(The Center Square) – The way Wisconsin’s schools teach reading is under the microscope at the State Capitol.
Both the Assembly and Senate Education Committees will hold a hearing Thursday to look at the state’s reading curriculum, assessments, and achievement gaps.
Senate Education Committee boss John Jagler, R-Watertown, told The Center Square that Wisconsin must do better when it comes to reading.
“Reading is our top priority now because it is so fundamental to everything else a student learns,” Jagler said.
Test scores show two-thirds of Wisconsin school kids cannot read or write at grade level. Those same test scores show Wisconsin has the largest achievement gap in America between black and white students.
“This is a disturbing trend that we have seen go on for a few years now and one of the reasons we are having this hearing,” Jagler added.
Lawmakers will hear from reading experts, including experts from the University of Wisconsin.
The state’s Department of Public Instruction is also due to testify.
“[DPI has] a key responsibility in all of this and we need to hold them accountable. We will be asking them tough questions, not only at this hearing but all session as we look for solutions to the problem,” Jagler said.
Republicans in the Wisconsin legislature approved a plan last year that would have beefed up reading screenings and testing before the 4th grade. The idea being that if kids cannot read properly by the 4th grade, they may never catch-up.
Governor Evers eventually vetoed that plan.
Jager said he expects to see something similar again this session.
“Testing is one of the key options to discover how bad of a problem we have right now. But we have to understand how kids are being taught in the first place and how well testing can uncover the deficiencies in our schools. Unfortunately, depending on how kids are taught, they can appear to test well and appear that they can read only to learn too late that they are learning the wrong lessons and fall behind,” Jagler added. “Testing for dyslexia and other learning disorders is also key for early intervention. This hearing is the first step in a lot of hard work discovering the problem and how we can address it.”
The hearing is set for 10 a.m. Thursday at the Capitol in Madison.
