ACT 20 Requirement

All K-3 teachers, principals where there are grades K-3, and reading specialists must begin training on science-based literacy instruction by July 1, 2025. This must be from an approved list.

OASD Approach

Our elementary principals, literacy coaches, and educators have engaged in the “Impactful Early Literacy Practices Institute” provided by CESA 6 over the past two years.  Our principals and literacy coaches also engaged in the Leadership Institute provided by CESA 6 during the 2022-2023 school year.  Both of these institutes were approved to meet the requirements of ACT 20.  All K-3 educators who were not able to participate in the CESA 6 institutes will utilize Cox Campus Structured Literacy Training Modules beginning in the spring of 2025.  Cox Campus is also an approved training vendor as defined within the ACT 20 guidelines.

ACT 20 Requirement

What type of early literacy instruction and intervention do schools need to provide?

Act 20 states that all Wisconsin schools are required to provide science-based early literacy instruction in both universal and intervention settings. Science-based early literacy instruction is defined as the following.

Instruction that is systematic and explicit and consists of all the following:

• Phonological awareness
• Phonemic awareness
• Phonics
• Building background knowledge
• Oral language development
• Vocabulary building
• Instruction in writing
• Instruction in comprehension
• Reading fluency

See the Wisconsin Reads website for more information

*School boards retain the independent authority to select the early literacy instructional materials they will adopt and implement. Those instructional materials are required to meet the definition of “science-based early literacy instruction” found in Act 20.

OASD Approach

The OASD continues to align all literacy curriculum to the WI Model Academic Standards.  In order for students to demonstrate proficiency in the areas emphasized within those standards, OASD continues to utilize core instructional resources that embed the principles of the science of reading body of research.  In the fall of 2023, our 5K-3rd grade classrooms adopted From Phonics to Reading as our core instructional resource for systematic and explicit foundational literacy instruction.  The District is also currently evaluating two core instructional programs for grades 4K-2: Bookworms and CKLA.  Both resources were highly regarded by the WI Early Literacy Curriculum Council, which has been charged by the WI Joint Finance Committee to review and recommend core instructional resources for WI School Districts in alignment with ACT 20 requirements.  Our 3rd through 6th grade teachers have been implementing American Reading Company as our core resource for reading, writing, and English language arts standards since the fall of 2023.

ACT 20 Requirement

4K Assessment

Students are to be assessed twice during the school year using a fundamental skills screening assessment selected by the DPI.  The first is to be completed by the 45th school day and the second by 45 days before the end of the school year.

5K-3 Assessment

• At least 3 universal screenings during the school year.
• The first must be before the 45th day of the school year, the second in the middle of the school year, and the third by 45 days left in the school year.
• Universal screenings must include phonemic awareness, decoding, alphabet knowledge, letter-sound knowledge, oral vocabulary

A diagnostic assessment must be used when a universal screening assessment indicates a pupil is at-risk (below 25th percentile). This occurs no later than the second Friday of November for the Fall assessment or within 10 days after the 2nd universal screening.  Diagnostic assessments must also be given within 20 days when a teacher or parent suspects a student has characteristics of dyslexia and submits a request.

OASD Approach

Four-year-old kindergarten educators will use Aimsweb fundamental skills screening assessments twice during the school year in accordance with the DPI screening windows.  Educators of five-year-old kindergarten through third grade will assess students three times per year in accordance with DPI screening windows using AimswebPlus assessments.

When we assess, we are checking to see how well students are doing in different reading skills. There are five skills that are the building blocks of reading. They help children recognize, understand, and pronounce words correctly, which is essential for becoming a successful reader. Without these foundational skills, it’s difficult for children to read fluently and understand what they’re reading.

• Phonemic Awareness: This skill involves recognizing and manipulating the individual sounds in words. Tasks might include identifying the first or last sound in a word or blending sounds together to make a word (e.g., /c/ + /a/ + /t/ = "cat").
• Oral Vocabulary: Oral vocabulary refers to knowing the meanings of words when heard or spoken. Tasks might include learning new words through conversation, storytelling, or picture books and understanding these words in different contexts.
• Alphabet Knowledge: This involves recognizing and naming letters, both uppercase and lowercase. Tasks usually include matching letters with pictures or playing games that involve identifying letters.
• Letter Sound Knowledge: This skill is about knowing the sounds that each letter or combination of letters makes. Tasks might include saying the sound when shown a letter, matching letters to their sounds, or practicing with flashcards.
• Decoding Skills: Decoding is the ability to sound out and read words by connecting letters to their sounds. Tasks might include reading simple words, sounding out new words, and practicing reading short sentences.

These skills help children learn to read by teaching them how to hear, say, recognize, and understand words. For example, they learn the sounds that letters make, how to blend those sounds together to read words, and what those words mean when they hear or say them. By practicing these skills, children can become better readers.

At each school, educator teams will monitor the results of screening assessments. Students who perform below the 25th percentile will be assessed using diagnostic assessments to gather further information about the next steps for learning.  A diagnostic assessment evaluates a student’s skills relative to grade-level expectations for the areas below:

• Phonological Awareness
• Phonemic Awareness
• Letter Sound Knowledge
• Alphabet Knowledge
• Rapid Naming
• Decoding
• Word Recognition
• (Oral) Vocabulary
• Spelling
• Listening Comprehension
• Oral Reading Fluency
• Reading Comprehension

Diagnostic assessment includes an opportunity for a student’s parent/guardian to complete a family history survey to provide additional information about learning difficulties in the student’s family.  In OASD, we elicit this information from families of students in 5K-3rd grade annually as part of our assessment notification process occurring in January of the 2024/25 school year and every fall thereafter. 

A legal guardian has the right to submit a request for diagnostic assessment at any time, including the right to request an evaluation for special education. 

Our OASD assessment schedule can be found on the Assessment Information Page of our website.

ACT 20 Requirement

Beginning in the 2024-2025 school year, provide parents and families with the results of the reading readiness screener no later than 15 days after the assessment is scored in an understandable format that includes all of the following:

• The pupil's score on the reading readiness assessment.
• The pupil's score in each early literacy skill category is assessed by the reading readiness assessment.
• The pupil's percentile rank score on the reading readiness assessment, if available.
• The definition of “at-risk” and the score on the reading readiness assessment that would indicate that a pupil is at-risk.
• A plain language description of the literacy skills the reading readiness assessment is designed to measure.
• If a child is promoted to 4th grade without completing their personal reading plan, parents must be notified in writing along with a description of the reading interventions that child will continue to receive.

OASD Approach

Families will receive notification and information throughout the assessment process.  Families are notified of assessment windows prior to testing and results are shared within 15 days of assessment score availability.  When diagnostic assessments are utilized, additional information specific to those results and subsequent instructional support (personal reading plans) will also be shared.

ACT 20 Requirement

If students are identified as at-risk (below the 25th percentile) on a universal screening assessment or diagnostic assessment, a personal reading plan must be created that includes:

• The specific early literacy skill deficiencies
• Goals and benchmarks for the pupil's progress toward grade-level literacy skills
• How progress will be monitored, a description of interventions and additional instructional services being provided
• The science-based reading programming the teacher will use
• Strategies for the parent to support grade-level literacy skills, and any additional services available and appropriate

Local education agencies (public schools and independent charter schools) will provide a copy of the personal reading plan to parents as well as provide progress updates after 10 weeks.

OASD Approach

Personal Reading Plans will be developed for students who score below the 25th percentile on the screener. Educators will develop and implement Personal Reading Plans to support students to grow in the skills necessary to be on track to meet grade level benchmarks. This plan will be created in NextPath, our student learning data platform, and will include all required information.  Plans will be shared with families through the NextPath platform. All plans will be monitored frequently and progress updates will be shared with families every 8-10 weeks. For students whose diagnostics show that the original screener was not accurate, Personal Reading Plans will note how progress will be monitored on a consistent basis to ensure student success.

ACT 20 Requirement

Schools must have a policy for promotion from 3rd to 4th grade, based on a DPI model policy, by July 1, 2025.  This would go into effect Sept 1, 2027.

OASD Approach

The OASD promotion policy will be revised in the spring of 2025 to include requirements included in WI ACT 20.

ACT 20 Requirement

Act 20 requires each school district to articulate and post an early literacy remediation plan that includes all of the following. The name of the diagnostic reading assessment the school district uses; a description of the reading interventions the school district uses to address characteristics of dyslexia; a description of how the school district monitors pupil progress during interventions, including the tools used and their frequency; a description of how the school district uses early literacy assessment results to evaluate early literacy instruction; and a description of the parent notification policy that complies with Act 20.  School districts are still required to publicly post the academic standards that they use and to provide a link to Wisconsin’s Informational Guidebook on Dyslexia and Related Conditions on their school district website.

OASD Approach

All of the aforementioned components comprise our Early Literacy Remediation Plan. In line with state requirements, the Oconomowoc Area School District uses a variety of assessments to identify students who need help with reading, including those with symptoms of dyslexia. Teachers use these assessments to understand each student's needs and plan the best way to support them. Support plans include different interventions and/or instructional strategies such as teaching how to recognize sounds and patterns, practicing reading skills, and providing direct instruction on language and spelling. All students receive regular practice with reading and are given feedback to help them improve. To monitor progress students are assessed multiple times throughout the school year, and caregivers are notified of student progress following assessments. For students receiving personal reading plans, progress is reviewed more frequently to inform any necessary instructional changes to ensure student growth.