less than 3 days per week, 2007
United States
16%
South
Carolina
13%
Midland
Region
unknown
Percent of 1st graders assessed as NOT ready for first grade, 2009-2010
United States
not tracked
South
Carolina
20.8%
Midland
Region
23.6%
RESEARCH
Children who have limited literacy skills experience enormous difficulty in all academic
subjects throughout their school careers as well as major challenges in their adult lives.
To improve literacy levels, early intervention and childhood education is critical.
Childcare providers can play an important role in breaking the cycle of low literacy and
poverty. The establishment of reading readiness programs and learning rich childcare
environments is critical to success. Children are better able to succeed in kindergarten
and beyond when they have had good pre-school experiences and when those experiences
are reinforced in the home. Family literacy programs complement quality early childhood
programs by promoting the parents’ literacy and enlisting the family in the education of
the child.
Well managed childcare centers with reading rich environments, childcare workers
Literacy is central to our work; Inspire, ignite. It is key to education and the ability of
lifelong learning that leads to a quality of life. Katie Brochu
trained in early reading techniques, and strong relationships with local kindergarten
teachers, all add up to a child’s reading success. This is a critical tool toward breaking the
32
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
cycle of intergenerational low literacy and poverty. With so many parents lacking the
literacy skills to help their children succeed the region is challenged.
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and the Administration for
Children and Families (ACF) see home visiting as one of several strategies embedded in
a quality early childhood system that promotes maternal, infant and early childhood
health, safety and development, as well as strong parent-child relationships. “It is
important that, especially in rural areas where there are limited services, we support
programs that go out to help parents at home”, noted one participant.
REGIONAL PROVIDERS
Across the 11 counties, there are 46,495 slots available in state regulated childcare9.
However, there are 69,463 children under age 5 within the service area10 leaving almost
23,000 children without childcare services. This doesn’t begin to address the issue of
quality within early childhood services. Quality childcare has been demonstrated to affect
positive child outcomes. However, in the Central Carolina area, less than 7% of childcare
centers have been rated in the top quality levels as per the ABC Childcare Program,
South Carolina’s volunteer childcare quality program (Figure 8)11.
CHILDCARE QUALITY BY COUNTY
County
Number of childcare providers
participating in ABC quality ratings
Calhoun
Clarendon
Fairfield
Kerhsaw
Lee
Lexington
Newberry
Number of childcare providers
rated in top quality level (%)
2
19
8
12
6
78
7
South Carolina Budget and Control Board. (n.d.). Retrieved December 1, 2011, from
http://www.sckidscount.org
9
10
US Census . (n.d.). Retrieved November 26, 2010, from http://www.census.gov
11
Department of Social Services. (n.d.). Retrieved December 1, 2011, from www.abcqualitycare.org
33
0
2 (11.0)
0
1 (8.3)
2 (33.3)
1 (1.2)
0
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
Orangeburg
Richland
Saluda
Sumter
Region
43
164
6
50
395 (Total)
1 (2.3)
15 (9.1)
0
4 (8.0)
26 (6.5)
Figure 9
Success by Six, the early intervention program funded by both the United Way of Sumter,
Clarendon and Lee Counties and the United Way of the Midlands provides early learning
opportunities for children in the area.
Head Start is a comprehensive child development program that serves the needs of
13,638 low-income children in South Carolina, according to the 2011 Head Start Census
report12. Head Start services are customized to the individual child's developmental level
including children with disabilities. The Early Head Start Program provides
comprehensive, quality services, to expectant mothers, infants and toddlers. Head Start's
Fatherhood Initiative promotes concepts and activities that nurture the children's
relationships with their fathers. The Fatherhood Initiative supports and strengthens the
roles of fathers in families. These early childhood program also provide home visitation.
The Midland counties enroll 2,911 Head Start and Early Head Start students. This
represents roughly 20% of all of these students statewide.
First Steps is located in every county in South Carolina since 1999 and has a goal of
“helping South Carolina’s youngest students and their families get ready for school”.
The program’s focus is on early education, family literacy, childcare quality, children’s
health outcomes, and school transitions. While the program is active in every county,
they operate with a small budget and inevitable budget cuts threaten its existence.
Early Intervention is a family-focused in-home service for children up to age 6. An Early
Interventionist helps families understand their child’s development and helps parents
address areas of delay. BabyNet is a related program designed for infants and toddlers
that matches the needs of children with suspected developmental delays with professional
resources.
South Carolina HeadStart Collaboration Office. (n.d.). Head Start Census. Retrieved December 10, 2011, from
www.scacap.org
12
34
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is an active program in a small part of the region and
provides a book every month for each child under age 6.
Nearly 15 years ago, South Carolina passed Act 135, the Early Childhood Development
and Academic Assistance Act of 1993, which included the Parenting and Family Literacy
Program. In 2004, new guidelines were written to require districts to provide
comprehensive family literacy programs under Act 135. This requirement includes parent
literacy training that leads to economic self-sufficiency. Under Act 135, the target
population of the Parenting and Family Literacy Program was children up to age five and
their parents, with the goal of supporting parents in their role as the principle teachers of
their pre-school aged children. All districts were required to provide parenting and family
literacy services. The services often include developmental screenings for children,
instructional newsletters, parenting and family literacy classes, transportation and child
care for parents attending those classes, home visits, and support groups/workshops.
As mentioned above, the 2004 guidelines require each district to implement a family
literacy program that includes the four components needed for a comprehensive family
literacy model. Districts vary in their degree of implementation of this requirement.
Districts that responded to our survey indicated that they address family literacy needs
through a combination of family nights, home visitation, and family literacy activities.
Some family literacy providers include Edventures Children’s Museum, SC Economics,
Eau Clarie Shalom Ministries, Kingdom Reapers Ministries, South Carolina State
Libraries, YWCA of the Upper Lowlands, Tiger Totes Family Literacy, SC ETV, and
Richland County Public Library. While in the state of South Carolina there exists five
The Literacy 2030 Coalition has the opportunity to encourage the coordination of
resources and the collaboration of partners to promote the development of literacy
skills and 21st century skills to make our region and citizens successful and a better
place to live and grow. Catherine Horne
Even Start family literacy programs, not one is located within the 11 county service area.
Day by Day South Carolina is a program designed to promote family literacy by the
South Carolina State Library. Their website includes an interactive perpetual print
calendar of family literacy activities and ideas. The calendar begins with September and
each month has a theme that encompasses books, songs, activities, health information,
and family wellness information. If families can only spend a few minutes together, this
35
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
calendar will give them something they can use to make sure that this is quality time as
well as educational time.
Reach Out and Read is an evidence-based nonprofit organization that promotes early
literacy and school readiness in pediatric exam rooms nationwide by giving new books to
children and advice to parents about the importance of reading aloud.
NEEDS:
It is apparent that early literacy is one area where investments in proven programs pay
great dividends. Focus group participants identified low literacy and other issues facing
families with small children in the communities in Central Carolina. Amongst their stated
concerns were delays in recognizing children’s disabilities, lack of access to services and
resources, and school readiness. Root causes that were discussed included lack of reading
materials in the home, children not read to daily, lack of parental involvement, lack of
coordination of parent resources in the community, and barriers attributable to poverty.
A critical indicator of the quality of an early learning program is the educational level of
the early learning program instructors. Research indicates that both higher education and
specialized training in early childhood education are critical indicators of quality in a
child’s care experience. With less than 7% of the region’s childcare rated at the top
quality level, the region must devote resources toward raising childcare quality and
promoting teacher training.
South Carolina Department of Education has Good Start Smart Growth Early Learning
Standards for 3, 4, and 5 year olds. The need is around informing parents and early
learning programs of these expectations and aligning evidenced based activities to
support them. By meeting the standards, children will be better prepared for school.
School readiness is an objective of all the early learning programs. Yet, there is still much
work to be done as shown in Figure 10.
Illiteracy contributes to generational poverty. Literacy is crucial to break this cycle and
enable families in South Carolina to have the resources to live out of poverty. Brooke
Bailey
36
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
PERCENT OF STUDENTS ASSESSED AS NOT READY FOR 1 ST GRADE
County
Calhoun
Clarendon
Fairfield
Kerhsaw
Lee
Lexington
Newberry
Orangeburg
Richland
Saluda
Sumter
Region Median
Percent of students assessed as not ready
for 1st grade
23.3
23.2
28.4
18.4
38.2
15.7
24.8
34.1
25.7
37.5
25.0
25.7
Figure 10
Children are better able to succeed in school when they have had good pre-school
experiences and when those experiences are reinforced in the home. Focus group
participants would like to see more services for children and families that encourage prereading activities and help parents support their children. Maintaining momentum of both
local and statewide initiatives was noted as an issue in the focus groups. Initiatives start
up and are not sustained over time, and with funding cuts, programs come and go.
Illiteracy is a cancer feasting on South Carolina's future. If a large % of our citizens
can't read then the future is darker for all of us. David S. Goble
37
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
SUMMARY OF NEEDS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Needs
Recommendations
Quality childcare services
Improve childcare quality, invest in teacher
training and incentives for completing
education and certifications
Parents lack access to services and
resources
Provide coordination of services, increase
family literacy and parent support services
Identification of young children with
disabilities delayed
Implement child screening as part of child
care licensing regulations to identify
children with disabilities earlier
Lack of reading material in the home
Coordinate with health care providers and
book distribution organizations to supply
books in the homes
Full implementation of Act 135, the Early
Childhood Development and Academic
Assistance Act of 1993
Advocate for full implementation of the
2004 guidelines requiring each school
district to implement a family literacy
program that includes the four components
needed for a comprehensive family literacy
model
Coordination and alignment of family
literacy services.
Convene family literacy providers and
synchronize delivery of comprehensive
services to maximize coverage and impact.
Consider utilizing National Center for
Family Literacy resources to inform the
process.
74.9%Parents and early learning programs
lack knowledge of South Carolina’s Early
Learning Standards.
Inform parents and early learning programs
of South Carolina Department of Education
Good Start Smart Growth Early Learning
Standards for 3, 4, and 5 year olds.
38
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
THE K-12 EDUCATION SYSTEM
Average freshman graduation rate of public high school students, 2010
United States
74.9%
South
Carolina
61.9%
Midland
Region
72.9%
Percent of teens ages 16 to 19 not in school and not high school graduates, 2009
United States
6.0%
South
Carolina
7.0%
Midland
Region
not available
RESEARCH:
The educational experiences that shape students’ literacy outcomes include the entire
educational spectrum from preschool through postsecondary education or training. P-16
Education is the term used to address three key levels of education - early childhood
education or prekindergarten (PK), kindergarten through grade twelve (K-12), and
postsecondary (certification programs, colleges and universities). The purpose of P-16
education is to bring partners in these key areas together to best ensure a smooth
transition from one level to the next. Figure 11 is a graphic representation of this
transitional process.
39
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
Figure 11
Parents matter. The NAEP 2000 national reading assessment of fourth-grade students
found the following:
 Higher than average scores among students who reported more types of reading
material at home.13
 Students who discussed their studies at home, regardless of frequency, had higher
reading scores than students who reported never discussing their studies at home.
 Students who talked about reading with family and friends frequently, had higher
average scores than students who never or hardly ever talked about reading
(Donahur, 2001).
Parents, particularly literate parents, are crucial to children’s success in school. The 2003
National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAA) study examined how parents/caregivers
68% of students who had three or more different types of reading materials at home performed at the Proficient level,
while students who had two or fewer types of reading material at home tended to perform at the lower Basic level.
Students who had four types of reading material at home performed the highest of all (DONAHUE, 2001).
13
40
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
with different literacy levels interacted with their children. The percentage of parents
with children ages 2-17 whose children often saw them reading increased with each
literacy level. The percentage of parents who helped children with their homework also
increased with each literacy level. In addition, even though almost all parents reported
that their children had at least one or two books of their own, the percentage was even
higher among parents with intermediate or proficient prose literacy.
Community partnerships make a difference. The community as a whole, and not only
parents, can influence the academic success of school-age students. Schools do not
function in a vacuum and it is the role of the surrounding community to support the work
of the schools and promote literacy. Community-school relationships are crucial to the
future welfare of the Midland counties. As Beaulieu and Israel (2004:44) have shown,
“the academic success of young people is not a singular product of what happens in
schools.” In rural areas especially, local school can provide the central hubs for
underserved communities since local organizations better understand the roles they can
play in supporting school success. The role of local schools in rural communities is cited
as critical in building attractive, sustainable communities and economies (Lyson, 2005;
Woods, Doeksen & St. Clair, 2005; Barkley, Henry & Li, 2005).
Limit summertime loses. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University concluded that twothirds of the achievement gap between lower- and higher-income youth results from
unequal access to summer learning opportunities. (American Sociological Review, Vol.
72, April 2007). According to the Afterschool Alliance, 25% of students in the entire
state of South Carolina participate in summer learning programs.14 The chart below
(figure 12) shows the cumulative effects of summer losses before the third grade. One
could imagine how much higher students’ reading achievement would be in the third
grade if the summer losses could be limited or eliminated.
14
After School Alliance. (n.d.). Retrieved December 2011, from http://www.afterschoolalliance.org
41
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
SUMMER READING LOSSES FOR STUDENTS IN SOUTH CAROLINA’S
READING FIRST PROGRAM
Figure 12
(Office of program evaluation/South Carolina Policy Center College of Education, University of South
Carolina, February, 2011)
REGIONAL PROVIDERS
I support literacy in the Midlands because too many children are below average with
their reading. There is a tremendous need for summer academic enrichment programs,
such as the Columbia Urban League, Inc. currently sponsors. Juanita Dean-Bates
There are 21 school districts in the 11 county region that provide the education
infrastructure to the region. School districts in the region rely heavily on state and federal
funding because many lack the retail economies to sustain local sales tax bases. The
42
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
structural limitations of South Carolina’s tax system are an ever-present barrier for the
public schools of the region. Low property values make for a low property tax base.
The latest report cards published by the South Carolina Department of Education have
graded only one out of the 21 school districts as having met Adequate Yearly Progress.
That district is in Saluda County. Adequate yearly progress (AYP) is the measure by
which schools, districts, and states are held accountable for student performance under
Title I of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB). Under NCLB, AYP is used to
determine if schools are successfully educating their students. The law requires states to
use a single accountability system for public schools to determine whether all students, as
well as individual subgroups of students, are making progress toward meeting state
academic content standards. The goal is to have all students reaching proficient levels in
reading and math by 2014 as measured by performance on state tests. Progress on those
standards must be tested yearly in grades 3 through 8 and in one grade in high school.
The results are then compared to prior years, and, based on state-determined AYP
standards, used to determine if the school has made adequate progress towards the
proficiency goal (Department of Education, 2001).
Fifty-three percent of the schools districts participated in the survey process and included:
Clarendon County District 3
Doby Mill Elementary School
Frances Mack Intermediate School
Gilbert High School
Gilbert Elementary School
Kershaw County School District
Lexington School District 1
Lexington School District 3
Orangeburg Consolidated School District 5
Richland County School District 1
Richland County School District 2
In addition to school district services, there are other regional services. Reading Recovery
is an Early Intervening Service (EIS) designed to provide students with targeted
assistance before being identified as learning disabled. Reading Recovery is a
scientifically, research-based EIS. By intervening early, Reading Recovery can halt the
debilitating cycle of failure for low-achieving children. Reading Recovery enables
43
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
learners to make accelerated progress, catch up with grade-level peers, and profit from
regular classroom reading instruction.
Volunteers provide a substantial support for literacy providers in the region, especially
the K-12 schools. The number of volunteer and service learning tutoring programs that
have developed over the past several years is impressive and an indicator of the strong
community commitment to address low literacy. The providers that responded to the
survey indicated that that they use a total of 3,687 volunteers throughout the year.
Teach for America recently expanded their service area to include the state of South
Carolina. They plan to bring 30 top college graduates and professionals to teach in some
of the state’s highest-need rural schools, and at least 30 additional corps members in each
of the following two years. Teach for America selected South Carolina as an expansion
site for this school year based on support from state and school district leaders seeking an
additional pipeline of effective teachers to address the region’s significant achievement
gap. Currently teachers have been placed in only the southernmost counties in the
Midland region.
NEEDS:
When you inspect the percentage of students that test below standard in reading, you
realize that in most districts, this percentage increases from 3rd to 8th grade. In other
words, instead of decreasing the number of students who are not reading at standard
levels, their numbers actually increase (Figure 13).
PERCENT OF STUDENT TESTING BELOW STANDARD IN READING
County
Calhoun
Clarendon
Fairfield
Kerhsaw
Lee
Lexington
Newberry
Percent 3rd graders testing Percent 8th graders testing below
below standard in reading standard in reading
13.6
34.8
24.4
47.7
43.5
42.0
18.6
29.6
51.9
56.0
18.9
25.9
28.3
42.5
44
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
Orangeburg
Richland
Saluda
Sumter
Region Average
36.2
23.5
27.6
22.6
28.1
46.3
33.9
44.7
38.4
40.2
Figure 13
Finally, although there are multiple initiatives for improving the school and the teaching
of reading, writing, and math, it is not clear how effective such initiatives have been,
especially when they come and go. Changes in administration at the national level, the
lack of program funding, changing standards and changing priorities leaves schools
challenged. “We never quite know what is changing and what the results of each
successive program have been,” said one participant. Measuring the performance of
programs and community-wide progress is essential knowledge for focusing resources
and a key role of Literacy 2030.
Teach for America is committed to ensuring that every child-no matter their backgroundhas the chance to receive an excellent education. Josh Bell
Summary of Needs and Recommendations
K-12 School Needs
K-12 School Recommendations
School readiness
Link the K-12 school system to the early
childhood programs and parents to ensure
smooth transition for the students.
Low reading skills
Increase targeted professional development
for K-12 teachers in research based reading
instruction
Early intervention to address disabilities
Coordinate early intervention programs with
45
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
early on needed
K-12, Board of MRDD, and adult education
to provide seamless services and quick
referrals
Attendance
Increase parent participation and
information
Access to summer learning opportunities
Provide greater number of summer learning
programs in high need counties/districts.
Graduation rates unacceptably low
Strategies are needed to address
students/school with the most critical needs
Increase afterschool programming and
parental involvement programs ensuring
that learning activities link to classroom
activities
Measuring change and impact at the
program and community level
Develop region-wide performance
measurement and evaluation system for
services across the lifespan.
OUT OF SCHOOL TIME PROGRAMMING
Library visits per capita, 2009
United States
177/147 (state avg)
South
Carolina
41/144
Midland
Region
11/31
Number of central/branch libraries
United States
4.7
South
Carolina
3.6
Midland
Region
1.88
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Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
RESEARCH
I am committed to inspiring and developing our youth today to prepare them to be
socially responsible and ready to lead us tomorrow. Kimberly Cousineau, YMCA of
Sumter
Young people spend only 20% of their time in school. How they spend the remaining
80% of their time impacts their learning. Unfortunately, many children do not have
access to enriching opportunities during this out of school time. Unsupervised “latchkey”
children who spend their after-school time alone or on the streets can face numerous
dangers.
Out of School Time (OST) programs provide additional supports for school success and
bridge the gap between school and home for many children. Programs such as Boys and
Girls Clubs of the Midlands and YMCA of Sumter offer activities to children after school
where literacy is a component of the program. There was a strong agreement in the focus
group sessions that “Libraries are an essential source of support for children’s literacy
success.”
Libraries serve an important purpose in the community and especially in the K-12
landscape. Libraries serve, not only as a source of literacy materials, but also as a safe
place to go after school. More and more libraries are also providing a variety of family
literacy services.
Libraries represented in the survey include:
Calhoun County Library
Fairfield County Library
Gilbert Imagination Library
Kershaw County Library
Newberry County Library
Orangeburg County Library
Richland County Public Library
South Carolina State Library
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Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
While budget reductions have been seen from coast to coast, the southeastern section of
the country has been the hardest hit, with declines as large as 30 percent in South
Carolina FY09 compared with FY08. Per capita state aid in South Carolina has fallen
back to 2003 levels, at the same time inflation has averaged between 2.5 and 3.4 percent
annually. Libraries are part of the solution when a community is struggling economically
– assisting the unemployed with jobs searches, helping the unskilled learn to use a
computer, providing homework help and more. Advocating for sufficient resources to
meet the region’s needs is an important role of the coalition.
Research demonstrates that students in OST programs have:
 Greater engagement in learning – improved behavior in school, increased sense of
self, better work habits and improved attitudes to school;
 Higher academic performance – improved homework completion, improved
grades, higher scores on achievement tests and reduction of grade retention.
These results also translate into benefits for working parents, who gain peace of mind by
knowing children are in a secure and supervised location and involved in well-structured
programs (Nellie Mae, 2003). In South Carolina, the public school districts are the
largest provider of afterschool programming. Religious organizations, Boys and Girls
Clubs, private schools, and YMCA’s round out the top five providers of after school
programs in the state. The Afterschool Alliance estimates that 46% of all students in
South Carolina who do not attend an after school program would likely participate if it
were available in their community
OST programs are not a cure-all. The Critical Hours Report (2003) researched numerous
programs across the country and determined that “a few hours a day in an after-school
program is not likely to compensate for a poor quality education or years of alienation
from school culture and expectation” (Nellie Mae, 2003). However, the same study did
report:
 Youth benefit from consistent participation in well-run, high quality after-school
programs
 After-school programs can increase engagement in learning
 After-school programs can increase educational equity
48
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
 After-school programs can build key skills necessary for success in today’s
economy
Benefits of afterschool programs. Afterschool programs have been shown to improve
student academic achievement, increase attendance rates and future aspirations, as well as
decrease high school dropout rates. As an example, participants in North Carolina’s
Young Scholars Program with at least 280 hours in the program averaged double digit
increases annually for proficiency in both math and reading. Promotion rates rose by 38
percent. Furthermore, the number of Young Scholars receiving A’s and B’s increased an
average of 38 percent, while the number receiving F’s decreased an average of 50
percent. (Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, 2006)
Parents who are concerned about their children’s afterschool care miss an average of
eight days of work per year. Decreased worker productivity related to parental concerns
about afterschool care costs businesses up to $300 billion per year. (Brandeis University,
Community, Families and Work Program, 2004 and Catalyst & Brandeis University,
December 2006)
"It costs $300 a day or $100,000 a year to lock a child up. It costs $100 a
day to put a youth in a wilderness camp. Placing a child with an intensive
supervision officer costs $7.40 a day. But teen afterschool centers cost
$1.50 a day. These issues echo across South Carolina, and we can all come
together around a common goal [of supporting afterschool programs]."
Judge William R. Byars, Director of the South Carolina Department of
Juvenile Justice
REGIONAL PROVIDERS
4-H Afterschool is part of a national initiative that provides extraordinary learning
opportunities to school age youth in urban, suburban, and rural communities across South
Carolina. 4-H Afterschool is a collaborative effort of the Cooperative Extension System state land grant universities, state and county governments, and the Cooperative State
Research, Education, and Extension Service, United States Department of Agriculture and National 4-H Council. For young people, 4-H Afterschool provides opportunities to
participate in fun programs while developing valuable skills with lifelong benefits. For
49
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
parents and family members, 4-H Afterschool creates safe, healthy, enriching
environments that enhance young people’s social, emotional, physical, and academic
success. For youth-serving organizations, 4-H Afterschool offers extensive resources to
help train staff, implement sound youth development practices, create new after-school
programs, and strengthen existing programs. One 4-H study of over a quarter million
youth in grades 5 – 12 noted that children in 4-H youth development programs had (4-H,
2008);
 Higher educational aspirations
 Higher achievement motivation
 Greater desire to help others
 Higher self esteem
 Better decision-making skills
 Higher level of interaction and communication with adults
 Better ability to make friends
Boys and Girls Clubs of the Midlands offers OST programming at six sites in the
Midland Counties, two in Richland, two in Lexington, one in Fairfield, and one in
Kershaw. They provide after school care for K- 12 children. Many children stay with
them right through their school life.
21st Century Community Learning Centers are federal grants that are administered
through the South Carolina Department of Education and fund afterschool learning
programs. The Midland counties include a total of 40 21st Century Community Learning
Centers (CCLC). In 2011, roughly 118 of these grants were awarded throughout the state,
serving 215 schools. Perhaps not surprisingly, the Midland counties with the highest
number of 21st CCLC’s also has one of the lowest rates of juveniles referred to the court
system. Richland county has 18 21st CCLC and has 3.8% of juveniles referred to court.
While juvenile delinquency is a multi-faceted problem, the research demonstrates the
effects of afterschool programming on decreasing delinquency rates.
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Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
The region currently lacks a coordinated process for recruiting, training and placement of
volunteers who would serve as tutors and mentors in afterschool services and adults.
Literacy coalitions across the country often serve this centralized organizational role.
Other Out of School Time providers include the South Carolina Afterschool Alliance,
Lower Richland Youth Development Organization, Salvation Army of the Midlands,
South Carolina State Library, and SEED, Inc.,
SUMMARY OF NEEDS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Needs
Recommendations
Increase tutoring, mentoring and
afterschool services
Identify and secure both public and private
funding to expand current services
Recruit, train and coordinate volunteers
Engage corporate and community partners
to recruit volunteers
Provide centralized, coordinated process for
volunteers
Lack of access to afterschool information
and resources
Identify and secure funding for Out of
School Time programs, engage community
and civic organizations
Out of School Time programs not aligned
with specific district goals in all cases
Infuse literacy activities into all after school
programs and coordinate with K-12 to
impact school outcomes
YOUTH AND THE TRANSITION FROM SCHOOL TO WORK AND COLLEGE
Rate of birth to teen parents per 1,000, 2009
United States
39.1%
South
Carolina
49.0%
Midland
Region
50.6%
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Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
RESEARCH
Community transformation requires that schools effectively prepare youth with the skills
to succeed in college and/or the workplace. For youth facing uphill academic struggles,
the need for transitional support between school and college and/or work is especially
great.
Some of the youth who drop out of school find their way to alternative education
programs. These youth are not immediately eligible to enter college, yet if they enter the
workforce, they qualify only for low wage positions with few long-range opportunities.
An employer commented that many youth who leave high school or graduate with low
literacy skills also have low numeracy skills, poor communication skills, and
underdeveloped interpersonal and life skills. These employees undermine the economic
success of local businesses. “There is no formal dropout recovery program and it is very
hard for students who dropout to re-enter. We need to work with dropouts and reach out
to them”.
Teen pregnancy is a critical issue in Central Carolina. "Teen pregnancy and childbearing
have significant economic and community costs.” Teen mothers are less likely to obtain
adequate prenatal care and to complete high school or attend college. Children of teenage
mothers are at greater risk for preterm birth, low birth weight, poverty, and welfare
dependence.
WHICH STUDENTS ARE MOST AT RISK OF DROPPING OUT? 15
Age. Students who dropout tends to be older compared to their grade-level peers.
Gender. Students who dropout are more likely to be male. Females who dropout often do
so due to reasons associated with pregnancy.
Socioeconomic background. Dropouts are more likely to come from low-income families.
Ethnicity. The rate of dropout is higher on average for Black, Latino, and Native
American youth.
15
Overview of Status Variables Associated with Dropping Out (Macmillan, 1991; Rosenthal, 1998;
Rumberger, 1995; Wolman, Bruininks, & Thurlow, 1989)
52
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
Native language. Students who come from non-English speaking backgrounds are more
likely to have higher rates of dropout.
Mobility. High levels of household mobility contribute to increased likelihood of
dropping out.
Ability. Lower scores on measures of cognitive ability are associated with higher rates of
dropping out.
Disability. Students with disabilities (especially those with emotional/behavioral
disabilities) are at greater risk of dropping out.
Parental employment. Dropouts are more likely to come from families in which the
parents are unemployed.
School size and type. School factors that have been linked to dropout include school type
and large school size.
Family structure. Students who come from single-parent families are at greater risk of
dropout. Studies identify the following reasons why students dropping out:
Grades. Students with poor grades are at greater risk of dropping out.
Disruptive behavior. Students who dropout are more likely to have exhibited behavioral
and disciplinary problems in school.
Absenteeism. A low rate of attendance is a strong predictor of dropout.
School policies. Alterable school policies associated with dropout include raising
academic standards without providing supports, tracking, and frequent use of suspension.
School climate. Positive school climate is associated with lower rates of dropout.
Parenting. Homes characterized by permissive parenting styles have been linked with
higher rates of dropout.
Sense of belonging. Alienation and decreased levels of participation in school have been
associated with increased likelihood of dropout.
Attitudes toward school. The beliefs and attitudes (e.g., locus of control, motivation to
achieve) that students hold toward school are important predictors of dropout.
53
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
Educational support in the home. Students whose families provide higher levels of
educational support for learning are less likely to dropout.
Retention. Students who dropout are more likely to have been held back a grade or more
than students who graduate. Using National Education Longitudinal Study data, being
held back was identified as the single biggest predictor of dropping out.
Students who are succeeding tend to stay in school. Therefore, interventions aimed at
increasing performance may be the best strategy for the academically struggling students.
The following reasons why students stay in school was synthesized from a variety of
studies (Christenson, Sinclair, Lehr, & Hurley, 2000). They include:
 Supportive, nurturing family and home environment
 Interaction with and the involvement of committed, concerned educators and
other adults
 Development of perseverance and optimism
 Improved attitude toward school and increased motivation to obtain a diploma
 Positive, respectful relationships between staff and students
 Satisfaction with the learning experience (e.g., social climate, instructional
climate, school course offerings, and school rules)
 Relevance of curriculum
 Fair discipline policies
Another challenge for Literacy 2030 will be to help create environments that are most
aligned to success. High-school graduates need to be supported in their next steps.
According to the National Commission on Literacy, as many as 70% of students entering
community colleges need to enroll in remedial classes before they can embark on work
toward a degree.
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Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
I believe that access to literacy is the civil rights issue of our generation. We can't move
forward as a nation if we are leaving half of our minority children behind when they
drop out of high school and never learn how to read. Shanna Poston
REGIONAL PROVIDERS:
South Carolina Virtual School Program provides an online alternative to traditional
public schools. Students are able to receive up to 3 units of high school credit per year up
to 12 units within four years. The program’s goal is to offer high quality, standardsbased online courses with the intention of increasing graduation rates in the state.
New Morning Foundation is a non-partisan private-sector long-term initiative to improve
young people’s reproductive health education, counseling, and clinical services
throughout South Carolina. Their mission is to decrease the number of unintended
pregnancies among people under 30 and limit the spread of HIV/AIDS and sexually
transmitted infections. They provide funding for community-based programs that
empower people under 30 to make responsible decisions. They support advocacy groups
across the state that are working to improve public policy, protect individual privacy, and
lobby to protect and promote good public health policy.
In keeping with their mission, New Morning Foundation:
 Makes grants to support educational and clinical programs that reduce unplanned
births
 Promotes medically accurate, age-appropriate reproductive health education in
schools and communities
 Provides greater access to reproductive health counseling and clinical services
 Encourages groups who share these values to advocate for improved reproductive
health policy at the state level
 Lobbies at the state level, and occasionally the federal level, to protect and
promote good public health policy.
The South Carolina Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy was founded in 1994 to
respond to concerns in South Carolina and across the country about high rates of teen
pregnancy. Since that time, the South Carolina Campaign has worked in all of the state's
46 counties exclusively focused on the reduction of teen pregnancy. After 16 years, great
progress has been made but much work remains. From 1994 through 2004, teen
55
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
pregnancy rates in South Carolina decreased by 25%. Even with such remarkable
progress more than one in every three teen females will get pregnant, at least once, before
her 20th birthday. More importantly, teen pregnancy rates over the last three years have
begun to increase. Since 2004 teen pregnancy rates have increased by 8% and have
increased in 34 of the state's 46 counties. Teen pregnancy not only frequently interrupts
the education of the mother, it also impacts the child. Parenting classes are needed and
critical for the futures of this vulnerable group as well as continuing education for the
parents. (Figure 14)
County
Calhoun
Clarendon
Fairfield
Kerhsaw
Lee
Lexington
Newberry
Orangeburg
Richland
Saluda
Sumter
Region Average
Rate of birth to teens 2009
(per 1,000)
High school dropout rate
37.0
21%
60.4
34%
49.4
35%
51.0
27%
71.9
27%
46.1
18%
57.5
18%
52.0
22%
33.4
25%
43.5
17%
54.3
21%
50.6
24%
Figure 14
It is imperative that the Midlands community makes achieving 100% literacy an
imperative to create a skilled labor force that will improve the quality of life for all of its
citizens. David Kunz
NEEDS:
Figure 15 breaks down several factors that influence graduation rates and quantifies them
by county.
56
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
GRADUATION FACTORS PER SCHOOL DISTRICT
District
Name
Calhoun
Clarendon 1
Clarendon 2
Clarendon 3
Fairfield
Kerhsaw
Lee
Lexington 1
Lexington 2
Lexington 3
Lexington 4
Lexington 5
Newberry
Orangeburg 3
Orangeburg 4
Orangeburg
Richland 1
Richland 2
Saluda
Sumter 1
Sumter 17
Single
Families
32.0
39.3
40.2
27.2
41.9
24.5
37.3
40.3
34.9
29.3
34.0
Disabilities Attendance
6.2
96.1
8.7
95.8
11.3
8.1
7.5
94.6
5.2
95.9
7.6
95.0
4.7
98.0
76
8.6
10.2
5.7
7.8
95.2
6.6
94.9
3.9
5.0
7.3
96.4
5.9
7.1
95.8
7.6
95.5
8.0
Figure 15
57
Grad
Rate
80.6
77.9
74.5
72.3
61.9
73.1
83.9
94.6
90.9
93.1
82.8
94.6
69.7
91.1
69.9
65.1
64.7
73.7
75.0
76.0
77.1
Parent
Involved
84.1
96.7
97.6
86.0
94.4
96.8
99.7
92.3
99.4
96.2
96.9
98.6
98.8
94.4
99.0
99.4
96.9
87.9
100
89.2
99.6
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
SUMMARY OF NEEDS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Needs
Recommendations
Students may not be identified before they
drop out
Review successful dropout prevention
programs for replicable strategies
Students with low skills struggle in
community college remedial classes
Expand tutors and mentors at the
community college level
Teen parents need additional supports to
succeed in school
Support existing services and create more
effective pathways for teen parents
ADULT LITERACY AND THE ROLE OF FURTHER EDUCATION
INSTITUTIONS
Percent of adults lacking basic literacy skills
United States
14.5%
South Carolina
15%
Midland
Region
14.5%
Percent of adults (25+) without high school diploma or equivalency
Midland
South Carolina
Region
United States
17.8%
16.2%
12.4%
RESEARCH
The National Evaluation of Adult Education Programs (NEAEP) reported that,
nationally, between 6 and 10 % of those potentially needing services enrolled in classes
(Review of Adult Education Programs and Their Effectiveness, June, 1995, Mary T.
Moore and Michael Stavrianos). It is estimated that fewer than 1.7 % in the Midlands
who would benefit from services are enrolled in programs. The conservative estimate of
actual individuals with less than a 9th grade education level for Central Carolina is 6.4%.
However, there are many others who have basic proficiency but do not have competent
functional literacy levels sufficient to navigate the healthcare, the legal, or education
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Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
systems to support their children’s success. Examples of literacy levels and associated
activities can be found in Appendix 4.
The service delivery system for adult education in Central Carolina is complex and
fragmented, consisting of various types of organizations operating at the state, regional
and community levels. Some, primarily the school districts, receive state and federal
funding and report their program outcomes to the State and the National Adult Education
Reporting System. Others, including small faith-based and tutoring programs do not
receive public dollars and do not report their numbers served and program outcomes to
the state or to any other single coordinating entity. Therefore, it is difficult to capture the
total number of individuals in Central Carolina receiving literacy services through
publicly funded programs, nonprofits, and faith‐based organizations.
REGIONAL PROVIDERS
The adult education system prepares people for work and careers and is comprised of a
number of programs administered by the K-12 school system. While the majority of adult
education services are provided by the K-12 school districts, a number of them are
provided by other organizations that include faith based institutions, public libraries, and
community organizations. Figure 16 compares the percent of adults lacking basic literacy
skills per county.
59
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
Percent Adult Lacking
Basic Literacy Skills
28
30
23
25
20
23
19
19
17
15
15
12
10
10
23
21
5
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
Figure 16
7
8
9
10
1. Calhoun
2. Clarendon
3. Fairfield
4. Kershaw
5. Lee
6. Lexington
7. Newberry
8. Orangeburg
9. Richland
10. Saluda
11. Sumter
11
NEEDS
Programs offer a range of curriculum materials, especially computer-based materials, but
many programs do not have a wide variety of options. Individual learning plans
supported by contextualized one-on-one instruction and contextualized classroom
learning are the exception rather than the rule.
Issues of recruitment, attendance, and persistence were raised by many. Low attendance
and low retention seem to be hallmarks of many adult literacy and out-of-school youth
programs. “There is still a real sense of embarrassment to admit they can’t read, whether
the person is 20 or 80 years old.” Key informants commented that students in adult
education and literacy classes come only 2 or 3 times a week for a maximum of 12 hours,
despite research indicating that it may take as many as 150 hours of instruction to
increase just one grade level. “Student progress in programs offering classes only once or
twice a week may not be of sufficient intensity for learners to show improvement and see
the value of continuing attendance,” said one provider.
Participants expressed concern that adult programs look like copies of traditional schools
where people have had poor educational experiences. Many participants agreed that the
ideal situation would be to understand all the needs of each person or family, subsidize
60
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
those needs, make services intense and relevant to needs, offer childcare and
transportation, and provide education, work experience, and training simultaneously.
“Motivation is very limited for many students and potential students of adult education.
We find it difficult to inspire people to get excited about their learning. There are such a
lot of needs that we are not addressing.” “We must increase the numbers – we are only
serving the tip of the iceberg!” Several people commented on the need for more drop-in
adult education centers with computer labs and teachers with flexible hours on evenings
and weekends.
In addition, learners also may have diagnosed or undiagnosed disabilities or at least
learning styles that may pose barriers to various modes of instruction. Learner goals and
expectations impact their willingness to engage in certain activities and the levels of
frustration and/or ambiguity they may be willing to tolerate. Indeed, many learners are
comfortable with endless workbook exercises, familiar and well-defined tasks, even if
they don't understand why they are doing what they are doing. Contextualizing the
learner’s activities to line up with their goals and/or work environment often leads to
greater success.
Adult literacy service providers were concerned about reduced budgets and program cuts
that seriously impact program effectiveness. With program closings and staff changes,
they reported great difficulty sustaining an effective system. Literacy providers also noted
that it is difficult for a person reading at a third grade reading level to achieve eighth
grade level literacy skills. Not every person will achieve a GED. “Those with limited
literacy capacity or serious learning disabilities need help to reach their potential and
enroll in appropriate vocational training to become more self-sufficient in their lives and
work.”
Adult Basic Education and GED programs that provide services to adults commented
that:
 There is an increase in older learners needing help because they are changing jobs
 It takes time to find the right tutor match for individualized learning
 One third of the learners do not continue over time
 Entry level testing documents that most students are coming into adult literacy
programs with less than a sixth grade reading level (Basic or Below Basic)
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Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
 It is challenging to track the progress of students who are tutored one-on-one by
volunteers
 Recruiting and training volunteer tutors is an on-going process
 More time needs to be spent on recruiting learners
 Some programs do not have a recruitment and data collection staff member for
the level of follow up needed
Each of the universities and colleges also struggles to support students who are at risk of
dropping out, and there is a high level of college non-completion. With the federal
administration’s push toward both high school and college completion, there are
opportunities in the coalition planning process to collaborate and also jointly apply for
federal grant opportunities to work together on solution building.
Literacy and Faith-Based Communities
Many adult learners say they would like to go back to school so they can read the Bible.
There are numerous faith-based organizations in the region offering educational and
social services; but there is no coordinated directory of services, and it is challenging to
determine what services are offered where and how they are funded. The literacy
component of many of these programs is limited, and literacy education is rarely infused
into other services. Some of these programs are highly motivational, encouraging
students to understand the connection between reading, speaking, writing, and the events
of the world around them.
Some faith-based organizations providing literacy services in the region include:
Seed, Inc.
Eau Claire Shalom Ministries
Interfaith Community Services of South Carolina
Kingdom Reapers Ministry
The Cooperative Ministries
Health Literacy
Health literacy is defined by Healthy People 2010 as “the degree to which individuals
have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services
needed to make appropriate health decisions” (Healthy People, 2008). The American
Medical Association Council of Scientific Affairs defines functional health literacy as
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Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
“the ability to read and comprehend prescription bottles, appointment slips, and other
essential health-related materials required to successfully function as a patient” (AMA,
2008). Among adults receiving Medicare and Medicaid benefits, 27% and 30%
respectively had below basic health literacy levels and that those in poverty had lower
literacy levels than the rest of the population (NAAL, 2003).
Persons with limited health literacy skills are more likely to:
 Have difficulty navigating the complexity of healthcare systems
 Misunderstand oral instructions and written instructions from healthcare
practitioners
 A
c
c Literacy is the cornerstone of being a good citizen, a good parent, a good neighbor, and
e a catalyst for change. Kaye Shaw
s
s
healthcare support that might be designed for those in poverty or with low
literacy
 Fail to complete courses of treatment or follow medical orders
 Have disproportionately poor health
Health literacy providers in the region include:
Benefit Bank of South Carolina
EdVenture Children’s Museum
The Nurturing Center
Kershaw Health
Leadership Institute of Columbia College
Palmetto Center for Women
Richland County Public Library
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Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
SUMMARY OF NEEDS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Needs
Recommendations
Inability to serve the needs of students in
contextualized settings as well as students
with disabilities
Provide formalized professional development and
increase strategies that includes incentives for adult
education teachers and tutors
Transportation
Invite corporate and government partners to
discussions regarding creative thinking on
transportation needs
Fewer than 2% of adults with low literacy
skills are being served by the current
systems
Formalize the path from school to college and work
for ease of access and navigation by learners. A
coordinated system will limit the students that “fall
through the cracks” before they are lost from the
educational system
There is not an effective adult literacy
network in place to provide coordinated
outreach
Launch an aggressive public awareness campaign
to recruit learners, volunteers, and tutors
FINANCIAL LITERACY
RESEARCH
Numeracy includes the type of math skills needed to function in everyday life in the
home, workplace, and community (Withnall, 1995). Students of all ages use math in
everyday situations like reading board games or video game instructions, cooking,
shopping, crafts, financial transactions, traveling, interpreting information in the media,
and taking medications.
The
GE
D
tests
mea
sure
Literacy is a critical factor in healthcare because patients must be able to understand
the instructions we provide - whether it’s a prescription label or discharge instructions.
Joseph Bruce, Kershaw Health
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Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
"major and lasting" educational skills and concepts learned at the high school level that
contributes to successful functioning of adults in our society. The traditional mathematics
curriculum in high schools focuses on preparing students for college and post-secondary
institutions rather than for coping with daily life. Advanced algebra and calculus courses
are key to certain career paths, but more than half of U.S. 18-year-olds do not go on to
college, and, of those who do, many will not take additional math. Certain topics included
in the high-school math curriculum, such as trigonometry, advanced algebra, or calculus,
seldom come up in the lives of most adults. At the same time, insufficient attention is
paid by schools to developing the estimation skills adults need to handle tasks which do
not require precise calculations, and to "number sense" skills, relating the meanings
people attach to numbers. Examples of "number sense" would include grasping the big
numbers used in discussing corporate or government budget cuts, or small numbers, such
as those involved in evaluating risks (GED Items, 1995).
Mathematics instruction in the U.S. has traditionally emphasized procedural skills, and
paid little attention to development of interpretive skills. Such skills are essential if
students are to become informed citizens who can make sense of verbal or text-based
messages that touch on quantitative issues but that do not involve direct manipulation of
numbers. Adults often need to be able to handle functional tasks involving numbers
embedded in text, comprehending a problem, and choosing an action based on data from
forms, schedules, manuals, technical, and financial documents. Most high school and
adult mathematics instruction, however, tends to rely on textbooks and workbooks which
use "distilled" language that does not replicate the types of texts and communicative
demands found outside the school (GED Items, 1995).
Most adults, regardless of their occupation or living environment, need to be able to plan,
handle, and monitor the use of resources, such as money and supplies, or time and
people. Such tasks require people to optimize the use of resources, often in the presence
of conflicting goals and demands. The skills needed to handle such tasks often differ
markedly from those needed to solve the word problems which schools use to simulate
real-world dilemma (GED Items, 1995). Key informants noted that financial literacy is a
growing need of the community, especially with the national housing foreclosure crisis
and homeowners’ inability to make mortgage repayments. Inadequate financial literacy
creates enormous challenges for many Americans, especially those with limited reading
and numeracy skills. Financial literacy is beginning to be more valued and it is
increasingly important because of the effects of recession.
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Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
There is research to indicate that most adult literacy numeracy teachers could use more
training in teaching math to adults:
Adult numeracy teachers are a varied group. One U.S. national survey of
full time adult educators (regardless of teaching assignment) determined
that only 64% of the responding teachers felt "prepared" or" "very
prepared" to teach math. More than half, regardless of the number of years
teaching, indicated that they would most want to know more about "number
sense" to improve their math teaching (Sabatini, et al., 2000). An earlier
survey of adult education programs in the United States showed that 80% of
adult learners receive some mathematics-related instruction but only 5% of
the instructors in the programs are certified to teach mathematics (Gal &
Schuh, 1994) (as reported in Ginsberg)
Financial literacy exercises are included in many adult education workbooks, but the
exercises are often given in isolation from “real life”. Instructors do not have specific
financial literacy training to answer complex questions in more than a rudimentary way.
Contextualizing the coursework of the learners to reflect real life engages an adult learner
and results in more time on task and better outcomes.
REGIONAL PROVIDERS
In 2003, the Financial Literacy and Education Commission was established to improve
financial literacy and education in the United States, and in January 2008, President Bush
created a new Council on Financial Literacy. The problem persists. A Jump$tart survey
found that only 1 in 6 Americans had ever taken any class about personal finance, and
only three states require students to take such courses (although there are a number of
financial literacy bills working their way through state legislatures).
Regional providers include:
Benefit Bank of South Carolina
EdVenture Children’s Museum
Ginetta V. Hamilton Literacy Foundation
Junior Achievement of Central South Carolina
Leadership Institute of Columbia College
Palmetto Center for Women
Richland County Public Library
SC ETC
SEED, Inc.
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Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
Shepherd’s Center of Sumter
The Cooperative Ministries
NEEDS:
The introduction of technology has made a difference in the teaching of math and
especially important in the adult education classroom where assignments can be
customized to meet specific learning goals. However, smaller programs are less likely to
have computer labs, and volunteer programs may not have staff expertise to manage such
instruction. Volunteers themselves may suffer from ‘math phobia.’ There is a widespread
desire for increased numeracy and financial literacy, and focus group participants
requested that these issues be more fully addressed.
SUMMARY OF NEEDS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Needs
Recommendations
With the mortgage crisis, and limited
understanding about the impact of
predatory lending, the need for financial
literacy has increased
Identify and secure public and private
funding to support strategies for numeracy
and financial literacy education
People who have a GED or high school
diploma are still challenged by math
Enlist all providers to strengthen and
encourage mathematical skills across
programs
If we are a literate society, everyone's quality of life is better. We are more employable,
healthier and more in control of our destinies. Kim Jeffcoat
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Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
LITERACY AND SENIOR CITIZENS
Percent of population over 65 years of age
United States
13.1%
South Carolina
13.7%
Midland
Region
12.2%
RESEARCH
Senior citizens often have special literacy needs that go unrecognized. In 2003, NAAL
research showed seniors (65+) scored far below any other adult age group in literacy.
Their score was significantly lower than teenagers, young adults and those in middle age.
Part of this result can be explained by the fact that many seniors grew up in a time when
educational opportunities were less available; another reason is that mental skills,
including literacy skills, can decline with age.
Preserving mental functioning is a major concern for seniors. A 2006 survey of
Americans, ages 63 to 80, for United Healthcare's Secure Horizons found that six out of
ten seniors think mental acuity is a major challenge. Seniors are more concerned about
staying mentally sharp than about relationship issues, mood disorders or emotional
problems that often accompany aging.
The same survey found seven out of ten seniors were concerned about their health and
wellbeing, and Alzheimer's was the most feared disease. For seniors without literacy
skills to access, navigate, and understand health care systems and treatments, these fears
are undoubtedly worse. Just 3% of senior citizens have proficient health literacy skills,
and many do not understand medical instructions from providers.
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Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
Literacy Scores by Age Group
256
260
250
249
249
244
246
240
230
220
214
210
200
190
Age 16-18
Age 19-24
Age 25-39
Age 40-49
Age 50-64
Age 65+
Figure 17
SUMMARY OF NEEDS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Needs
Recommendations
Issues of low literacy among seniors have
not been sufficiently addressed
Identify and secure public and private funds
to support strategies that increase senior
literacy especially health literacy
LEARNING DISABILITIES AND DIFFERENCES
RESEARCH
Six percent of adults reported they had been diagnosed or identified as having a learning
disability (NAAL, 2006). These adults had lower prose, document, and quantitative
literacy levels than average. Adult literacy instructors report there are many more people
with learning disabilities who attend programs but have not been diagnosed. A U. S.
Department of Labor report suggested that as many as 70% of adult learners have some
kind of learning barrier that prevents them from succeeding in a traditional education
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Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
I feel literacy is important because no person should feel left out, left behind or less
than. Everyone should have the opportunity to engage in their own life. Kerry KuhlkinHornsby
setting. Identifying special needs of children early can improve the life of the child and
also can be cost effective over the long term (Glascoe, F.P., 2000).
REGIONAL PROVIDERS
Children and adults with disabilities and special needs find services designed to meet
their individual needs through Tutor Eau Claire, The Nurturing Center, and Eau Claire
Shalom Ministries. This is very limited service provision for a region of about a million
people and, therefore, an estimated population of 60,000 with learning disabilities. The
three service providers reported serving 140 learners in 2011.
NEEDS
Focus group participants and survey respondents both indicated a need for more services
designed for students with disabilities, from birth to adulthood.
Needs
SUMMARY OF NEEDS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Recommendations
Instructors lack the training and skills to
address disabilities most effectively
Explore curriculum and instructional
strategies that support students with
disabilities and provide high quality
professional development for providers
There is no formal strategy for the early
identification of children with disabilities.
Train early childhood providers in the
administration of developmental screening
Program have difficulty individualizing
programs for those with disabilities
Identify and secure public and private
funding to support strategies to improve
services for students with disabilities
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Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
TECHNOLOGY AND COMPUTER LITERACY
RESEARCH
The digital divide has compounded the gap between rich and poor, as well as the gap
between those with basic skills and those without. The 2003 NAAL survey found that 51
percent of adults with Below Basic document literacy, and 43 percent of adults with
Below Basic quantitative literacy believed that their job opportunities were limited ‘a lot’
by their lack of computer skills. Adults who had completed information technology
courses with certifications had higher average document and quantitative literacy scores
than adults who had not. Many computer training courses require a basic literacy level for
participation, and most manuals are written at a level too high for persons with limited
skills to comprehend.
REGIONAL PROVIDERS
Providers in the region include:
Benefit Bank of South Carolina
Southern Interscholastic Press Association
Epwith Children’s Home
SEED, Inc.,
Goodwill Industries of the Midlands
Richland County Public Libraries
Shepherd’s Center of Sumter
The Nurturing Center
South Carolina State Library
Palmetto Center for Women
SUMMARY OF NEEDS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Needs
Recommendations
While there are a number of computer
literacy providers, there aren’t enough to
cover the need, and efforts are not
coordinated
Develop strategies to increase coordination
of services
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Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
LITERACY, CRIME AND SAFETY
Adult correctional population, 2009
United States
7,225,800
South Carolina
24,154
Midland Region
12,327
RESEARCH
One of six factors identified as important predictors of delinquency among youth is poor
Literacy is fundamental to communication and the ability to understand each other as
well as the world around us. Henry Haitz
educational performance (Lieb, 1994). Hodges, Giuliotti, and Porpotage (1994) “One
recognized characteristic of juveniles incarcerated in correctional and detention facilities
is their poor experience with elementary and secondary education.” Through this
examination of literacy levels of prison populations, a comparison of literacy levels of
prison populations with non-prisoners, an understanding of correctional education, and
measures of correctional program effectiveness, two conclusions are inescapable: One,
literacy plays a crucial role in reducing recidivism among persons released from prison;
and two, there is a critical need for educational services in the criminal justice system.
The impact of education on recidivism increases with the level of education attained
(NAAL, 2003). Most communities lack sufficient supports and programs offering
literacy and vocational training for men and women re-entering communities after they
have been in prison. These men and women need education, housing, employment, public
assistance, substance abuse, and mental health treatment if they are to succeed and not be
caught up in criminal activities. The individual and community benefits when men and
women are prepared for re-entry success.
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Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
REGIONAL PROVIDERS
The incarcerated population of the Midland region is xxx at xx facilities. When released,
many of the people will settle back into their home neighborhoods which are primarily
within the Midland counties.
Regional providers include:
Friends of Juvenile Justice
South Carolina Department of Correction
South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services
Technical colleges
Friends of Juvenile Justice, in partnership with the Department of Juvenile Justice serves
approximately 50 incarcerated youth at their site in Columbia. Services are designed to
meet the needs of incarcerated youth and include job readiness, life skill development and
service learning.
South Carolina Department of Correction’s Self Paced In–Class Education (SPICE)
Program is an inmate education and employment initiative for adults. This initiative is a
faith–based community partnership between South Carolina Department of Correction,
South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services and area technical
colleges. The SPICE program provides meaningful educational opportunities (vocational
training, life skill training, spiritual awareness and career readiness training). The SPICE
program consists of two components; an institutional component and a community–based
supervision component.
The institutional component is operated by the Department of Corrections at designated
institutional sites. SPICE program participants will be involved in training for 60–80
hours per week. Each participant must acknowledge that this is a voluntary program and
sign a mandatory participation contract agreeing to comply with all SPICE program
guidelines. The average length of the institutional component is 18 weeks.
The community–based supervision component is operated by the Department of
Probation, Parole and Pardon Services and the area technical colleges. This component
involves the following: attendance to the designated area technical college for
vocational/educational training for 4 to 8 weeks. Participants are involved in vocational
73
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
training or GED initiative and attend spiritual events (e.g. Church) at least twice per
week. Participants are assigned community/church sponsors and mentors to assist in this
transition. Offenders who choose not to participate in spiritual events may opt to
participate in approved public works programs or community events with assistance from
their sponsor/mentor.
Upon completion of the vocational/educational training element, the designated
Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services agents will coordinate with
community sponsors/mentors, technical college staff and other service agencies to
facilitate offender employment.
The SPICE program aims to provide a means for eligible inmates to learn, work and
contribute back to their communities upon release. Fifteen inmates are in each class.
Since the program’s inception in 2007, slightly over 100 inmates have graduated from
four locations with one location being in the Midlands region. There has been a very
positive outcome on recidivism which has been 5 percent for graduates after 3 years
while the general population rate is 50 percent. The budget for the state funded program
is $350,000.
SUMMARY OF NEEDS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Needs
Recommendations
Volunteers are needed for correctional
institutions
Partner with faith based and community
organizations to recruit volunteer tutors for
the prison system
Insufficient educational opportunities
available for persons in correctional
system
Expand SPICE program to other
correctional facilities within the region
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Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AND THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF LOW
LITERACY
Average per capita income, 2009
United States
$27,041
Midland Region
$19,933
South Carolina
$23,196
RESEARCH
Literacy is the foundation for success in the workplace, and people need strong literacy
skills for a community to thrive. The positive economic effects of literacy, however,
depend not only upon academic success, but also upon the ability of men and women to
apply learned skills at work. Workforce literacy is the combination of skills needed to
secure, maintain, and advance one’s career to participate fully in the economy. Necessary
skills include English language proficiency, reading, writing, problem solving, math, and
use of information technologies, as well as understanding the specialized sector
vocabulary and having the soft skills needed for workplace success. Nationwide, the
basic educational level required for currently available positions is a minimum of two
years of college. This increases every year as more high tech jobs are introduced and
employers transform workplaces to increase productivity.
REGIONAL PROVIDERS
Regional providers include:
Midlands Education and Business Alliance
Midlands Regional Education Center
Midlands Workforce Development Board
Midlands Education and Business Alliance works with K-16 students, parents and
educators as well as community partners promoting career awareness and educational
opportunities. Approximately 25,000 students attended as part of a school, business or
community event or session during 2011.
75
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
Midlands Regional Education Center provides job keeping and job seeking skills to
middle and high school students in Lexington, Richland and Fairfield Counties. They
deliver services through classes at high schools and provided programs to about 300
students in 2011. In addition, they work to link programs for adults in the Midlands
service area.
Gov. Nikki Haley announced in August 2011, a pair of initiatives for increased job
services statewide. Along with the SC Department of Employment and Workforce and
the State Workforce Investment Board, Haley unveiled plans to align workforce system
resources, economic development and education by restructuring the State Workforce
Investment Board and launching a new branding campaign for local workforce centers.
SC Works is the new name for the organization.
SC Works Midland is the Workforce Investment Act Administrative (WIA) unit for
Richland, Lexington and Fairfield counties and is similar to services provided in other
counties. The services are provided to both youth and adults and include job readiness
and motivation, job search assistance, job placement and job retention services. SC
Works Midland, like other WIA Boards, do not accept people into their work training
programs who test below an 8th grade level of education. Since many out of school youth
and adults test below a 6th grade level, a significant portion of those in need of services
are not eligible.
Through the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, the South Carolina Workforce
Investment Board provides Incumbent Worker Training (IWT) funds to local Workforce
Boards. IWT funds are used for upgrading skills of existing workers through training
provided or arranged for by their employer. In SC Works Midland investment area, IWT
funds are awarded to applicant businesses based on a competitive procurement. The SC
Works Midland’s Board has focused its IWT resource on helping smaller businesses to
increase their ability to provide high quality products and services and compete globally.
Coordination of employer needs, SC Work Center services, and community-based
organizations is very low and, therefore, low literate youth and adults go unmatched with
services and employment. Pathways for low literate persons into appropriate training and
gainful employment needs to be built. Apprenticeships, certifications, and pre-bridge
programs need to be coordinated and/or built to serve thousands of residents in Central
Carolina.
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Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
SUMMARY OF NEEDS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Needs
Recommendations
Literacy programs need to address job
readiness skills
Develop additional partnerships for youth
and adult program to expand job search,
career explorations and soft skills
Coordination of employer needs and
support services in the community needed
for employee success on the job
Identify and secure public and private
funding to support workforce development
pathway strategies
I believe literacy is important because I want more educated workforce, better informed
public, and happier children. Deborah Padgett
PROGRAM QUALITY AND ACCESS
Issues of program quality and access are shared by various types of programs. Only a
small portion of the children, adults, and out-of-school youth in need of services are
enrolled in programs. Issues of outreach, marketing, and retention indicate that the needs
are greater than the current service capacity. Strategies for coordinated staff development,
program improvement, marketing, fundraising, and evaluation can all be undertaken with
a collaborative approach that is less costly, more effective, and has proven successful in
many other areas of the country.
Many of the region’s current providers have limited knowledge about funding
opportunities. The providers range from those who can complete numerous sophisticated
grant application processes to those that rely on only one or two resources to maintain
program operations. Some programs do not provide the traditional ‘outcomes’ required
by public funding streams, but they do document success in terms of client achievement
and other non-traditional outcomes.
77
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
Traditional outcomes typically refer to the completion of a grade equivalent reading
level, number of hours in the program (not necessarily linked to any accomplishment),
advancement up the Adult Basic Education (ABE) and General Equivalency Diploma
(GED) ladder, and advancement toward work. Non-traditional outcomes may have as
much, if not more, impact and might include such things as learning to balance a
checkbook, understanding a rental agreement, developing strategies to help a child
succeed, learning a computer program, or engaging with program participants in literacy
activities to improve health or safety in the community.
What are the strengths and weaknesses of regional service providers? Providers in
Central Carolina cover the full range of lifelong learning and a broad scope of diverse
program services. However, especially in the more rural areas, the reach of programs is
very limited. Developing the existing network of service delivery, by strengthening
resources and building capacity, will go a long way to increasing the numbers served but
increasing program effectiveness must go hand in hand with increasing scale.
As a result of Literacy 2030 Summit and focus groups, it was clear many did not have the
support needed to build strong inter-program communications, and fragmentation led to
lack of coordination and few strong pipelines between programs.
Many providers commented that they were tied by funding restraints and did not have the
needed resources to work more closely with intake and transitional programs. There was
very little follow-up after a student exited from one program and either enrolled in
another or dropped out. Some programs do not have full classrooms, while others start
the semester with a full complement of students but do not retain them for program
completion.
During Literacy 2030's work, it was apparent that several programs not envisioning
themselves as literacy providers realized that they were indeed providing content area
programs, perhaps in the arts or sports arena, where literacy is or could be infused in
teaching and training.
The process of assessing current services encouraged organizations to look at their
educational programs from the point of view of adults and children with limited literacy
skills, plain language presentation, and contextualized learning.
78
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
LITERACY INFUSION
Literacy infusion is a concept that breaks literacy out of separate silos and infuses it into
every level of the community. Traditional models put literacy into individual boxes, such
as “early childhood” or “adult education”. The literacy infusion model recognizes that
literacy does not belong in any one box, but in all. Literacy should be a part of the
corrections system, housing, teen pregnancy prevention, community safety, and so on. In
order for community transformation to take place, infusion must occur: 1) across the age
span, 2) across social issues, and 3) all levels of community planning. The infusion model
helps to coordinate and build ownership throughout communities and helps to integrate
literacy services and funding.
PROVIDER SURVEY RESULTS
Staff Retention
Record-Keeping
Planning
Clientele/Student
Recruitment
Evaluation and
Accountability Procedures
Public Relations
Staff
Training/Development
Volunteer Recruitment
90.0%
80.0%
70.0%
60.0%
50.0%
40.0%
30.0%
20.0%
10.0%
0.0%
Fundraising
What do you see as your organization’s
areas of greatest need?
The provider survey indicates fundraising is the top issue for agencies. This was followed
by volunteer recruitment, staff training and development, public relations and
evaluation/accountability as the top five challenges.
79
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
Getting enough funding to pay the rent. I haven't paid rent since July. My county
appropriation was cut 69 percent this year and 17 percent last year. (86 %) and
teachers won't work for free.
Fund development is critical because it is essential to capacity building. Many providers
of literacy services have been accessing resources and conducting programs without
much knowledge of what the rest of the community was concurrently doing. There is no
collective strategic plan to inform them what would be in the best interests of the
community to pursue – when and for what and by whom. A regional literacy plan itself
will be a vehicle to leverage external resources into the Midland region. Funders will see
the coordinated efforts of the key leadership and stakeholders – business, government,
Because this program is no longer funded, we have to recruit more dedicated
individuals to assist.
education, nonprofits, faith community and residents – and be willing to invest in the
economic development and social change efforts.
Volunteer recruitment was an issue mentioned regularly in focus groups as well as the
survey. Over 3,800 volunteers are being used by the 92 organizations who responded to
the survey. This supply does not meet the demand. Support for volunteers to maintain
their interest and involvement was also noted as an issue, as was the need to for on-going
training for volunteers. With no central coordination for literacy volunteers there may be
replication and limited capacity. This could be addressed by Literacy 2030.
Staff development was noted in many discussions as a real issue. The reporting agencies
had over 2,900 employees (not including school districts) that provided literacy services
of which 476 were certified teachers. Each service delivery area reported the need to
learn more about best practices, effective curriculum, and strategies to maximize learning
experiences. These will lead to reduction in time people spend in programs while
increasing the intensity of instruction and the persistence of learners to accomplish goals
in individuated learning plans. The need for family support, counseling and other wrap
around services was also mentioned in terms of staff development. Staff knowledge of
80
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
the community’s resources and how to take advantage of supports that are available can
improve learners’ success rates.
Public relations and marketing to build a culture of literacy is an enormous need. Not
only in order to increase awareness and support from the community at large but also for
recruiting students for the full range of lifelong learning. If all literacy services,
including early childhood, were provided at no cost to the entire community, and
marketing was targeted toward recruitment, the current system could not cope with the
increased demand. A marketing campaign must be conducted carefully in order for
system capacity (supply) to grow parallel with increased learners (demand). Initially,
public relations might be tied to increased awareness of the issues, recruitment of
volunteers and donors.
The need for evaluation and accountability procedures is illustrated well by how many
answers there were to the question. “Please describe the tracking system or database that
your organization uses to track clients/students’ progress”. There were 28 unique
responses as shown below:
Access Data Base
Parents as Teachers Data Portal
ACIRI
Pivot tables were used by staff, but with
volunteers we will have to adjust to excel list
Ages and Stages
PowerSchool- district data systems
Anecdotal
RIF reports after each distribution
Built into the learning management software scworks.org
tool
cyImpact
Self reports
Dolly Parton's Imagination Library Book
System
Enrich - district data systems
STAR Assessment tests
Excel
Survey results are analyzed by MarketSearch
annually.
First Steps Data Collection Site
this depends on program
Informal
Undetermined
Successmaker
81
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
MAP testing
We track attendance, not retention of material
MTS - a access based tracking system
We use a file system and so far that has worked,
but we no longer have access to a database
because we are not under the state training and
such.
None
WIN
The ability to measure performance and outcomes at the students, programs, counties and
regional level is crucial to building a strong and viable service delivery system.
In focus groups the need for effective evaluation and accountability procedures to ensure
learner success at every age and level was discussed. Instructors need to know that they
are using the most effective practices and curriculum materials to support student gains.
They also need to be able to assess progress in order to make course corrections and
adjustments to maximize learning experiences.
Early childhood, after school and tutoring programs on the whole do not track the
students with whom they work and do not assess progress.
Adult education providers use the ‘Test of Adult Basic Education’ for basic skills and
GED students and the Best Test for limited English speakers to pre-and post-test students.
As noted, to track learner gains each program is using a different tracking system unless
it is funded by a public funding stream in which case there is a mandated tracking system.
The Department of Labor system is not aligned with the Department of Education or with
the Department of Human Services system. Several of the smaller programs track student
data on Excel.
With no uniform way to determine learner progress it is difficult to assess the impact and
effectiveness of literacy service provision.
There is no centralized tracking or coordinated evaluation of the impact of local literacy
services in place. Each funding silo comes with its own accountability system; the
systems are not easily integrated to provide a standardized evaluation picture. It is not
possible to fully determine return on investment of either funders’ dollars or learners’
time and effort until all information is centralized and evaluated using compatible
measures and tools.
82
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
SYSTEM CAPACITY REVIEW
World Education (World Ed, 2009) suggests that programs that are ready to build their
capacity and increase service levels need the following:
o
o
o
o
Program quality support: Programs should have a well-defined role, a
management system, a system to manage human resources, and should provide a
suitable environment for learning,
Entering a program: Programs should have an organized recruitment process, an
organized approach to intake, procedures to accommodate students on a waiting
list, and should provide students with an orientation,
Participating in a program: Programs should have an effective approach to
classroom management, an effective approach to instruction, and an effective
approach to supporting persistence, and
Re-engagement: Programs should have an effective system for supporting reengagement in learning after program completion or an interruption in training.
To build the capacity of the system a coordinated approach is needed to monitor quality
and scale up activities.
PROVIDER ISSUES AND CONCERNS RELATED TO CAPACITY BUILDING
Providers reported that it is challenging working with clients with limited literacy skills.
High dropout rates impact program success. These clients have few tools to navigate the
complexity of the social service and workforce development systems. When clients come
to a program there is a time factor related to getting a job. Clients need income and
therefore are reluctant to enroll in a lengthy training program designed to increase
literacy skills when they may not have the flexibility to attend due to work conflicts.
There are few literacy counselors and those that exist have limited time to work with
clients and wish they were able to do more to help. Additionally, clients have high
expectations of staff and the role they will play in finding work for them. Clients are
frustrated if the process is slow and unproductive. Other issues mentioned included:



No screening process for learning disabilities
Lack of resources to help clients advance,
Cutback of Welfare to Work and Temporary Assistance for Needy Family programs
83
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina

Need for ongoing assessment and feedback and improved performance tracking
In some instances, the consultant noted that some of the learners had dropped out of the
larger, more impersonal programs in favor of the more individual approach and
personalized attention provided by the smaller programs.
Teachers in larger programs mentioned the need for greater classroom support and
additional resources. For example, in order to help learners succeed, some teachers
reported that they volunteered their services before and after class with one-on-one
tutoring for learners needing extra help. Teachers interviewed expressed frustration that
they had so many learners at so many different levels in the same classroom. Teachers
also expressed a desire for more computers and additional funding.
WHAT DO OUR LITERACY PROVIDERS EXPECT OF THEIR LITERACY 2030?
Here are some of the answers provided.
Create a strong network of literacy providers and funders throughout the region, better
research and data, improved literacy skills for adults that lead to employment, grade level
reading for youth
Assist with meeting our organizations greatest needs
Facilitate collaboration, seek external funding, clearinghouse for local programs and
resources
Identify best practices
Develop ideas to increase literacy for all ages
Provide training and development, increase collaboration among coalition partners,
increase funding for literacy, advocacy and promotion of need
Provide connections to resources in the community
Aid in partnership development and promote opportunities
Benchmarks for all
Enable me to understand literacy issues
84
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
Build partnerships; provide communication network; establish avenues of funding for
sustainability
I want to learn what others are doing and how we can be sure that the 1,083 children in
our care arrive ready for school; we need to do an assessment to be sure
Help provide tools/ideas/volunteers for literacy endeavors
Share the knowledge of funding to volunteer programs
I feel that funding challenges will be better because our program is so small that the
biggest funders don't fund us. They want the biggest bang for their buck. But getting a
grant from a large funder is easier as a coalition, also we can do group training for staff,
volunteers, etc. Coalitions have a lot more clout. Everyone knows who and what these
coalitions are. Lots of ability to help each other with all kinds of things
I think we may really be able to graduate students who can really be on college level
when the leave high school
85
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
Calhoun
County
Literacy
Fact Sheet
Adult Literacy Snapshot
Adult Education Return on
Investment
2.580 adults without a high school diploma
Earning gap between a graduate and a nongraduate in SC: $7,476/year
Estimated increased earnings:
$19,288,080
Plus
Increases in tax revenue
Decreases in health costs
Decreases in public assistance
Adult Education Gains
63% of those served annually
make significant gains in
quality of life through
earning a GED or high school
diploma and gain greater
access to employment and
higher education.
Adult Education is Affordable
Cost/Calhoun K-12 student:
$13,438
Cost/ College student:
$13,463
86
Cost/Adult Education Student:
$812
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
Percent of 1st graders assessed as NOT ready for first grade, 2009-2010
South
Carolina
20.8%
United States
not tracked
Midland
Region
23.6%
Calhoun
County
38.4%
rd
Percent 3 graders testing below standard in reading
United States
67%
South Carolina
62%
Midland
Region
69%
Calhoun
County
13.6%
Dropouts (% 8th graders not enrolled in 12th grade 4 years later), 2010
United States
25.1%
South
Carolina
38.1%
Midland
Region
27.1%
Calhoun
County
20.5%
Midland
Region
1.88
Calhoun
County
Calhoun
County
Literacy
Fact
Sheet
Library visits per capita, 2009
United States
4.7
South Carolina
3.6
Children are better able to succeed
in kindergarten and beyond when
they have had good pre-school
experiences and when those
experiences are reinforced in the
home.
Family literacy programs
complement quality early childhood
programs by promoting the parents’
literacy and enlisting the family in
the education of the child. Families
have been targeted because illiteracy
seems to be passed from one
generation to the next: children
whose parents are functionally
illiterate are twice as likely as their
peers to be functionally illiterate.
1.84
Research shows that children who
master reading by 3rd grade are
more likely to succeed in school.
Third grade is a pivotal year for
young students. It is then that they
start "reading to learn," rather than
"learning to read."
If children are not proficient readers
by 3rd grade, they struggle to catch
up for years to come -- and often
never do. A recent report by the
Annie E. Casey Foundation found
that one in six children who are not
87
proficient 3rd grade readers will not
graduate from high school on time -a rate four times higher than that of
proficient readers.
Libraries serve an important
purpose in the community.
Libraries serve, not only as a source
of literacy materials, but also by
provide teaching resources, space
for tutoring, and information and
referral services. More and more
libraries are also providing a
variety of family literacy services.
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
Clarendon
County
Literacy
Fact Sheet
Literacy Snapshot
Adult Education Return on Investment
9,582 adults without a high school diploma
Earning gap between a graduate and a nongraduate in SC: $7,476/year
Estimated increased earnings:
$71,635,032
Plus
Increases in tax revenue
Decreases in health costs
Decreases in public assistance
Adult Education Gains
Adult Education is Affordable
68% of those served annually
make significant gains in quality
of life through earning a GED or
high school diploma and gain
greater access to employment and
higher education.
Cost/Clarendon K-12 student:
$10,861
Cost/ College student:
88
$13,463
Cost/Adult Education Student:
$812
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
Percent of 1st graders assessed as NOT ready for first grade, 2009-2010
South
Carolina
20.8%
United States
not tracked
Midland
Region
23.6%
rd
Percent 3 graders testing below standard in reading
United States
67%
South Carolina
62%
Midland
Region
69%
Clarendon
County
23.2%
Clarendon
Clarendon
County
24.47%
Clarendon
County
Literacy
Fact Sheet
Dropouts (% 8th graders not enrolled in 12th grade 4 years later), 2010
United States
25.1%
South Carolina
38.1%
Midland
Region
27.1%
Clarendon
County
14.7%
Library visits per capita, 2009
United States
4.7
South Carolina
3.6
Children are better able to
succeed in kindergarten and
beyond when they have had good
pre-school experiences and when
those experiences are reinforced in
the home.
Family literacy programs
complement quality early
childhood programs by promoting
the parents’ literacy and enlisting the
family in the education of the child.
Families have been targeted because
illiteracy seems to be passed from
one generation to the next: children
whose parents are functionally
illiterate are twice as likely as their
peers to be functionally illiterate.
Midland Region
1.88
Clarendon
County
1.15
Research shows that children who
master reading by 3rd grade are
more likely to succeed in school.
Third grade is a pivotal year for
young students. It is then that they
start "reading to learn," rather than
"learning to read."
If children are not proficient readers
by 3rd grade, they struggle to catch
up for years to come -- and often
never do. A recent report by the
Annie E. Casey Foundation found
that one in six children who are not
89
proficient 3rd grade readers will not
graduate from high school on time -a rate four times higher than that of
proficient readers.
Libraries serve an important
purpose in the community.
Libraries serve, not only as a source
of literacy materials, but also by
provide teaching resources, space
for tutoring, and information and
referral services. More and more
libraries are also providing a
variety of family literacy services.
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
Fairfield
County
Literacy
Fact Sheet
Literacy Snapshot
Adult Education Return on Investment
4,209 adults without a high school diploma
Earning gap between a graduate and a nongraduate in SC: $7,476/year
Estimated increased earnings:
$31,466,484
Plus
Increases in tax revenue
Decreases in health costs
Decreases in public assistance
Adult Education Gains
Adult Education is Affordable
6% of those served annually
make significant gains in quality
of life through earning a GED or
high school diploma and gain
greater access to employment and
higher education.
Cost/Fairfield K-12 student:
$15,520
Cost/ College student: 90
$13,463
Cost/Adult Education Student:
$812
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
Percent of 1st graders assessed as NOT ready for first grade, 2009-2010
United States
not tracked
Midland
Region
23.6%
South Carolina
20.8%
Percent 3rd graders testing below standard in reading
United States
67%
South Carolina
62%
Fairfiled
County
28.4%
Clarendon
Midland
Region
69%
Fairfield
County
43.5%
Dropouts (% 8th graders not enrolled in 12th grade 4 years later), 2010
United States
25.1%
South Carolina
38.1%
Midland Region
27.1%
Fairfield
County
Literacy
Fact
Sheet
Fairffield
County
16.5%
Library visits per capita, 2009
United States
4.7
South Carolina
3.6
Children are better able to
succeed in kindergarten and
beyond when they have had good
pre-school experiences and when
those experiences are reinforced in
the home.
Family literacy programs
complement quality early
childhood programs by promoting
the parents’ literacy and enlisting the
family in the education of the child.
Families have been targeted because
illiteracy seems to be passed from
one generation to the next: children
whose parents are functionally
illiterate are twice as likely as their
peers to be functionally illiterate.
Midland Region
1.88
Fairfiled
County
13.21.98
Research shows that children who
master reading by 3rd grade are
more likely to succeed in school.
Third grade is a pivotal year for
young students. It is then that they
start "reading to learn," rather than
"learning to read."
If children are not proficient readers
by 3rd grade, they struggle to catch
up for years to come -- and often
never do. A recent report by the
Annie E. Casey Foundation found
that one in six children who are not
91
proficient 3rd grade readers will not
graduate from high school on time -a rate four times higher than that of
proficient readers.
Libraries serve an important
purpose in the community.
Libraries serve, not only as a source
of literacy materials, but also by
provide teaching resources, space
for tutoring, and information and
referral services. More and more
libraries are also providing a
variety of family literacy services.
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
Kershaw
County
Literacy
Fact Sheet
Literacy Snapshot
Adult Education Return on Investment
7,947 adults without a H.S. diploma
Earning gap between a graduate and a nongraduate in SC: $7,476/year
Estimated increased earnings:
$59,411,772
Plus
Increases in tax revenue
Decreases in health costs
Decreases in public assistance
hot
Adult Education Gains
Adult Education is Affordable
73% of those served annually
make significant gains in quality
of life through earning a GED or
high school diploma and gain
greater access to employment and
higher education.
Cost/Kershaw K-12 student:
$10,424
92
Cost/ College student:
$13,463
Cost/Adult Education Student:
$812
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
Percent of 1st graders assessed as NOT ready for first grade, 2009-2010
United States
not tracked
Midland
Region
23.6%
South Carolina
20.8%
Percent 3rd graders testing below standard in reading
United States
67%
South Carolina
62%
Kershaw
County
18.4%
Clarendon
Midland
Region
69%
Kershaw
County
18.6%
Dropouts (% 8th graders not enrolled in 12th grade 4 years later), 2010
United States
25.1%
South Carolina
38.1%
Midland Region
27.1%
Kershaw
County
Literacy
Fact
Sheet
Kershaw
County
23.3%
Library visits per capita, 2009
United States
4.7
South Carolina
3.6
Children are better able to
succeed in kindergarten and
beyond when they have had good
pre-school experiences and when
those experiences are reinforced in
the home.
Family literacy programs
complement quality early
childhood programs by promoting
the parents’ literacy and enlisting the
family in the education of the child.
Families have been targeted because
illiteracy seems to be passed from
one generation to the next: children
whose parents are functionally
illiterate are twice as likely as their
peers to be functionally illiterate.
Midland Region
1.88
Kershaw
County
1.98
Research shows that children who
master reading by 3rd grade are
more likely to succeed in school.
Third grade is a pivotal year for
young students. It is then that they
start "reading to learn," rather than
"learning to read."
If children are not proficient readers
by 3rd grade, they struggle to catch
up for years to come -- and often
never do. A recent report by the
Annie E. Casey Foundation found
that one in six children who are not
proficient 3rd grade readers will not
93
graduate from high school on time -a rate four times higher than that of
proficient readers.
Libraries serve an important
purpose in the community.
Libraries serve, not only as a source
of literacy materials, but also by
provide teaching resources, space
for tutoring, and information and
referral services. More and more
libraries are also providing a
variety of family literacy services.
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
94
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
Percent of 1st graders assessed as NOT ready for first grade, 2009-2010
South
Carolina
20.8%
United States
not tracked
Midland
Region
23.6%
Lee County
38.2%
rd
Percent 3 graders testing below standard in reading
United States
67%
South Carolina
62%
Midland
Region
69%
Clarendon
Lee County
51.9%
Dropouts (% 8th graders not enrolled in 12th grade 4 years later), 2010
United States
25.1%
South
Carolina
38.1%
Midland
Region
27.1%
Lee County
23.4%
South
Carolina
3.6
Midland
Region
1.88
Lee County
1.38
Lee
County
Literacy
Fact
Sheet
Library visits per capita, 2009
United States
4.7
Children are better able to
succeed in kindergarten and
beyond when they have had good
pre-school experiences and when
those experiences are reinforced in
the home.
Family literacy programs
complement quality early
childhood programs by promoting
the parents’ literacy and enlisting the
family in the education of the child.
Families have been targeted because
illiteracy seems to be passed from
one generation to the next: children
whose parents are functionally
illiterate are twice as likely as their
peers to be functionally illiterate.
Research shows that children who
master reading by 3rd grade are
more likely to succeed in school.
Third grade is a pivotal year for
young students. It is then that they
start "reading to learn," rather than
"learning to read."
If children are not proficient readers
by 3rd grade, they struggle to catch
up for years to come -- and often
never do. A recent report by the
Annie E. Casey Foundation found
that one in six children who are not
proficient 3rd grade readers will not
95
graduate from high school on time -a rate four times higher than that of
proficient readers.
Libraries serve an important
purpose in the community.
Libraries serve, not only as a source
of literacy materials, but also by
provide teaching resources, space
for tutoring, and information and
referral services. More and more
libraries are also providing a
variety of family literacy services.
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
Lexington
County
Literacy
Fact Sheet
Literacy Snapshot
Adult Education Return on Investment
22,959 adults without a H.S. diploma
Earning gap between a graduate and a nongraduate in SC: $7,476/year
Estimated increased earnings:
$171,641,484
Plus
Increases in tax revenue
Decreases in health costs
Decreases in public assistance
Adult Education Gains
Adult Education is Affordable
45% of those served annually
make significant gains in quality
of life through earning a GED or
high school diploma and gain
greater access to employment and
higher education.
Cost/Lexington K-12 student:
$12,062
Cost/ College student: 96
$13,463
Cost/Adult Education Student:
$812
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
Percent of 1st graders assessed as NOT ready for first grade, 2009-2010
South
Carolina
20.8%
United States
not tracked
Midland
Region
23.6%
Percent 3rd graders testing below standard in reading
United States
67%
South Carolina
62%
Lexington
County
15.7%
Clarendon
Midland
Region
69%
Lexington
County
18.9%
Dropouts (% 8th graders not enrolled in 12th grade 4 years later), 2010
United States
25.1%
South
Carolina
38.1%
Midland
Region
27.1%
Lexington
County
16.2%
Midland
Region
1.88
Lexington
County
2.04
Lexington
County
Literacy
Fact
Sheet
Library visits per capita, 2009
United States
4.7
South
Carolina
3.6
Children are better able to
succeed in kindergarten and
beyond when they have had good
pre-school experiences and when
those experiences are reinforced in
the home.
Family literacy programs
complement quality early
childhood programs by promoting
the parents’ literacy and enlisting the
family in the education of the child.
Families have been targeted because
illiteracy seems to be passed from
one generation to the next: children
whose parents are functionally
illiterate are twice as likely as their
peers to be functionally illiterate.
Research shows that children who
master reading by 3rd grade are
more likely to succeed in school.
Third grade is a pivotal year for
young students. It is then that they
start "reading to learn," rather than
"learning to read."
If children are not proficient readers
by 3rd grade, they struggle to catch
up for years to come -- and often
never do. A recent report by the
Annie E. Casey Foundation found
that one in six children who are not
proficient 97
3rd grade readers will not
graduate from high school on time -a rate four times higher than that of
proficient readers.
Libraries serve an important
purpose in the community.
Libraries serve, not only as a source
of literacy materials, but also by
provide teaching resources, space
for tutoring, and information and
referral services. More and more
libraries are also providing a
variety of family literacy services.
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
Newberry
County
Literacy
Fact Sheet
Literacy Snapshot
Adult Education Return on Investment
6,879 adults without a H.S. diploma
Earning gap between a graduate and a nongraduate in SC: $7,476/year
Estimated increased earnings:
$51,427,404
Plus
Increases in tax revenue
Decreases in health costs
Decreases in public assistance
Adult Education Gains
Adult Education is Affordable
44% of those served annually
make significant gains in quality
of life through earning a GED or
high school diploma and gain
greater access to employment and
higher education.
Cost/Newberry K-12 student:
$12,905
Cost/ College student: 98
$13,463
Cost/Adult Education Student:
$812
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
Percent of 1st graders assessed as NOT ready for first grade, 2009-2010
South
Carolina
20.8%
United States
not tracked
Midland
Region
23.6%
Percent 3rd graders testing below standard in reading
United States
67%
South Carolina
62%
Newberry
County
24.8%
Clarendon
Midland
Region
69%
Newberry
County
28.3%
Dropouts (% 8th graders not enrolled in 12th grade 4 years later), 2010
United States
25.1%
South
Carolina
38.1%
Midland
Region
27.1%
Newberry
County
28.2%
Midland
Region
1.88
Newberry
County
1.43
Newberry
County
Literacy
Fact
Sheet
Library visits per capita, 2009
United States
4.7
South
Carolina
3.6
Children are better able to
succeed in kindergarten and
beyond when they have had good
pre-school experiences and when
those experiences are reinforced in
the home.
Family literacy programs
complement quality early
childhood programs by promoting
the parents’ literacy and enlisting the
family in the education of the child.
Families have been targeted because
illiteracy seems to be passed from
one generation to the next: children
whose parents are functionally
illiterate are twice as likely as their
peers to be functionally illiterate.
Research shows that children who
master reading by 3rd grade are
more likely to succeed in school.
Third grade is a pivotal year for
young students. It is then that they
start "reading to learn," rather than
"learning to read."
If children are not proficient readers
by 3rd grade, they struggle to catch
up for years to come -- and often
never do. A recent report by the
Annie E. Casey Foundation found
that one in six children who are not
99
proficient 3rd grade readers will not
graduate from high school on time -a rate four times higher than that of
proficient readers.
Libraries serve an important
purpose in the community.
Libraries serve, not only as a source
of literacy materials, but also by
provide teaching resources, space
for tutoring, and information and
referral services. More and more
libraries are also providing a
variety of family literacy services.
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
100
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
Percent of 1st graders assessed as NOT ready for first grade, 2009-2010
South
Carolina
20.8%
United States
not tracked
Midland
Region
23.6%
Percent 3rd graders testing below standard in reading
United States
67%
South Carolina
62%
Orangeburg
County
34.1%
Clarendon
Midland
Region
69%
Orangeburg
County
36.2%
Orangeburg
County
Literacy
Fact
Sheet
Dropouts (% 8th graders not enrolled in 12th grade 4 years later), 2010
United States
25.1%
South
Carolina
38.1%
Midland
Region
27.1%
Orangeburg
County
22.6%
Midland
Region
1.88
Orangeburg
County
1.28
Library visits per capita, 2009
United States
4.7
South
Carolina
3.6
Children are better able to
succeed in kindergarten and
beyond when they have had good
pre-school experiences and when
those experiences are reinforced in
the home.
Family literacy programs
complement quality early
childhood programs by promoting
the parents’ literacy and enlisting the
family in the education of the child.
Families have been targeted because
illiteracy seems to be passed from
one generation to the next: children
whose parents are functionally
illiterate are twice as likely as their
peers to be functionally illiterate.
Research shows that children who
master reading by 3rd grade are
more likely to succeed in school.
Third grade is a pivotal year for
young students. It is then that they
start "reading to learn," rather than
"learning to read."
If children are not proficient readers
by 3rd grade, they struggle to catch
up for years to come -- and often
never do. A recent report by the
Annie E. Casey Foundation found
101children who are not
that one in six
proficient 3rd grade readers will not
graduate from high school on time -a rate four times higher than that of
proficient readers.
Libraries serve an important
purpose in the community.
Libraries serve, not only as a source
of literacy materials, but also by
provide teaching resources, space
for tutoring, and information and
referral services. More and more
libraries are also providing a
variety of family literacy services.
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
Richland
County
Literacy
Fact Sheet
Literacy Snapshot
Adult Education Return on Investment
32,029 adults without a H.S. diploma
Earning gap between a graduate and a nongraduate in SC: $7,476/year
Estimated increased earnings:
$239,448,804
Plus
Increases in tax revenue
Decreases in health costs
Decreases in public assistance
Adult Education Gains
Adult Education is Affordable
44% of those served annually
make significant gains in quality
of life through earning a GED or
high school diploma and gain
greater access to employment and
higher education.
Cost/Richland K-12 student:
$12,883
102
Cost/ College student:
$13,463
Cost/Adult Education Student:
$812
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
Percent of 1st graders assessed as NOT ready for first grade, 2009-2010
South
Carolina
20.8%
United States
not tracked
Midland
Region
23.6%
Percent 3rd graders testing below standard in reading
United States
67%
South Carolina
62%
Midland
Region
69%
Richland
County
25.7%
Clarendon
Richland
County
23.5%
Richland
County
Literacy
Fact
Sheet
Dropouts (% 8th graders not enrolled in 12th grade 4 years later), 2010
United States
25.1%
South
Carolina
38.1%
Midland
Region
27.1%
Richland
County
16.8%
Midland
Region
1.88
Richland
County
3.61
Library visits per capita, 2009
United States
4.7
South
Carolina
3.6
Children are better able to
succeed in kindergarten and
beyond when they have had good
pre-school experiences and when
those experiences are reinforced in
the home.
Family literacy programs
complement quality early
childhood programs by promoting
the parents’ literacy and enlisting the
family in the education of the child.
Families have been targeted because
illiteracy seems to be passed from
one generation to the next: children
whose parents are functionally
illiterate are twice as likely as their
peers to be functionally illiterate.
Research shows that children who
master reading by 3rd grade are
more likely to succeed in school.
Third grade is a pivotal year for
young students. It is then that they
start "reading to learn," rather than
"learning to read."
If children are not proficient readers
by 3rd grade, they struggle to catch
up for years to come -- and often
never do. A recent report by the
Annie E. Casey Foundation found
that one in six children who are not
103
proficient 3rd grade readers will not
graduate from high school on time -a rate four times higher than that of
proficient readers.
Libraries serve an important
purpose in the community.
Libraries serve, not only as a source
of literacy materials, but also by
provide teaching resources, space
for tutoring, and information and
referral services. More and more
libraries are also providing a
variety of family literacy services.
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
Saluda
County
Literacy
Fact Sheet
Literacy Snapshot
Adult Education Return on Investment
3,576 adults without a H.S. diploma
Earning gap between a graduate and a nongraduate in SC: $7,476/year
Estimated increased earnings:
$26,734,176
Plus
Increases in tax revenue
Decreases in health costs
Decreases in public assistance
Adult Education Gains
Adult Education is Affordable
33% of those served annually
make significant gains in quality
of life through earning a GED or
high school diploma and gain
greater access to employment and
higher education.
Cost/Saluda K-12 student:
$10,135
Cost/ College student:104
$13,463
Cost/Adult Education Student:
$812
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
Percent of 1st graders assessed as NOT ready for first grade, 2009-2010
South
Carolina
20.8%
United States
not tracked
Midland
Region
23.6%
Percent 3rd graders testing below standard in reading
United States
67%
South Carolina
62%
Midland
Region
69%
Saluda
County
37.5%
Clarendon
Saluda
County
27.6%
Saluda
County
Literacy
Fact
Sheet
Dropouts (% 8th graders not enrolled in 12th grade 4 years later), 2010
United States
25.1%
South
Carolina
38.1%
Midland
Region
27.1%
Saluda
County
23.8%
Midland
Region
1.88
Saluda
County
1.08
Library visits per capita, 2009
United States
4.7
South
Carolina
3.6
Children are better able to
succeed in kindergarten and
beyond when they have had good
pre-school experiences and when
those experiences are reinforced in
the home.
Family literacy programs
complement quality early
childhood programs by promoting
the parents’ literacy and enlisting the
family in the education of the child.
Families have been targeted because
illiteracy seems to be passed from
one generation to the next: children
whose parents are functionally
illiterate are twice as likely as their
peers to be functionally illiterate.
Research shows that children who
master reading by 3rd grade are
more likely to succeed in school.
Third grade is a pivotal year for
young students. It is then that they
start "reading to learn," rather than
"learning to read."
If children are not proficient readers
by 3rd grade, they struggle to catch
up for years to come -- and often
never do. A recent report by the
Annie E. Casey Foundation found
that one in six children who are not
105
proficient
3rd grade readers will not
graduate from high school on time -a rate four times higher than that of
proficient readers.
Libraries serve an important
purpose in the community.
Libraries serve, not only as a source
of literacy materials, but also by
provide teaching resources, space
for tutoring, and information and
referral services. More and more
libraries are also providing a
variety of family literacy services.
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
Sumter
County
Literacy
Fact Sheet
Literacy Snapshot
Adult Education Return on Investment
14,367 adults without a H.S. diploma
Earning gap between a graduate and a nongraduate in SC: $7,476/year
Estimated increased earnings:
$107,407,692
Plus
Increases in tax revenue
Decreases in health costs
Decreases in public assistance
Adult Education Gains
Adult Education is Affordable
85% of those served annually
make significant gains in quality
of life through earning a GED or
high school diploma and gain
greater access to employment and
higher education.
Cost/Sumter K-12 student:
$9,805
Cost/ College student:106
$13,463
Cost/Adult Education Student:
$812
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
Percent of 1st graders assessed as NOT ready for first grade, 2009-2010
South
Carolina
20.8%
United States
not tracked
Midland
Region
23.6%
Percent 3rd graders testing below standard in reading
United States
67%
South Carolina
62%
Midland
Region
69%
Sumter
County
25.0%
Clarendon
Sumter
County
22.6%
Sumter
County
Literacy
Fact
Sheet
Dropouts (% 8th graders not enrolled in 12th grade 4 years later), 2010
United States
25.1%
South
Carolina
38.1%
Midland
Region
27.1%
Sumter
County
21.6%
Midland
Region
1.88
Sumter
County
1.63
Library visits per capita, 2009
United States
4.7
South
Carolina
3.6
Children are better able to
succeed in kindergarten and
beyond when they have had good
pre-school experiences and when
those experiences are reinforced in
the home.
Family literacy programs
complement quality early
childhood programs by promoting
the parents’ literacy and enlisting the
family in the education of the child.
Families have been targeted because
illiteracy seems to be passed from
one generation to the next: children
whose parents are functionally
illiterate are twice as likely as their
peers to be functionally illiterate.
Research shows that children who
master reading by 3rd grade are
more likely to succeed in school.
Third grade is a pivotal year for
young students. It is then that they
start "reading to learn," rather than
"learning to read."
If children are not proficient readers
by 3rd grade, they struggle to catch
up for years to come -- and often
never do. A recent report by the
Annie E. Casey Foundation found
that one in
six children who are not
107
proficient 3rd grade readers will not
graduate from high school on time -a rate four times higher than that of
proficient readers.
Libraries serve an important
purpose in the community.
Libraries serve, not only as a source
of literacy materials, but also by
provide teaching resources, space
for tutoring, and information and
referral services. More and more
libraries are also providing a
variety of family literacy services.
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
CONCLUSION
The numbers are clear: While Southern Region Education Board states have struggled to
improve high school graduation rates, students in the South continue to graduate from
high school at rates lower than their counterparts nationwide — adding to the pool of
undereducated young adults. And fewer young adults without high school credentials
entered adult education programs in 2008 than in 2005. Today, only a small
percentage of young adults who enroll in these programs actually earn a GED credential.
South Carolina has already made a substantial investment in these residents. Adjusted for
inflation to 2010 dollars, South Carolina has invested roughly $110,000 in each resident
who completed 10 years of public school but did not graduate from high school. Adding a
modest amount of spending on adult learning programs to assure that these adults can
complete a GED or comparable program only completes the investment:
 A person with a high school credential is more likely to have a job. The U.S.
employment rate in 2008 was 13 percentage points higher for adults with high
school credentials than for those without them. The rate in the SREB median
states was 16 points higher.
 In 2008, a person with a high school diploma or GED credential earned about 50
percent more on average than an adult who had not completed ninth grade. A
person with a bachelor’s degree earned about 75 percent more on average than
an adult with only a high school credential.
The National Commission on Adult Literacy’s “The Fiscal Consequences of Adult
Educational Attainment” (NCAL, 2007) reports: “Increased years of educational
attainment and higher literacy/numeracy proficiencies strengthen labor market outcomes
for U.S. adults, overall and across gender, age and race-ethnic groups. Because of their
higher rates of employment and annual earnings as well as their higher marriage rates,
higher home ownership rates, and lower rates of institutionalization, adults with more
schooling generate more favorable fiscal impacts for federal, state, and local
governments. They pay substantially more income, payroll, sales, and property taxes than
their less educated peers pay and receive less income in the form of cash and in-kind
transfers. The mean size of the net fiscal contributions of adults rises steadily and
considerably with their level of formal schooling.”
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Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
This assessment confirms what many in the community know: Low literacy is a critical
issue for the Midlands and must be addressed at a community-wide scale for there to be
substantive change. In the twenty-first century, individuals require more sophisticated
skills than ever before to achieve personal and economic advancement, to meet the
demands of more difficult and technical jobs, to navigate confusing health and financial
systems, and to help their children gain the skills needed for success in an increasingly
complex society. Because communities are composed of individuals, community success
depends upon individual success, and therefore barriers to individual literacy must be
viewed as a challenge for the whole community. A call to action by Central Carolina
leaders will elevate the issue and pave the way for creative and effective solutions. A
comprehensive literacy initiative can be a major investment, but it can also bring
enormous dividends: A highly skilled workforce, a prosperous economy, and new hope
for the future of the entire community.
A coordinated effort by a broad array of stakeholders is necessary to address the needs
identified in this report.
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Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
APPENDICES
1. SUMMARY OF NEEDS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Needs
Recommendations
Increase school readiness
Improve childcare quality, invest in teacher
training and incentives for completing
education and certifications
Parents lack access to services and
resources
Provide coordination of services, increase
family literacy and parent support services
Lack of reading material in the home
Coordinate with health care providers and
book distribution organizations to supply
families with books
Low reading skills in K-12
Increase targeted professional development
for K-12 teachers in research based reading
instruction
Behavioral problems in K-12
Increase afterschool programming and
parental involvement programs
Increase attendance rates in K-12
Increase afterschool programs, parent
participation and information
Lack of access to afterschool information
and resources
Identify and secure funding for OST
programs, engage community and civic
organizations who share in the benefits of
afterschool programming
Graduation rates are unacceptably low
Strategies are needed to address
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Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
students/schools with the most critical need
Recruit, train and coordinate volunteers for
afterschool programs and adult education
initiatives
Engage corporate and community partners
to recruit volunteers
OST programs not aligned with specific
district goals in all cases
Infuse literacy activities into all after
school programs and coordinate with K-12
to impact school outcomes
Identify students before they drop out
Review successful dropout prevention
programs for replicable strategies
Students with low skills struggle in
community college remedial classes
Expand tutors and mentors at the
community college level
Teen parents need additional supports to
succeed in school
Support existing services and create more
effective pathways for teen parents to
transition to work and school
Transportation
Invite corporate and government partners
to discussions regarding creative thinking
on transportation needs
Fewer than 2% of adults with low literacy
skills are being served by the current
systems
Formalize the path from school to college
and work for ease of access and navigation
by learners. A coordinated system will
limit the students that “fall through the
cracks” before they are lost from the
educational system
There is not an effective adult literacy
network in place to provide coordinated
outreach to those in need
Launch an aggressive public awareness
campaign to recruit volunteers and tutors
With the mortgage crisis, and limited
understanding about the impact of
predatory lending, the need for financial
Identify and secure public and private
funding to support strategies for numeracy
and financial literacy education
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Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
literacy has increased
People who have a GED or high school
diploma are still challenged by math
Enlist all providers to strengthen and
encourage mathematical skills across
programs.
Issues of low literacy among seniors have
not been sufficiently addressed
Identify and secure public and private
funds to support strategies that increase
senior literacy especially health literacy
Inability to serve the needs of students with
disabilities
Provide formalized professional
development
Identify young children with disabilities
early on
Implement child screening as part of child
care licensing regulations to identify
children with disabilities earlier
Programs have difficulty individualizing
programs for those with disabilities
Identify and secure public and private
funding to support strategies to improve
services for students with disabilities
Improve transitions for children with
disabilities
Coordinate early intervention programs
with K-12, Board of MRDD, and adult
education to provide seamless services and
quick referrals
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Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
2. LITERACY PROVIDER SURVEY
Provide your organization’s contact information.
Organization Name:
Executive Director Name:
Physical Address:
City/Town:
State:
Zip Code:
Phone:
E-mail:
Website:
1.
2. Does your organization provide literacy services at the physical address provided in
Question 1, or at other locations?
On site only
On site and at other locations
Other locations only
3. If literacy services are provided at other locations, please list the locations where
literacy services are provided.
4. What types of literacy services does your organization offer? Select all that apply.
Adult Basic Reading and Writing (ABE)
Apprenticeship & Pre-apprenticeship
Basic Math
Citizenship
Computer Literacy
Credential & Certificate
Early Childhood (Birth to 5 years old)
English Languages Learners
Family Literacy
Financial Literacy
GED Instruction/Test Preparation
GED Testing
Health Literacy
Homework Help
Incarcerated Education
K-12 School
Learning Disability Assessment
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Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
Learning Disability Tutoring
Literacy Testing
Native Language Literacy
Out-of-School Youth
Parenting Education
Parole and Probation
Pre-Kindergarten
Subject Tutoring
Vocational English Language Learners
Vocational Training
Volunteer Training
Workforce Literacy
Other
5.
How many staff deliver literacy related services (see # 4)?
6.
How many of your staff are certified teachers?
7.
How many volunteers help you deliver literacy services?
8. Approximately how many clients/students did your organization provide literacy
services to in your last fiscal year?
9. What process/system do you use to enroll students?
Open entry/open exit
Managed enrollment
Other (please specify)
10. What percentage of your organization’s clients/students belong to the below age
groups? Percentages should total 100.
Early Childhood (less than 5 years)
Childhood (5 years to 15 years)
Youth (16 years to 24 years)
Adult (25 years to 54 years)
Adult (55 years and older)
11. Please provide a brief description of each of your literacy programs. Literacy
programs can include activities in early childhood centers, initiatives in K-12 schools,
after-school programs for homework and mentoring, library programs, vocational
programs, etc.
12. What are the sources of your client/student referrals?
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Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
13. What prerequisites (if any) are required before a client/student is accepted into the
program?
14. If your organization requires a pre-test for new clients/students to determine their
baseline literacy levels prior to receiving services, please describe your pre-test
procedure, including types of assessments used.
15. What are the criteria for completion? e.g. hours, grade levels, classes...?
16. Please describe the tracking system or database that your organization uses to track
clients/students’ progress.
17. What percentage of clients/students successfully completes the program?
18. What are expected outcomes from the program? e.g. enrichment, GED, certificate,
etc.
19. What are typical client/student goals? learn computer skills, get a job, GED, read with
my child, etc.
20. What are clients/students typical next steps after program completion?
21. Who do you most often refer your clients/students to for other services?
22. What are your student's greatest challenges?
23. What do you see as your organization’s areas of greatest need? Select all that apply.
Clientele/Student Recruitment
Evaluation and Accountability Procedures
Fundraising
Planning
Public Relations
Record-Keeping
Staff Retention
Staff Training/Development
Volunteer Recruitment
Other (please specify)
24. What are your expectations of a literacy coalition?
25. What is your organization’s total fiscal year budget for literacy services?
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Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
26. In the spaces below, please enter the percentage of funding you received in your last
fiscal year from the following sources (for all literacy programs combined). The total of
all percentages must sum to 100%. Please try to be as accurate and thorough as possible.
Community Development Block Grants (CDBG)
Workforce Investment Act Title I
Workforce Investment Act Title II
Other Federal Grants
State Grants
Community Foundation
Private Foundations
Corporate Foundations
Individual Donors
Events/Fundraising
Other
Don’t Know
27. Do you partner with other organizations to deliver literacy services?
If so, please enter the name of each organization you partner with (and if applicable, put
in parentheses the name of any grants that jointly fund that collaborative effort). If you do
not collaborate with any organizations, simply write N/A.
28. For your literacy programs, what are the biggest challenges you face regarding
funding? Select all that apply.
None - we don't have a problem getting resources
Time and complexity of proposal development process
Data collection and reporting requirements
Staff time and resources to secure and monitor grants
Knowledge of potential literacy funding sources
Other (please specify)
29. What information about funding would be useful for your organization? Select all that
apply.
None
New sources of funding for literacy
Finding agencies willing to collaborate on literacy projects
Accessing federal/state funds
Accessing foundation funds
Accessing corporate funds
How to write a grant
Other (please specify)
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Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
3.
GLOSSARY OF LITERACY TERMS
Adult Basic Education: Reading and Writing (ABE)
Programs that teach English-speaking adults and out-of-school youth how to read
and write through classes, small groups, or individual tutoring and Distance
Learning.
Basic Math/Numeracy
Programs that teach basic math skills in addition to reading and writing and
workplace applications.
Children’s Literacy

Programs that provide direct instruction in beginning reading and writing skills
to children.

Early Childhood Education programs; Pre-K and Kindergarten

Homework Assistance: Programs that help children or youth with their
homework by providing instructors and/or study space. Reading Enrichment:
Services that motivate children and youth to read.

School-based Tutoring: Programs that teach children reading and writing skills
at their public schools. Schools identify children to be served. Community and
neighborhood programs and private, fee based organizations also offer tutoring
Citizenship Education
Programs that teach skills to those who do not speak English as their first
language to prepare learners for U.S. citizenship.
Computer Instruction
Programs that offer instruction to develop computer skills for academic, personal,
family, and work related purposes. CAI (Computer Aided Instruction)
Content Standards
The term used in a variety of fields to describe what individuals need to know and be
able to do for a particular purpose.
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Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
Contextualized Instruction
Education that facilitates not only the acquisition of- but also the active
application of knowledge, skills, and learning processes by embedding instruction
in real world activities. Teaching and learning is situated in an authentic, real life
context that has meaning for the student.
Distance Learning
Distance Learning (DL) is a type of educational process where the majority of the
learning takes place with the teacher and student at different locations. In distance
learning, teaching and learning are not conducted in a traditional classroom setting.
Instruction may be computer based, on PBS or a combination of both. Instruction will be
individually prescribed to students with the anticipation of educational gain and goal
attainment.
English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL)
Programs that teaches reading, speaking, and writing in English as a second
language to English Language Learners (ELL).
Family Literacy / Parent Education

Programs that teach parents or guardians of young children how to improve
their own reading and writing skills, and how to build early literacy skills in
their children.

Programs that teach literacy and parenting skills to parents or guardians of
young children

PAC Time - Parents and Children Reading Together
Financial Literacy
Programs that teach basic skills in managing personal finances: reading a
paycheck, checking and saving accounts, personal money management. Some
programs include home buyer education.
Functional Literacy
A level of reading and writing sufficient for everyday life but not for completely
autonomous activity; the application of the skills and knowledge of reading and
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Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
writing to adult or near-adult responsibilities in the workplace and required life
skills.
GED General Education Development
Instructional programs that teach the skills needed to pass the GED exam; to complete the
coursework for those who do not have a traditional high school diploma.
GED Test
Five separate tests given over several hours: math, language arts reading, science, social
studies, and language arts writing. Programs providing GED Testing set requirements for
taking the test and minimum grade level attainment on the TABE test.
Health Literacy
Programs that teach the ability to access, understand, and use information that
promotes and maintains health; including programs that teach nutrition, reading
prescriptions, safety; the oral language skills to talk to a doctor or medical
professional about health issues
Incarcerated Education for Youth
For youth age 16-20 years old, the adult basic education, GED preparation,
Learning Disability Assessment and tutoring provided in jails and sentenced
county facilities.
Learning Disability
A serious difficulty with processing information, understanding and using spoken
or written language, and/or reasoning and doing calculations in math. Programs
provide a series of diagnostic assessments to determine the learner’s strengths and
areas where accommodations to instructions would be helpful.
Native Language Literacy (BENL - Basic Education in Native Language)
Programs that teach non-English speakers how to read and write in their native
language and prepare them for English-language learning.
Performance-Based Assessment
A tool for measuring student learning that requires the student to construct or
produce a response to an assessment item or task. Performance assessments
attempt to emulate the context or conditions in which the intended knowledge or
skills are actually applied. Examples might include on-demand writing tasks,
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projects resulting in a product, performance, or event, and portfolios involving a
collection of student work related to multiple standards or themes.
Tutoring

Programs that provide one on one instruction in reading, writing, math and
other subjects.

Homework Assistance: Programs that help children or youth with their
homework by providing instructors and/or study space.

Reading Enrichment: Services that motivate children and youth to read.

School-based Tutoring: Programs that teach children reading and writing
skills at their own public schools – schools identify children to be served.

Adult Education: Programs that provide instruction to adults who score below
the 5th grade level on the TABE test or who state that they are unable to read.
Literacy Volunteers provides this type of educational programming.
Workplace Literacy

Workplace Literacy: Basic literacy training in reading, writing, computer
skills, and math offered for employees at the workplace (employers or
organizations that teach workplace literacy skills at the sites where employees
use those skills) or at adult literacy program sites.

Vocational English as a Second Language (VESL): An approach towards
teaching English as a Second Language centered on vocational/workplace
specific needs.

Career Center: Literacy organizations that provide adult learners with career
training and job development.

One Stop Center: A service of the WIB Workforce Investment Board locally,
to assist job seekers with their employment and hiring goals, and employers in
growing their businesses and meeting their hiring needs.
Work Readiness Credential
It provides a common, national standard for defining, assessing, and certifying
that individuals can meet the demands of entry-level work and learn on the job.
Examples include: Work Keys and Equipped for the Future.
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4. PARTICIPATING ORGANIZATIONS
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
The Benefit Bank of South Carolina
Boys & Girls Clubs of the Midlands
Calhoun County Library
Carolina Children's Home
Central Carolina Community Foundation
Central SC Habitat for Humanity
City Year
Clarendon County First Steps Partnership
Clarendon County School District Three
Communities In Schools of Saluda County/Operation: Military Kids SC
Community Organization for Rights and Empowerment (CORE)
Doby's Mill Elementary School
Eau Claire Cooperative Health Centers Inc.
Eau Claire Promise Zone
Eau Claire Shalom Ministries
EdVenture Children's Museum
Epworth Children's Home
Fairfield County Library
Fast Forward
Frances Mack Intermediate School
Friends of Juvenile justice
GEAR UP Richland 2
Gilbert High School
Gilbert Primary School--Gilbert Imagination Library
Ginetta V. Hamilton Literacy Foundation
Goodwill Industries of Upstate Midlands of SC
Greater Columbia Chamber of Commerce
Interfaith Community Services of South Carolina
Junior League of Columbia, Inc.
Kershaw County Library
Kershaw County School District
Kershaw Health
Kingdom Reapers Ministry
Language Circle's Project Read
Learning Adventures, Inc.
Learning Ally, Inc.
Lexington Four Early Childhood Center
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38.
39.
40.
41.
42.
43.
44.
45.
46.
47.
48.
49.
50.
51.
52.
53.
54.
55.
56.
57.
58.
59.
60.
61.
62.
63.
64.
65.
66.
67.
68.
69.
70.
71.
72.
73.
74.
75.
76.
Lexington School District 1
Lexington School District Three
Lower Richland Youth Development Organization
Midlands Education and Business Alliance
Midlands Middle College
Midlands Regional Education Center
Midlands Workforce Development Board
Morris College
Newberry County Library System
North Family Community School, The Challenge Center
Office of Adult Education, SC Department of Education
Orangeburg Consolidated School District 5
Orangeburg County Library
Palmetto Center for Women
Palmetto Health
Palmetto Place Children's Shelter
Reach Out and Read Carolinas
Richland County Public Library
Richland County School District One
Richland School District Two
Rolling Readers of the Midlands
Saluda County First Steps
Sandhills School
Save the Children
SC Economics
SC ETV
SCDE
SEED, Inc.
Senior Resources, Inc.
South Carolina Afterschool Alliance
South Carolina Center for Children's Books and Literacy
South Carolina HIV/AIDS Council
South Carolina School Boards Association
South Carolina State Library
Southern Interscholastic Press Association
The Cooperative Ministry
The Humanities Council South Carolina
The Leadership Institute at Columbia College
The Montessori School of Camden
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77.
78.
79.
80.
81.
82.
83.
84.
85.
86.
87.
88.
The Nurturing Center
The Salvation Army of the Midlands
The Shepherd's Center of Sumter, SC Inc.
Tiger Totes Family Literacy
Trinity Housing Corporation, aka. St. Lawrence Place
Tutor Eau Claire
Twin City Rotary Club
United Way of Kershaw County
United Way of Sumter, Clarendon and Lee Counties
United Way of the Midlands
YMCA of Sumter
YWCA of the Upper Lowlands, Inc.
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5. NAAL LEVELS WITH LITERACY SKILLS AND ABILITIES
Level and definition
Key abilities associated with
level
Below Basic indicates no
more than the most
simple and concrete
literacy skills.
Adults at the Below Basic level
range from being nonliterate in
English to having the abilities
listed below:
Score ranges for Below
Basic:
6.
Prose:
0–209
Document:
0–204
Quantitative: 0–234
Basic indicates skills
necessary to perform
simple and everyday
literacy activities.
Score ranges for Basic:
Prose:
210–264
Document:
205–249
locating easily identifiable
information in short,
commonplace prose texts
7. locating easily identifiable
information and following
written instructions in simple
documents (e.g., charts or
forms)
8. locating numbers and using
them to perform simple
quantitative operations
(primarily addition) when the
mathematical information is
very concrete and familiar

reading and understanding
information in short,
commonplace prose texts
reading and understanding
information in simple
documents
locating easily identifiable
quantitative information and
using it to solve simple, onestep problems when the
arithmetic operation is
specified or easily inferred

reading and understanding
moderately dense, less
commonplace prose texts as




Quantitative: 235–289
Intermediate indicates
skills necessary to
perform moderately
Sample tasks typical of
level

124




searching a short,
simple text to find out
what a patient is
allowed to drink
before a medical test
signing a form
adding the amounts
on a bank deposit slip
finding in a pamphlet
for prospective jurors
an explanation of how
people were selected
for the jury pool
using a television
guide to find out what
programs are on at a
specific time
comparing the ticket
prices for two events
consulting reference
materials to determine
which foods contain a
Literacy Needs and Services Assessment for Midlands of South Carolina
challenging literacy
activities.
Score ranges for
Intermediate:
Prose:
265–339
Document:
250–334


Quantitative: 290–349
Proficient indicates skills 
necessary to perform
more complex and
challenging literacy
activities.

Score ranges for
Proficient:
Prose:
340–500
Document:
335–500
Quantitative: 350–500

well as summarizing, making
simple inferences, determining 
cause and effect, and
recognizing the author’s

purpose
locating information in dense,
complex documents and
making simple inferences
about the information
locating less familiar
quantitative information and
using it to solve problems
when the arithmetic operation
is not specified or easily
inferred
particular vitamin
identifying a specific
location on a map
calculating the total
cost of ordering
specific office
supplies from a
catalog
reading lengthy, complex,

abstract prose texts as well as
synthesizing information and 
making complex inferences
integrating, synthesizing, and
analyzing multiple pieces of
information located in complex 
documents
locating more abstract
quantitative information and
using it to solve multistep
problems when the arithmetic
operations are not easily
inferred and the problems are
more complex
comparing viewpoints
in two editorials
interpreting a table
about blood pressure,
age, and physical
activity
computing and
comparing the cost
per ounce of food
items
NOTE: Although the literacy levels share common names with the NAEP levels, they do
not correspond to the NAEP levels.
SOURCE: Hauser, R.M, Edley, C.F. Jr., Koenig, J.A., and Elliott, S.W. (Eds.). (2005).
Measuring Literacy: Performance Levels for Adults, Interim Report. Washington, DC:
National Academies Press; White, S. and Dillow, S. (2005). Key Concepts and Features
of the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NCES 2006-471).U.S. Department
of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.
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