School districts must administer screening assessments for all students in grades K-3 three times per year, and two times per year in 4K.   Skills that are assessed include:

• Rapid Naming: How quickly students can name objects or symbols.

• Phonological Awareness: Recognizing and manipulating sounds in words.

• Word Recognition: Identifying familiar words.

• Spelling: Understanding and writing words correctly.

• Vocabulary: Knowing the meanings of words.

• Listening Comprehension: Understanding spoken language.

• Oral Reading Fluency (when appropriate): Reading smoothly and accurately.

• Reading Comprehension (when appropriate): Understanding and interpreting text.

Schools must provide the following within 15 days after scoring the assessment:

• The child’s score and scores in each literacy skill category.

• The child's percentile rank, if available.

• Definition of “at-risk” and what score indicates this status.

• Plain language explanation of what the assessment measures.

If the student doesn't score as well as or better than 25% of all students who took the test nationally on the early literacy screener, a diagnostic reading assessment is required by the Act 20 law.

This helps identify specific reading challenges early, so that personalized support can be provided through the development and implementation of a personal reading plan.  If a child advances to 4th grade without completing their personal reading plan, parents/caregivers will be notified about the ongoing interventions.

If a diagnostic assessment shows a child is at risk, schools will develop a personal reading plan and provide information and details about:

• How to make a special education referral.

• Dyslexia and its characteristics.

• Interventions and accommodations for dyslexia.

Yes, parents/caregivers should acknowledge receipt of the personal reading plan.  It is a notification, not a consent form.

Science of Reading  is a body of scientifically-based research and evidence on how students learn to read and comprehend text.  There is emphasis on building phonemic awareness, explicit and systematic instruction in phonics and word recognition, reading fluency, vocabulary knowledge and acquisition, and comprehension skills and strategies. 

The research is clear: there are systematic and explicit processes for teaching key skills and strategies that allow children to develop phonemic awareness, phonics and word recognition skills, reading fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. 

The Science of Reading acknowledges that all of these are important aspects of core reading instruction in elementary school, and learning to read is not just about phonics.  Much of the findings in the research come from the National Reading Panel Report 2000, which continues to be considered the most comprehensive compilation of the best instructional practices in reading instruction. 

To learn more about evidence-based reading strategies as it relates to 2023 Wisconsin Act 20, click here.

We are excited to partner with and support you in developing your child’s early literacy skills both inside and outside of school.   Below you will find some links to some helpful resources for working with your child at home:

• Reading Resources for Families -Wisconsin DPI

• Family Resources (Madison)

• Start With a Book: Parent Tips for Reading, Writing, and Learning

• Reading Rockets

• EPIC