Scroll down for information on the Read to Lead Blue Ribbon Task Force, NAEP Scores, State Legislation, DPI, and MPSREAD TO LEAD: GOVERNOR WALKER'S BLUE RIBBON READING TASK FORCEWRC will provide ongoing information on the Governor's reading task force on this page. Scroll down for details on meeting agendas, guests, and summaries. 2/16/12: A public hearing on AB 558/SB 461 was held on February 15th at the State Capitol. Many people spoke for the Read-to-Lead provisions (universal early screening for students and a reading exam for teacher licensure), and no one spoke in opposition. Click here for a summary of the hearing. You may also watch the entire hearing on Wisconsin Eye for free. We are attaching some of the written statements from experts. 5 attachments — Download all attachments
Click here to read the text of the bill as it stands before amendment. 2/9/12: Note the time change! Reading legislation was released today. A public hearing will take place on Wednesday, February 15, beginning at 9:00 AM in Room 411 South at the State Capitol. Bill highlights include universal kindergarten screening for reading readiness and a teacher licensure exam on the foundations of reading. Testify in person or send written comment by February 14 to Rep. Steve Kestell or Sen. Luther Olsen. This is your chance to be heard. The personal stories of parents, students, and teachers are very persuasive. 1/20/12: Gov. Walker announces that legislation will be coming soon on universal screening for young students and a new reading test for teacher licensure. Read JS-Online coverage Read DPI press release Read Chippewa Herald coverage Read Wis Politics coverage Read Wisconsin Radio Network coverage 1/4/12: The Final Report of the Read to Lead Task Force has been released. Read the report. Read Superintendent Tony Evers' statement on the report. Read JSOnline comment by Erin Richards 10/3/11: The final meeting of the Governor's Read to Lead task force took place in Mosinee on Tuesday, September 27th. Click for a synopsis of the meeting, which included three guest speakers and attempted to arrive at consensus on a variety of issues. In addition to this summary, you can access Chan Stroman's Eduphilia tweets at http://twitter.com/#!/eduphilia A major achievement at this meeting was consensus on recommending use of the Massachusetts MTEL 90 reading test for teachers. Related issues of setting a passing score for that test and publishing pass rates linked to various colleges of education were not discussed. A second highlight was hearing from Professor Mark Seidenberg, Donald O. Hebb and Hilldale Professor of Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. As one of the nation’s leading reading researchers, his knowledge and advice should have been sought at the outset of the process. Major unresolved issues over the course of the Task Force meetings include specifics on setting knowledge and practice content standards for teachers of reading, and identifying guidelines for determining whether a program, assessment, or training is “evidence-based.” Another unresolved issue is how to ensure appropriate implementation of the consensus items from the Task Force. Will implementation authority revert to the same people at the Department of Public Instruction and colleges of education who have guided us to our current level of underachievement? The concept of an independent Office of Reading Accountability was suggested by several task force members, but not discussed. It is encouraging that we may
move to a universal screening tool for identification of reading risk factors,
and we may adopt a rigorous reading exam for teachers, but it is not clear if, when, and how either will be mandated. The consensus items in the final report are
likely to be general and short on specific details. If the Task Force had been
pressed on the specifics, it is probable that consensus on many items would have
rapidly dissolved.
A report on the conclusions
of the Task Force is in progress in the Governor’s office and will be released
soon. According to Governor Walker, he and Superintendent Evers will then work
on implementation of the recommendations, with some people brought in to help. The
rollout will include the substance of the Task Force recommendations as well as
a general campaign to raise awareness of the importance of reading across
the state.
9/25/11: Reminder: The final meeting of the Governor's Read to Lead task force is this Tuesday. It is open to the public.
Read agenda items submitted by Steve Dykstra, Marcia Henry, and Tony Pedriana Read the expanded definition of scientific research submitted for consideration by Steve Dykstra, Marcia Henry, and Tony Pedriana to supplement the federal definition, which WRC feels has not been applied with fidelity in Wisconsin. 9/16/11: The September 27th Read to Lead meeting has been moved to Mosinee. It will be at the Joseph Dessert Memorial Library, 123 Main Street, Mosinee, WI 54455 from 12:30 to 3:30 PM. Guests will include
9/5/11: The September 27th Read to Lead task force meeting will be in Wausau. 8/31/11: Capitol Conversation on reading reform with UW-Madison psychology professor Mark Seidenberg 8/29/11: Summary of the August 25th Read to Lead Meeting 8/29/11: Task force member Marcia Henry has an op-ed piece published in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on August 28; Science can lead to better readers See the media page for responses. 8/27/11: Amy Hetzner discusses the open letters to the Read to Lead task force in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on August 24: Reading program plans questioned 8/18/11: The next Read to Lead task force meeting will be in Green Bay.
Meeting Agenda: The topics will be accountability as related to reading and societal issues that affect reading. Click for details. A last minute addition to the agenda is a presentation by the Department of Public Instruction on reading reforms in Milwaukee. Background Material Provided to Task Force: What other states are doing on accountability:
Some studies on retention: Information on Chicago's Summer Bridge program for struggling readers8/4/11: Dan Gustafson's open letter to the reading task force was followed by a second letter from Dr. Gustafson and John Humphries, formerly with DPI. 8/2/11: Wisconsin Eye has posted the July 29 meeting on its video archives. Search for "Read to Lead." Also see the PowerPoint from Florida's Foundation for Excellence in Education presentation. 7/31/11: Read a summary of the July 29 Read to Lead Meeting This meeting included a presentation of the reading initiatives in Florida that have resulted in dramatic performance growth over the past decade. 7/22/11: Neuropsychlogist Dan Gustafson sends an open letter to the task force. How will the Common Core be implemented in Wisconsin? Who is in charge? This letter is a must-read! 7/21/11: The order of the agenda for the July 29 meeting has been announced. 7/18/11: The agenda has been published for the July 29 meeting of the Governor's reading task force. Topics include a review and discussion of task force consensus items (teacher preparation and licensure, professional development for in-service teachers, screening and interventions, and early childhood) as well as a discussion of societal issues surrounding reading achievement. WRC members are likely to have strong opinions and valuable experience and expertise on fleshing out the specifics of the consensus items. After reading the agenda, you may send comments or concerns to Michael Brickman and Kimber Liedl and request that they be passed on to the task force members. Guest speakers will be Patricia Levesque of the Foundation for Excellence in Education and Robert Pondiscio of the Core Knowledge Foundation. Communications from the Governor's office indicate that Ms. Levesque will discuss her role in the success Florida had in improving reading outcomes, and Mr. Pondiscio will share his expertise on exactly how children learn to read as well as the difference between decoding and reading comprehension. Superintendent Evers and DPI personnel will also give some details on the reading reforms they have begun to implement. A discussion of accountability issues will be carried over to the August meeting. The meeting will be held from 1:00 to 4:30 PM at the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, 101 W. Pleasant Street, Suite 210, Milwaukee. All task force meetings are open to the public. 7/1/11: The next Read to Lead task force meeting will be Friday, July 29, from 1:00 to 4:30, at the offices of the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, 101 W. Pleasant Street, Suite 210, Milwaukee 53212. All task force meetings are open to the public. Click for directions. 6/28/11: Discussion at the June 24th meeting of the task force centered around assessment and intervention in the morning session, and early childhood issues in the afternoon. Superintendent Evers made three significant announcements: DPI is interested in considering a more rigorous teacher licensure examination, they are looking at the PALS assessments from Virginia as a possible early reading screening tool, and they will make corrections to the Wisconsin Model Early Learning Standards concerning definitions and descriptions of phonological and phonemic awareness and phonics. Click here for a summary of the meeting and comments from WRC. Note: WRC summaries and comments are a compilation of notes and impressions from WRC members who have attended meetings as observers. They should not be construed as official meeting minutes. If we become aware of other sources of information on the meetings, we will post them here. Click here for tweets and comments on the May 31 meeting by Chan Stroman. 6/22/11: Several outside experts will participate in the early childhood portion of the discussion at the 6/24 Read to Lead task force meeting. Brett Miller and James Griffin, who work with Peggy McCardle at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, will join the task force by phone. In addition, the meeting facilitators from American Institutes of Research have recommended their colleague, Eboni Howard. Ms. Howard will join the task force in person. Following are brief biographies. Brett Miller, Ph.D., directs the Reading, Writing, and Related Learning Disabilities Program in the CDB Branch. Dr. Miller completed his Ph.D. at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in cognitive psychology and a postdoctoral fellowship at Haskins Laboratories in reading research. Dr. Miller¿s research program focuses on developing and supporting research and training initiatives to increase knowledge relevant to the development of reading and written-language abilities for learners with and without disabilities. This program supports research that includes work with diverse groups and includes a range of ages across the lifespan. Before joining the NICHD, Dr. Miller held the position of associate research scientist at the IES at the U.S. Department of Education. In this capacity, he served as program official for the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy, the Mathematics and Science Education Research Program, and co-program officer for the Cognition and Student Learning Program.
James A. Griffin, Ph.D., is the deputy chief of the CDB Branch and directs the Early Learning and School Readiness Program. Dr. Griffin holds a B.A. summa cum laude in psychology from the University of Cincinnati and a Ph.D. with honors in child clinical psychology from the University of Rochester. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship in psychiatric epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health. Prior to his position at the NICHD, Dr. Griffin was a senior research analyst in the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) at the U.S. Department of Education. He previously served as the assistant director for Social, Behavioral, and Education Sciences in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Dr. Griffin’s career has focused on research and evaluation efforts related to service systems and early intervention programs designed to enhance the development and school readiness of children from at-risk and disadvantaged backgrounds. These efforts include several large-scale evaluations of the Head Start program (while with the Administration on Children, Youth, and Families, now the Administration for Children and Families) and research on preschool curricula involving geographically diverse child care, Head Start, and state pre-kindergarten programs (while with IES). Dr. Griffin currently serves as the science officer for the 15-year longitudinal NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, as well as the program officer for the Interagency School Readiness Consortium and the Interagency Consortium on Measures. Eboni Howard, PhD, is the Principal Early Childhood Specialist at AIR. Dr. Howard is a mixed-method researcher with more than 19 years of experience conducting child and family research, evaluation, policy studies and advisory work. She leads AIR’s growing portfolio of early childhood/child development research, evaluation, and consultation projects. Currently she directs the evaluation of the Office of Head Start’s Early Learning Mentor Coach Initiative. She also provides consultation services to U.S. Department of Education’s Early Reading First Project about early childhood and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) on kindergarten assessment efforts. Before joining AIR, she was the Frances Stott Chair in Early Childhood Policy and founding director of the Herr Research Center for Children and Social Policy at Erikson Institute, a graduate school focused on early childhood education. As director of the Herr Center she designed Illinois statewide evaluation of its birth-to-five programs, and facilitated the Chicago Program Evaluation Project of city’s 4-year old preschool programs. Prior to her work at Erikson, Dr. Howard was a senior researcher at Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago where she directed several large-scale evaluations in early childhood, home visitation, education, and child welfare. She also was a research associate concurrently with Joint Center for Poverty Research at Northwestern University and The Center for Culture and Health at UCLA where she conducted welfare-reform and child/family research. Dr. Howard has presented extensively
nationally and internationally, and has been highlighted in media and magazine
outlets. She has served on a number of advisory boards including the National
Research Council’s Committee on Developmental Outcomes and Assessments for Young
Children, Illinois’s Early Learning Council, and First 5
LA Research Advisory Committee. Howard earned her Doctorate and Master’s degree
in human development and social policy from Northwestern University, and has a Bachelors of Arts in psychology
from the University of Chicago.
6/16/11: Below is the agenda for the June 24th Read to Lead task force meeting. The names of the Wisconsin early childhood experts who have been invited will be released soon. Friday, June 24, 2011 10:30am-2:00pm (short break for lunch) Onalaska Public Library 741 Oak Avenue South Onalaska, WI 54650 I.
Intervention II.
Early Childhood Friday, June 24, 2011, 10:30-2pm: Onalaska Public Library, 741 Oak Avenue South, Onalaska, WI 54650 With the exception of the the June meeting, locations have not yet been confirmed. Check back for locations and agendas.All meetings are open to the public. 6/1/11: Governor Walker's Read to Lead task force met on May 31st at the State Capitol. Following are observations from WRC.Note: Peggy Stern, an Oscar-winning filmmaker currently working on a project about dyslexia, had a crew filming the meeting. If we are able to acquire footage, we will make it available. If you would like Wisconsin Eye to record future meetings, please contact them at comments@wiseye.org. Format: Unlike the first task force meeting, this meeting was guided by two facilitators from AIR, the American Institutes for Research. This was a suggestion of Senator Luther Olsen, and the facilitators were procured by State Superintendent Tony Evers. Evers and Governor Walker expressed appreciation at not having to be concerned with running the meeting, but there were some problems with the round-robin format chosen by the facilitators. Rather than a give-and-take discussion, as happened at the first meeting, this was primarily a series of statements from people at the table. There was very little opportunity to seek clarification or challenge statements. Time was spent encouraging everyone to comment on every question, regardless of whether they had anything of substance to contribute, and the time allotted to individual task force members varied. Some were cut off before finishing, while others were allowed to go on at length. As a direct result of this format, the conversation was considerably less robust than at the first meeting. Topics: The range of topics proved to be too ambitious for the time allowed. Teacher preparation and professional development took up the bulk of the time, followed by a rather cursory discussion of assessment tools. The discussion of reading interventions was held over for the next meeting. Guests: Dawnene Hassett, Asst. Prof. of Curriculum and Instruction and new elementary literacy chair, UW-Madison Tania Mertzman Habeck, Assoc. Prof. of Curriculum and Instruction, UW-Milwaukee Mary Jo Ziegler, Reading Consultant, Wis. Department of Public Instruction Troy Couillard, Special Education Team, Wis. Department of Public Instruction Next Meetings: The Governor's office will work to set up a schedule of meetings for the next several months. Some of the meetings may be in other parts of the state. 5/27/11: Michael Brickman releases meeting notice and agenda 5/25/11: Task Force member Anthony Pedriana, former teacher and principal in Milwaukee Public Schools and author of Leaving Johnny Behind, explains his service on the task force in a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel opinion piece Tony was also a guest on the Joy Cardin show on Wisconsin Public Radio on Thursday, May 26, from 7-8 AM. Listen to program # 110526B on audio archive. Read a letter to Tony from an MPS teacher. 5/25/11: Chan Stroman, Madison attorney and parent, blogs and tweets on education issues, including the Governor's task force. 5/14/11: Following is the agenda for the May 31st Task Force meeting. University professors will be invited to the discussion. I. Teacher Training and Professional Development A. University Level 1. How are Wisconsin teachers trained in reading? 2. Has this changed over time? 3. How can these measures be improved? 4. How could requirements for teacher licensure be strengthened to better prepare future teachers for reading instruction? B. Professional Development 1. What types of professional development do Wisconsin teachers receive related to reading instruction? 2. How can they be improved? 3. Can this be accomplished through the use of reading coaches or teacher in-service days? 4. To what extent should specific teaching strategies or methods be mandated and/or encouraged by the state? 5. What grades should receive this? Kindergarten? Grades 1-3? 4th grade on? II. Intervention A. Screening/testing measures 1. Which screening/testing measures are in use today? 2. How can screening/testing measures be improved? 3. Which specific testing tools would be most effective and cost efficient? 4. How might these measures be implemented differently for special needs and ELL students? B. Intervention 1. What steps are DPI and school districts taking to improve interventions? 2. Should any additional steps be taken? C. To what extent should specific reading measures be mandated and/or encouraged by the state? 1. For elementary schools? 2. For 4K programs? 3. For early childhood programs (Head Start, WI Shares, Private)? D. How quickly could improved intervention methods be implemented? 5/7/11: The second meeting of the Governor's Read to Lead Task Force will be held on Tuesday, May 31st, from 1:00 to 4:00 PM. The meeting will be in the Governor's Conference Room, 115 East, in the State Capitol. All meetings are open to the public. The agenda has not yet been distributed. 4/25/11: Today's first meeting of the Governor's Read to Lead Reading Task Force can be viewed in the Wisconsin Eye archives at http://www.wiseye.org/Programming/VideoArchive/EventDetail.aspx?evhdid=4126 A wide variety of topics were discussed at the April 25th meeting, including levels of reading achievement in Wisconsin and other states, the importance of early childhood preparation and prompt intervention for struggling readers, different approaches to teaching reading, teacher preparation and professional development, and examples of best practices in reading instruction both within and outside of our state. We encourage you to view the archived video for a better understanding of the information shared and opinions expressed. Future meetings of the task force will be held approximately once a month, with the next meeting focusing on preparation of teachers in institutions of higher education. Suggestions were made to to bring in representatives of higher education in Wisconsin, as well as experts in essential knowledge and practice standards for teachers of reading. You may be interested in several media reports of the April 25th meeting. WisPolitics.com: http://www.wispolitics.com/index.iml?Article=234474 The Cap Times: http://host.madison.com/ct/news/local/education/blog/article_3b04ede4-6f5b-11e0-b0d4-001cc4c002e0.html JSOnline: http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/120624974.html 4/23/11: The first meeting of the Task Force will be shown live on Wisconsin Eye, available through some cable providers and also at www.wiseye.org. Monday, April 25, 9-11 AM 4/20/11: General and detailed agenda for the April 25th meeting of the task force are as follows: General: Introductions Welcome and opening remarks by Governor Walker on the mission of the Task Force A discussion of the current state of reading achievement in Wisconsin A discussion of current practices as well as ways to improve reading instruction at the classroom level in Wisconsin A discussion of future topics and future meeting dates Adjournment Detailed I. Identifying the problem and its roots causes A. An overview of the problem in Wisconsin B. What are some of the root causes of illiteracy? 1. Teaching methods and curriculum 2. Teacher training and professional development 3. Problematic interventions 4. Societal problems 5. Lack of accountability 6. Others? C. Why are we doing so much worse than many other states and so much worse, relative to other states, than we did in the past? II. Reading Instruction A. How are children typically taught to read in Wisconsin schools? B. How do early childhood programs fit into the equation? C. How might reading instruction be improved? D. How do these methods and curricula differ with ELL & special needs students/ E. How quickly could improved reading instruction be implemented? A NAEP score data sheet compiled with the assistance of task force and WRC member Steve Dykstra was included with the detailed agenda. 4/16/11: Governor
Walker's blue ribbon task force, Read to Lead, will have its first
meeting on Monday, April 25, 2011, from 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM. The meeting
will be held in the Governor's conference room, 115 East, in the State
Capitol. All meetings are open to the public. In addition, WRC will
prepare reports on the progress of the task force and post them on this page of our website. Questions on the task force can be addressed to Kimber Liedl or Michael Brickman in the Governor's office at 608-267-9096. In preparation for the meeting, the Governor's office made this comment: "As the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s education columnist observed on Sunday, “[t]his is not your ordinary task force.” The creation of this task force is an opportunity to improve reading instruction and achievement in our state in an effort to open new opportunities for thousands of children. The MJS also noted that our task force “has diversity of opinion.” This is by design. Governor Walker is not looking for a rubber stamp, but for a robust, yet focused, conversation that will ultimately lead to concrete policy solutions." 4/10/11: Read Alan Borsuk's column on the upcoming blue ribbon reading task force from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: http://www.jsonline.com/news/education/119546744.html 4/5/11: Governor Scott Walker has named a blue ribbon task force to recommend legislation to ensure that all Wisconsin students read proficiently by the end of third grade. Members include Wisconsin Reading Coalition founding member Steve Dykstra, Past President of the International Dyslexia Association Marcia Henry, former MPS principal and author Tony Pedriana, former teacher and Rowland Reading Foundation associate Linda Pils, and Wisconsin Literacy's Michele Erikson. Rounding out the panel are Rachel Lander from the Value Added Research Center at UW-Madison, Mara Brown from Jefferson Elementary in Oshkosh, Mary Read from the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, State Reps. Steve Kestell and Jason Fields, State Sen. Luther Olsen, State Superintendent Tony Evers, and Kathy Champeau from Wisconsin State Reading Association. Gov. Walker will chair the panel. March, 2011: Gov. Scott Walker's Budget proposed the blue ribbon task force to make recommendations on third grade reading proficiency. NAEP RESULTS Wisconsin's 2011 NAEP Scores Again Disappointing The 2011 4th and 8th grade NAEP reading and math scores were released November 1, 2011. You can view the results at http://nationsreportcard.gov. The presentation webinar is at http://www.nagb.org/reading-math-2011/. Click here for an analysis of the reading scores. The NAEP scores are discussed in a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article. Read commentary on Wisconsin's NAEP reading scores that was sent to the Governor's Read to Lead task force by task force member Steve Dykstra. 2009 NAEP Scores Show Drop in 4th Grade Reading in Wisconsin The reading scores from the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress were released on March 24, 2010. In critical 4th grade reading, Wisconsin has lost ground again. Our average score dropped by three points, which is a mere 0.3% from being statistically significant. Fifteen years ago, we were 12 points above the national average. We have fallen four points, while the national average has risen eight. Since 2007, our national ranking slipped from 25th to around 30th. Only 7% of our students score in the advanced level. 33% score below basic. For subgroups, the news is worse. Percentages of students scoring below basic grew in each category: low income students (54%), African American students (66%), and students with disabilities (73%). Wisconsin African Americans had the lowest scores in the country, and low income student performance fell in with the lowest 10 states in the nation. Click here for more information on the 2009 NAEP results. Click here for more statistics on the performance of the main subgroups of students. 2011 NAEP Trial Urban District Assessment (TUDA) Results Show Milwaukee is Still Near the BottomThe scores from the NAEP
Trial Urban Districts Assessment were released December 7th, and Milwaukee
Public Schools again ranked at or near the bottom in all measures of
reading. Erin Richards discusses the results in an article in JSOnline, including comments from MPS Chief Academic Officer, Heidi Ramirez. All the scores can be accessed through the NAEP site. |
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