WI Reads | The Literacy Task Force of Wisconsin is a nonprofit dedicated to increasing awareness and implementation of evidence-based learning practices and the Science of Reading.

Our Mission is Accomplished through our Goals:

• increase awareness about the impact of literacy

• provide training about the evidence-based literacy practices and the Science of Reading 

• connect stakeholders with informational resources and learning opportunities

• raise funds for scholarships and operational costs

WI Reads Convention Featured Resources:

• Quick Guide for Training, Assessment, & Instructional Materials 

• WI Dyslexia Roadmap

• Science of Reading Learning Opportunities Calendar 

• Literacy Lunch & Lead Series 

Learn More:

• Lead for Literacy

• Equity through Literacy Reflection Tool, WI Dyslexia Roadmap

• District Literacy Improvement for Administrators, Glean Education Ed Leaders Podcast, featuring Brent Conway

• Ohio's Plan to Raise Literacy Achievement, Ohio Department of Education

• Science of Reading for Administrators-What Teachers Want You to Know Facebook Group

Reading has been studied extensively around the world over the past fifty years in multiple fields, including: 

• • • • Cognitive psychology

      • Communication sciences

      • Developmental psychology 

      • Education

      • Implementation science

      • Linguistics

      • Neuroscience

      • School psychology

Scientific research has produced consistent, converging evidence about how reading and writing skills develop for all learners, why some learners have difficulty learning to read and write, and how educators can leverage assessment and instruction for both prevention and intervention. 

WI Reads Recommended Resources:

• Ladder of Reading & Writing, Nancy Young

• What is the Science of Reading (SoR)?

• WI Dyslexia Resources

• Mission Partners

• Social Learning

Learn More:

• S1-15. A principal on the shift to the science of reading: Ernesto Ortiz, Amplify, The Science of Reading Podcast, featuring Ernesto Ortiz

• Science of Reading Handbook, Amplify

• Science of Reading, Mississippi Department of Education

• Teacher-Friendly Guide to Making Sense of Scientific Research, Six Shifts Download

• Teaching Reading is Rocket Science, American Educator

• What is the Science of Reading? Coalition developed by The Reading League

• The majority of WI schools used balanced literacy practices and instructional materials, which have an effect size of 0.09 - less than 25% of a typical year's growth.

• According to the WI DPI WI Instructional Materials Matter Statewide Curriculum Map (80% of WI districts responded, including 681 K-2 curriculum responses), the following instructional materials are most consistently used in WI K-2 classrooms:

21% - Lucy Calkins (Heinemann)

19% - Fountas and Pinnell (Heinemann)

12% - Journeys (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

12% - Teacher or District Developed

• Structured Literacy and Structured Linguistic Literacy practices (Science of Reading) are effective for all learners, necessary for some, accelerate learning for all, and do not harm any learners.

WI Reads Recommended Resources:

• Quick Guide for Training, Assessment, & Instructional Materials 

• Curriculum, WI Dyslexia Roadmap

• Curriculum Evaluation Tool, The Reading League

• Foundational Reading Skills Tool (FRST): A Self-Assessment Tool for Reading Instruction Kindergarten through Grade Two, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction

• High-Quality Instructional Materials and Curriculum-Based Professional Learning As A School Improvement Strategy, WI DPI

• Wisconsin Instructional Materials Matter: Statewide Curriculum Map | Overview

Learn More:

• Curriculum Matters

• EdReports.org

• Ladder of Reading & Writing, Nancy Young

• Mississippi's Approach to K-3 Literacy Instruction, Mississippi Department of Education

• Parent Checklist (Literacy Dialogue Tool), Schools Cubed

• Structured Literacy and Typical Literacy Practices: Understanding Differences to Create Instructional Opportunities, Reading Rockets

Universal screening assessments most commonly used for decision-making about reading intervention are standards-based assessments or reading inventories, which are too broad to effectively identify specific skill area(s) of focus and to determine alignment of interventions.

Example Reading Inventory - F&P Benchmark Assessment System | "Yep - it has 54% diagnostic accuracy. Thus, practitioners who use reading inventory data for screening decisions will likely be about as accurate as flipping a coin whenever a new student enters the classroom." Dr. Matt Burns

"A skills-based universal screener is the most appropriate, defensible tool for identifying students that have skills deficits and informing the need for a skills-based intervention. If a skills-based universal screener is not used, districts might not identify students with underlying skills deficits or properly align interventions. Further, if districts do not use a skills-based universal screener and are unable to collect accurate data associated with a suspected area of disability, they may run the risk of violating their Child Find obligation." Dyslexia Resource Guide, Guidance on the Say Dyslexia Law, Tennessee Department of Education, p12.

"The use of dyslexia as a descriptor of a specific type of reading disorder (and a specific type of learning disability) is not limited to those working in a medical setting. Rather, its use is only limited by the training and assessment experience of those who would use the term."  WI Dyslexia Roadmap

WI Reads Recommended Resources:

• Webinar: Leveling students: Why we do it, why we shouldn't, and what we should do instead- Dr. Matt Burns

• AIM Quick Guide for Reading Assessment

• Assessment, WI Dyslexia Roadmap

  • Types of Reading Assessments, WI Dyslexia Roadmap

  • Example Diagnostic & Progress Monitoring Reading Assessments, WI Dyslexia Roadmap

  • Defining Dyslexia, WI Dyslexia Roadmap

  • Identification of Dyslexia, WI Dyslexia Roadmap

•  Quick Guide for Training, Assessment, & Instructional Materials

• Model Wisconsin School

Learn More:

• A Dyslexia Toolkit, Pearson Clinical Assessment Solutions

• Dyslexia Legislation, WI Dyslexia Roadmap

• Dyslexia Resource Guide, Guidance on the Say Dyslexia Law, Tennessee Department of Education

• Reading Intervention for Older Struggling Students, Keys to Literacy Blog

• Results for Wisconsin 4th Graders Who Took the 2020-21 Forward ELA Exam, WI Reading Coalition

• Use of the Woodcock Johnson EV for the Assessment of Dyslexia, Woodcock Johnson IV Assessment Service Bulletin Number 6

• Dyslexia affects 20% of the population and represents 80-90% of all those with learning disabilities. It is the most common of all neurocognitive disorders. Yale University (Shaywitz, 2020)

• The prevalence of Dyslexia among learning issues facing school children is higher than ADHD, diagnosed behavioral problems, anxiety, PTSD, depression, and autism; it is almost equal to ESL.

• Dyslexic learners are over-represented in negative life outcomes including chronic absenteeism, social services, juvenile detention, special education, prison, homelessness. 

• California estimated that economic losses due to dyslexia would cost the state $12 billion dollars in 2020 and $1 trillion over the working lifetime of today’s students. By contrast, an investment of $880 million in early screening, teacher training, and intervention will give an 800% return on investment as the life impacts mentioned above are avoided. The Economic Impact of Dyslexia on California

• Marysville Exempted Village School District (MEVSD) in Ohio (2,302 K-5 students) did a cost/benefit analysis and found that investing in early screening, teacher training, and assistive technology to address dyslexia would produce yearly savings (Ohio Dyslexia Roadmap).

  • • MEVSD 25 Year Cost Savings Model:

      • • conservative savings - $6,180824.96

        • realistic savings - $11,908,351.25

        • dramatic savings - $18,954,434.45

WI Reads Recommended Resources:

• Costs & ROI, WI Dyslexia Roadmap

Learn More:

• Cost of Ignoring Dyslexia

• The Economic Impact of Dyslexia on California white paper

• Ohio Dyslexia Roadmap

Dyslexia is the most common learning disability. As many as 80% of all people with learning disabilities have dyslexia.

Many states have published a dyslexia guidebook or handbook to inform and support  K-12 schools in addressing the needs of dyslexic learners and to meet state and federal laws pertaining to dyslexia.

• Structured literacy and Structured Linguistic Literacy are necessary for dyslexic learners. 

• Structured Literacy and Structured Linguistic Literacy are also effective and accelerate learning for all. The doe not harm any learners.

Many states have published a dyslexia guidebook or handbook. Some are for information purposes only. Many support K-12 schools in meeting state and federal laws pertaining to dyslexia.

WI 2019 ACT 86 required: 

• the creation of an Informational Guidebook on Dyslexia and Related Conditions

  • • Screening and identification

    • Instruction and intervention

    • Resources and services

• Co-Chairs and Advisory Committee representatives from

• WI Branch of the International Dyslexia Association

• Wisconsin State Reading Association

• DPI

*Must be linked to by each Wisconsin school district by December 1, 2021, will be reviewed every 3 years.

WI Reads Recommended Resources:

• Wisconsin's Informational Guidebook on Dyslexia and Related Conditions

  • • Wisconsin’s Informational Guidebook on Dyslexia and Related Conditions: A Summary (1 page)

    • Using Wisconsin’s Informational Guidebook on Dyslexia and Related Conditions to Support Collaborative Conversations for Improved Reading Outcomes: A Guidance Document

    • Pages 10-12 - Table 1: Myths and Misunderstandings about Dyslexia Explained

    • Pages  17- 26 - Screening Processes and Tools 

    • Pages 34-39 - Table 5: Critical Principles of Reading Instruction for Students with Dyslexia and Related Conditions

    • Page 49 - Table 7:  Suggestions for Supporting a Child’s Literacy Development

• WI Dyslexia Roadmap

  • • Characteristics of Dyslexia at Different Ages

    • Equity through Literacy Reflection Tool

    • Example Diagnostic & Progress Monitoring Reading Assessments

    • Types of Reading Assessments, WI Dyslexia Roadmap

Learn More:

• California Dyslexia Guidelines (2017)

• Colorado Department of Education Dyslexia Handbook (2020)

• Georgia Dyslexia Informational Handbook (2019)

• International Dyslexia Association Dyslexia Handbook: What Every Family Should Know (2019)

• International Dyslexia Association Fact Sheets

• *NEW Idaho Dyslexia HandbookArizona Technical Assistance System (AZ-TAS): Dyslexia Handbook (2022)

• Kentucky K-3 Dyslexia Toolkit (2019)

• Massachusetts Dyslexia Guidelines (2020)

• Minnesota Department of Education

• Mississippi Department of Education

• New Jersey Dyslexia Handbook : A Guide to Early Literacy Development & Reading Struggles (2017)

• Ohio Dyslexia Roadmap (2020)

• Tennessee Department of Education - Dyslexia Resource Guide (2018)

• Texas Dyslexia Handbook (2021)

Leverage district resources, ESSA, and  ESSER funds to systematically invest in improving literacy achievement for all.

• Purchase high-quality, standards-aligned instructional materials and corresponding professional learning. - WI DPI

• Use state aid available through WI statute 118.016 Assessments of reading readiness, to purchase valid and reliable assessments of literacy fundamentals (ie: skill-based reading assessments)

• Up to $25,000 to each CESA to host a Leadership in Literacy Institute (provided by Schools Cubed) or a similar evidence-aligned training that educates principals and administrators in evidence-based reading instruction and the requisite structures and systems for increasing reading achievement in schools. - Motion 57 - item 8.b.

• Up to $4,000 reimbursement for each school district and CESA for the direct course costs for staff to attend LETRS training or another program endorsed by the Center for Effective Reading Instruction or the International Dyslexia Association - Motion 57 - item 8.a.

WI Reads Recommended Resources:

• Quick Guide for Training, Assessment, & Instructional Materials

• Building Capacity, WI Dyslexia Roadmap

• Dyslexia Legislation, WI Dyslexia Roadmap

• Motion 57

• High-Quality Instructional Materials and Curriculum-Based Professional Learning As A School Improvement Strategy, WI DPI

Learn More:

• Leveraging American Rescue Plan Funds to Advance Literacy, National Council on Teacher Quality

Exhibit visitors are eligible to enter a raffle for Professional Learning. 

When selecting a professional learning raffle to enter, please consider your commitment and the capacity of individuals in your school district to complete the professional learning by December, 31 2024.

The Professional Learning Raffle complies with state law and the Wisconsin Code of Ethics for Local Public Officials. 

District officials may accept at the Convention educational or informational materials, prizes, or other giveaway items for the purpose of conveying the item to the district for the use or benefit of the district. District policies my address the issue of receipt of gifts by district officials.

Winners, along with their school district administrator, school board president, and school business officer will be notified and provided a receipt noting the professional learning title, value, and donor via an email from WI Reads no later than Tuesday, February 28, 2023.

ALL Professional Learning Raffle donors qualify as approved providers for ESSER Funding including funds allocated in Motion 57 items 8a and 8b. 

ESSER Flyers from Professional Learning Donors:

• 95% Group ESSER Flyer 

• AIM ESSER Flyer

• Keys to Literacy ESSER Flyer

Additional qualified providers ESSER Funding as currently outlined in Motion 57 items 8a and 8b include:

• CERI Accredited Independent Teacher Training Programs

• Independent Teacher Training Programs Accredited by IDA

• ALL are aligned to the Knowledge and Practice Standards for Teachers of Reading

Exhibit visitors are eligible for a Science of Reading book from WI Reads donors.

When selecting a book please consider what you are committed to reading and a leader in your school district you would pass the book on to when you are finished.

The Book Giveaway complies with state law and the Wisconsin Code of Ethics for Local Public Officials. 

District officials may accept at the Convention educational or informational materials, prizes, or other giveaway items for the purpose of conveying the item to the district for the use or benefit of the district. District policies my address the issue of receipt of gifts by district officials.

Recipients will receive an email receipt from WI Reads noting the book title and value no later than February 28, 2023.