A majority of Wisconsin students -- about three out of five -- score below "proficient" on state tests, write Danielle DuClos and Kayla Huynh in the Cap Times. And more than half of would-be teachers fail the licensing exam that aims to measure knowledge of reading instruction on their first try.
"Like statewide student test scores, Wisconsin’s passage rates for these exams have steadily declined in the last eight years," according to a recent state report, they write.
This fall, a new law called Act 20 aims to ensure that educators use evidence-based practices to teach reading.
Donna Hejtmanek, a former Wisconsin teacher who helped author the new literacy law, says education schools aren't preparing teachers well. “We have kids struggling to read and teachers that don’t have the adequate skills to teach reading. They don’t understand how kids learn to read.”
Of 15 teacher preparation programs in Wisconsin, only four teach the five core components of the science of reading -- phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension -- according to a National Council on Teacher Quality review last year. In addition, most programs teach ineffective strategies, said Heather Peske, the council’s president. "Aspiring teachers . . . at best, are confused, and at worst, go into classrooms and then use these practices in teaching kids to read.”
An Ohio district that adopted research-backed reading instruction stressing phonics and vocabulary- and knowledge-rich content had to retrain teachers, reports Ellen Belcher. Many teachers had been trained to use "whole language," "balanced literacy" and "three-cueing" that are ineffective, says Kevin Johnson, curriculum director for Margaretta Local Schools. Students were told to guess words from pictures and context and memorize sight words, but not how to decode words.
"Change is really hard," says Superintendent Ed Kurt. "We have had some people leave."