New law targets literacy

CASPER —Wyoming ranks above average in the nation for student reading performance. But this ranking doesn’t show the full picture. 
Raw scores reveal that many Wyoming students struggle with reading. That’s a problem a bill signed into law last week seeks to address. 
The ultimate goal of Senate File 32 is to have 85% of kids in kindergarten through third grade reach a proficient or advanced reading score, an ambitious goal considering past performance. 
In the 2018-2019 academic school year, only one school, Ten Sleep School in Washakie County, had over 80% of students with proficient and advanced scores in English Language Arts, according to the Wyoming Department of Education.
WY-TOPP and WY-ALT test scores from the 2020-2021 academic year show that about half of Wyoming students in third grade scored at a basic level or below in reading ability. 
That percentage doesn’t change much in higher grades. 
A 2020 report to the Legislature deemed basic and below basic performance levels to be inadequate “for graduates to access jobs in the higher skill, higher wage economy Wyoming is trying to build.” 
This report spurred the Joint Education Committee to discuss reading difficulties during the last interim session. 
Addressing literacy difficulties early is critical; higher grades assume mastery of basic reading.
 Under the new legislation, schools will be required to screen for signs of reading difficulties at least three times a year in kindergarten through the third grade. Previously, districts could choose from an array of screening tests. But not all those tests are created equal. Some are better at identifying reading difficulties in kids than others. 
Those difficulties can snowball when they aren’t caught early on. The law will limit the screening tests that schools can use to ones that are better at catching problems. 
The state schools superintendent, Wyoming Board of Education, the University of Wyoming, school districts, specialized professionals and other stakeholders will create criteria to identify appropriate tests. Schools will only be able to use screening tests that the superintendent approves based on these criteria. 
Parents and guardians will be included in assessment and intervention processes. 
Schools must relay screening results to parents and guardians. That report will include an explanation of the results. 
If needed, the district must also provide an outline of a student’s individualized reading plan to that student’s parents or guardian. Teachers will create reading intervention plans that are individualized for each student. 
The bill also requires kindergarten through third grade teachers to participate in professional development training in literacy instruction and intervention. 
But Ellis said there is some flexibility in this requirement, and teachers who have already had training in relevant areas don’t necessarily have to undergo instruction again. 
A $300,000 pot of money from the School Foundation Program is set aside for this professional development in the 2023-2024 academic year under the bill. Schools can draw on this money if training costs go beyond what they already receive in grants for such programs. 
Criteria for this professional development training isn’t yet set in stone. 
Districts will send an annual reading achievement report to the Department of Education. Schools that haven’t achieved the 85% goal will submit improvement plans to their district. The districts will in turn relay an overall plan to the Department of Education. 
The new legislation is just a start. Literacy will continue to be a topic in the interim session.