IMPLEMENTING WISCONSIN READ TO LEAD TASK FORCE RECOMMENDATIONS
In Wisconsin we take pride in the education we provide for our children and
historically we have been innovators in early-childhood education. Kindergarten
started here and we were one of the first states to have 4 year old
kindergarten. No skill is more important for young learners to achieve than the
ability to read. It is essential to student learning and quality of life.
It was distressing to learn how our state’s reading scores, which were once
amongst the highest in the nation, have stagnated over the past 15 years. The
results from the 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 4th
grade reading assessment show that while Wisconsin was once ranked among the
very top states in the nation, we now rank somewhere in the middle of the pack.
We are also dealing with a significant racial achievement gap. In 1992, our
African-American 4th graders scored 26th in the nation on the NAEP and by 2009
they were 50th.
In response to these troubling trends, Governor Walker earlier this year
convened a task force to investigate the reasons for our recent performance and
make recommendations on how to improve it. This was a diverse, bipartisan group
including reading teachers, policy-makers, researchers, and early literacy
advocates. The task force has produced a full report of recommendations to
improve early literacy in Wisconsin.
The recommendations of the task force include:
Strengthen the rigor and relevance of the entrance exam for new teachers. The
current test assesses whether potential teachers can read, but does not assess
whether they understand how to teach students how to read. The Department of
Public Instruction has agreed to change this exam to the more rigorous exam used
in Massachusetts (MTEL). This will ensure we get teachers well-versed in reading
instruction out of college.
Require that literacy be one of the focus goals on the professional development
plan of new elementary school teachers. We want all teachers to continue to
develop into stronger reading teachers. Even with a new test to assess the
reading instruction knowledge of potential teachers coming out of college, more
skill must be acquired on the job.
Implement a universal statewide literacy screener in kindergarten. The screener should be given to all students to ensure struggling
readers can be identified as soon as possible.
Work with the Department of Children & Families to strengthen YoungStar, the
state’s child care provider rating system, to include more specific early
literacy criteria.
Create a public-private partnership raise funds to help replicate best practices
and develop new initiatives around reading.
I am committed to working to see these recommendations faithfully implemented in
Wisconsin and urge the public to be involved in this conversation. I feel
strongly that many teachers and schools in our state do a fantastic job teaching
reading, but there is certainly room for improvement. This is too important for
us to rest on our laurels and risk leaving even more kids behind.
A copy of the Read to Lead report can be found at
http://walker.wi.gov/readtoleadtaskforcereport.pdf.
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