Nearly 37% of Wisconsin students in 4-year-old kindergarten through third grade scored below the 25th percentile on early literacy assessments last school year, according to the state Department of Instruction.
For Milwaukee Public Schools, over half of 4K through third graders – or nearly 12,500 students – tested below the 25th percentile, results from the exams show.
The assessments, required under the state’s 2023 literacy law Act 20, evaluate students on reading skills and identify children at risk of reading difficulty.
Data from the first year of the literacy screeners, released Dec. 1, show about 97,400 Wisconsin students in 4K through third grade scored in the bottom quarter of students in reading. Under the state’s literacy law, students scoring below the 25th percentile must receive additional support in reading, including a personalized learning plan.
The law also requires the DPI to report results of the screeners to the Legislature annually. State Superintendent Jill Underly said the first year of data will serve as a baseline for student performance.
‘These data are critical in helping schools guide instruction and intervention – not to define a student’s potential,’ Underly said in a statement. ‘With time and a sustained investment in strengthened classroom instruction and, as needed, additional reading support, we can move steadily toward our goal of making sure every Wisconsin child excels at reading by the end of third grade.’
About 39% of 5-year-old kindergarten through third grade students – or over 86,200 students – received interventions under a personalized learning plan last school year, the DPI reported.
More:
Nearly 44% of Madison School District 4K through third graders scored below the 25th percentile on an early literacy screener required under a 2023 state law, the state Department of Public Instruction reported Monday,
The results were slightly worse than for students in those grades statewide. About 37% of them scored in the bottom quartile
Results varied widely by grade in the Madison and other school districts. More than half of Madison’s kindergartners and first graders, for example, scored in the bottom quartile, while only 13% of students in 4-year-old kindergarten scored in the bottom quartile.