Evan Eagleson is a Legislative Director for ExcelinEd in Action. In this role, he aids the advancement of student-centered legislation in the Great Lakes region.
In what has been dubbed a “year of early literacy,” Wisconsin was among a number of states that took big steps to ensure more students are reading by third grade.
The state, with bipartisan support, adopted many fundamental principles that are proven to improve student outcomes in literacy. In a single year, Wisconsin moved from adopting just six of those principles in 2022 to enacting an additional six into law in 2023.
This legislation—and the educators who implement it—will change the lives of students now and far into the future.
As State Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, who helped lead this bill to victory, commented, “This bill is a significant step towards improving literacy outcomes and ensuring our children have a strong foundation of success.”
Banning the Dangerous ‘Three-Cueing’ Method Previously Used to Teach Young Readers
ExcelinEd’s Senior Policy Fellow in early literacy, Dr. Kymyona Burk, laid out the long-standing literacy challenges in The Science of Reading as a Catalyst for Change at the University of Wisconsin earlier this year.
The data are bleak: Nearly 90 percent of students who fail to earn a high school diploma were struggling readers when they were in third grade.
Students not reading at grade level by the end of third grade are four times more likely to fail to graduate high school. The future of low-income minority students not reading at that age is even gloomier, with those students eight times more likely to drop out or fail to graduate.
Wisconsin policymakers agreed to end the use of literacy curriculum that uses “three-cueing,” an instructional practice that asks students to memorize and guess words using visual cues rather than the proven successful method of building a student’s reading skills through phonics.
“This isn’t the fault of the teachers, many of them were sold a story just like the rest of us on the merits of cueing and balanced literacy,” Sen. John Jagler said in a statement. “Scientific evidence is showing us that these methods simply don’t work and we need to get back to the basics of phonics. My hope is that this bill starts to move us in the right direction.”
Schools in Wisconsin may no longer purchase materials that include three-cueing instruction, and beginning in the next school year, such materials may not be used in the classroom.
To assist districts and educators find better literacy resources, the legislation creates the Council on Early Literacy Curricula to recommend effective instructional materials based in the science of reading and makes $50 million available to assist with the purchase of new curriculum.
Supporting Wisconsin Teachers with Science of Reading Training, Resources
The state’s $50 million investment will also create educator preparation programs that ensure new teachers are prepared to use best instructional practices in the classroom. Completion of that training will be required to earn a teaching certificate in the state.
In addition, the state is funding 64 full-time literacy coaches to support teachers and students in the classroom.
All teachers will receive training in the science of reading, ensuring they are equipped with the tools they need to help students succeed.
Tools for Families and Students to Assess Learning, Identify Challenges
Without regular measurements of how each student is doing, educators and families are flying blind and hoping for the best.
“We have to ensure our kids have the reading and literacy tools and skills to be successful both in and out of the classroom,” said Gov. Tony Evers in a statement. “This bill, modeled after initiatives that have been successful in other states and fine-tuned with significant changes throughout the legislative process, is a step in the right direction.”
The new legislation will assess the literacy skills of kindergarteners twice each year to help identify which areas a student needs help with. That assessment continues from kindergarten through third grade at least three times a year with a universal screener to ensure strengths and weaknesses are correctly identified.
Parents and teachers will receive assessment results within 15 days, informing the development of personalized reading plans at school and at home to help struggling readers. These students will receive the extra help they need with intensive, targeted remedial services and summer reading programs to help them learn to read so they can begin to read to learn.
“I’ve worked on a lot of important bills, but few will have the impact the Right-to-Read Act will,” said bill sponsor Rep. Joel Kitchens. “Science-based reading programs are working in blue states and red states. I am confident it will also work in our purple state.”
Expanded Access to More Learning Options via Public and Private School Choice
As part of a bipartisan $1 billion increase in state funding for K-12 schools, Wisconsin lawmakers also increased support for parental choice. To expand access to learning options, the legislature increased funding for the state’s private school voucher program to more than $9,800 for K-8 students and $12,000 for high school students. Public charter schools are also benefitting with an increase in per-pupil funding to $11,360.
