State education chief outlines gains on NAEP, literacy initiatives and budget requests, senators press on digital resources

State Superintendent Ellen Weaver told the Senate K‑12 Finance Subcommittee that South Carolina’s recent NAEP (national) results and state assessment trends show encouraging trajectory and outlined the Department of Education’s funding and policy priorities, including literacy, math adoption, teacher compensation and school facility safety.

The superintendent asked the committee to consider recurring and one‑time funding for instructional materials, consumable textbooks and program expansions tied to her agency’s strategic plan and a 2030 goal of 75% of students at grade level.

Why it matters: the department’s funding requests and policy guidance would shape curriculum materials, teacher compensation, intervention programs and capital planning across K‑12 schools in the state.

Weaver told senators the state’s NAEP scores showed South Carolina holding or improving ground in fourth‑grade math and reading scale‑score change, and the state assessment (SC Ready) showed a 7 percentage‑point increase in ELA and a 2 point increase in math for grades 3–8. She said almost 20,000 K–3 teachers have…