GOP-authored bill would revamp early education reading readiness assessments

By Mitchell Schmidt

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    MADISON, Wisconsin (madison.com/Wisconsin State Journal) — A GOP-authored bill in the state Legislature would replace the state’s annual reading readiness assessment program for students in grades K-2 with a new three-tiered literacy program.

Republicans on the Assembly Committee on Education said the bill aims to address slipping reading proficiency scores among Wisconsin students, while some education groups, including the state’s Department of Public Instruction, have opposed the legislation as an unfunded mandate on local schools that already face tight budget decisions.

“The bottom line is that research shows that the earlier we catch reading difficulties and begin simple interventions, the more successful those interventions will be,” bill co-author Sen. Kathy Bernier, R-Chippewa Falls, said during a committee meeting Tuesday. “We don’t present this bill as the magic bullet, but it is the ability to catch the small fires early.”

Currently, public and independent charter schools must conduct annual reading readiness assessments for pupils enrolled in 4K through second grade. The respective board must provide appropriate interventions or remedial reading services for students who are at risk of reading difficulty, though the law does not define at-risk.

Under the bill, boards would need to assess early literacy skills for students in those grades three times a year and create a personal reading plan for each pupil identified as at-risk — or those that score below the 25th percentile in assessments.

In written testimony provided to the committee, the state DPI cautioned against the measure, which does not include additional state funding for the increased assessments or required intervention for students who fall below the 25th percentile in assessments.

“No funding is provided for this intervention; arguably, schools/districts would have to use existing local funds to pay for certified reading teachers to teach reading intervention,” according to testimony. “The majority of federal funds (including reading teachers paid with funds from Title I) cannot be used to comply with this state statute.”

DPI also raised concern over the bill’s definition of intensive intervention, which addresses alphabetic principle — which is the relationship between letters and spoken language — but not other components of reading like comprehension or vocabulary.

A fiscal estimate of the bill prepared by the state Department of Administration does not provide an estimate on the financial impact of the legislation on local school districts and charter schools, but notes that it would likely result in increased costs associated with the staffing and resources needed for additional required assessments.

For and against Organizations including the Institute for Reforming Government, Literacy Task Force of Northern Wisconsin, Wisconsin Reading Coalition and the Wisconsin branch of the International Dyslexia Association have registered in support of the bill. Groups opposed to the legislation include the Association of Wisconsin School Administrators, League of Women Voters of Wisconsin, Wisconsin Association of School Boards and Wisconsin Association of School District Administrators.

“We believe in the intent, we recognize what has to happen and we want to move reading achievement forward,” said Ben Niehaus, with the Wisconsin Association of School Boards. “I would say the primary concerns of this are the funding, the prescriptive nature and local control is paramount for our organization.”

However, committee chair Rep. Jeremy Thiesfeldt, R-Fond du Lac, challenged critics of the bill, including DPI, to come forward with a proposal to address reading readiness.

“I’ve got to tell you, I’m getting tired of this. The current way we teach reading in the state of Wisconsin, almost across the entire board, that castle has been ruling the kingdom for 30-some years and the castle walls have been breached in other states and it’s about to happen here,” he said. “It’s time to join up or get out of the way or at least go neutral.”

The numbers Statewide testing released in September 2019 by DPI found that for students in grades 3-8 and grade 11, 39.3% of students tested proficient or better in English/language arts in 2018-19, down from 40.6% in 2017-18.

The round of testing found that the state’s persistent racial academic achievement gap had narrowed due to a drop in performance among white students. For example, white students in fifth grade dropped 4.6 percentage points in English/language arts proficiency compared to a 1.6 percentage-point decrease for Black students in fifth grade.

In the eighth grade, the percentage of Black students scoring proficient or advanced in English/language arts rose 2 percentage points to 12.1%, while the percentage of white students in that group dropped 1.1 percentage points. But the proficiency difference is still separated by a 30-point gap.

“For too long, Wisconsin’s K-12 system has churned out too many students who are not proficient in reading, causing a workforce crisis,” CJ Szafir, president of the conservative Institute for Reforming Government, said in an email. “The ‘Roadmap to Reading Success’ bill transforms our childhood literacy policies by equipping parents and teachers with the information they need in order to ensure all students have the opportunity to succeed.”

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