MADISON — The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction recently announced its selected reading fundamental skills screening assessment and universal screening assessment, aligning with the requirements of 2023 Wisconsin Act 20.
NCS Pearson’s aimswebPlus provides Wisconsin schools with the opportunity to efficiently identify young students in need of additional reading support and quickly adjust instruction and provide necessary interventions. There was a statutory deadline for the selection of the screener, which the DPI has now met.
“The DPI continues to meet our obligations, but this comes at a time when the Wisconsin State Legislature’s Joint Committee on Finance has yet to release nearly $50 million approved to support implementation of the bipartisan legislation,” State Superintendent Dr. Jill Underly said. “We agreed with the Legislature that we needed to reimagine the way students are taught to read, but the Legislature continues to fail to live up to their end of the bargain. Their unwillingness to release these funds is now having a truly negative impact on local school districts across the state and is an example of them putting politics in front of the needs of kids.”
The early literacy and reading tools available through aimswebPlus come at no cost to Wisconsin schools and districts and align with the requirements of Act 20. Information available on a dedicated Wisconsin page through aimswebPLUS explains dates for administration, subtests administered at each grade, and approximate administration time for each subtest. In the coming weeks, the webpage will be updated to include online and asynchronous training opportunities, details on accessibility accommodations, clear timelines for parental notifications and diagnostic assessment administration, further information on utilizing data to identify “at-risk” students, as defined by Act 20, and more.
Though fall administration is not required for the 2024-25 school year only, the DPI continues to work to ensure districts have the support necessary to administer the screener effectively beginning in fall of 2024.
“As we move forward with implementing the requirements in Act 20, securing a statewide screener to identify learners in greatest need of support was essential,” newly appointed DPI Office of Literacy Director Dr. Barb Novak said. “The DPI’s partnership with Pearson ensures Wisconsin educators will have access to unique training and professional learning opportunities, along with other necessary resources to help change early literacy outcomes in our state. I look forward to helping Wisconsin educators in making informed decisions on what each of their students need. As Dr. Underly often says, ‘We need to help students learn to read, so they can read to learn.’”
In addition to selecting a screener, the DPI also published its list of diagnostic assessments that meet Act 20 requirements. The list, guidance for school and district decision making, and more can be found on the DPI’s Act 20 webpage.