A legislative column by Senator Mary Lazich (R-New Berlin)

 

Two thirds of Wisconsin fourth graders lack the skills to read this column.  The reality of Wisconsin student reading skills is the impetus for Governor Scott Walker’s Read to Lead taskforce, a bipartisan group brought together to chart a path toward ensuring all Wisconsin students can read by the end of third grade.

 

For many years, Wisconsin was a national leader for teaching reading to students.  However, while states across the country experienced sharp increases in reading proficiency, Wisconsin did not keep pace.  The state’s fourth-graders are now in the middle of national rankings.  Unacceptable numbers of Wisconsin students, one-third of all fourth graders, test below basic reading levels.  Fully 66 percent of Wisconsin fourth-graders are below proficient readers, according to the 2010 KIDS COUNT Special Report.  If students cannot read, they cannot master other subjects.

 

Wisconsin’s third grade reading scores are a serious issue with implications reaching far beyond the classroom.  According to an April 2011 study by City University of New York professor Donald Hernandez, students reading below a proficient level at the end of the third grade were four times more likely to not graduate high school on time.  Lower levels of education attainment are directly linked to other issues, such as crime, lower economic output, and requiring government assistance programs later in life.

 

To address this issue, Governor Walker established the Read to Lead Taskforce.  The taskforce included State Superintendent Tony Evers, Republican and Democrat state legislators, teachers, education researchers, and advocates.  Working together, the Task Force formed a consensus about ways to ensure all Wisconsin students are able to read by the end of third grade.  The bipartisan Task Force released its findings Wednesday with a press conference at Highland View Elementary School at Greendale, Wisconsin.

 

The 23-page report takes a sober look at Wisconsin reading education and offers recommendations about improving third grade reading proficiency.  Some of the recommendations are student-oriented, such as implementing early literacy screening for all kindergarten students to identify skill levels.  Other recommendations focus on improving reading teaching methods.  Currently, the 33 higher education institutions that educate future teachers do not have a standard curriculum.  Addressing University of Wisconsin methods for educating teachers, developing a more difficult proficiency exam for reading teachers, and requiring a reading focus for elementary school teachers’ development plans will give teachers the tools to be champions of reading in the classroom.

 

For years, Wisconsin was a nationwide education leader.  Ignoring an inconvenient problem and resting on our laurels while Wisconsin students’ slip further behind peers in other states is doing a disservice.  For Wisconsin students to thrive and be competitive, and for the state’s future economy to have leaders and innovators, the education system must refocus its approach to reading education.