District reports early gains after first year of new literacy curriculum and Act 20 implementation

Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District leaders told the board on April 20 that the district’s first year of implementing a new literacy curriculum and state requirements produced encouraging but preliminary results.

The district adopted Savvas MyView (K–5) and My Perspectives (6–8) and accelerated some timelines to comply with Wisconsin’s Act 20 literacy legislation. Staff trained principals and instructional coaches first, delivered staff learning during contract days, and implemented the statewide AIMSweb Plus screener for K–3. The district also continued LETRS (letters/science of reading) training and introduced state-required personal reading plans for students scoring below the state threshold.

Why it matters: The changes are intended to align instruction with the science of reading, provide earlier screening and tailored intervention, and meet state law requirements that emphasize early identification and weekly progress monitoring.

Key details presented to the board: - Curriculum: The district selected Savvas MyView (K–5), the Spanish companion MiVisión for dual-language settings, and My Perspectives for grades 6–8. Two-way immersion teachers are coordinating English and Spanish materials to create integrated units. Staff emphasized that MiVisión texts are authentic Spanish texts rather than translations. - Professional development: District coaches and principals were trained before teachers. LETRS (phased training) is ongoing; elementary staff will complete remaining units in year two. Implementation included on-site Savvas trainers and coaching cycles. - Screener and reading plans: The district implemented AIMSweb Plus (K–3) this year; students below the 25th percentile were placed on state-format personal reading plans with weekly progress monitoring. Exit requires four consecutive progress-monitoring data points showing adequate progress. - Assessment data: Presenters showed STAR reading percentile bands (winter-to-winter comparisons) indicating a growth in the “low risk” group and reductions at “high risk” for grades 1–8 and elementary and middle subsets. The district cautioned AIMSweb is a new local data source (first winter administration this cycle) so long-term trends are not yet available. - Subgroup monitoring: Staff highlighted promising increases among students with disabilities and gains for some historically lower-performing groups, particularly Black/African American students, while noting multilingual learner results require careful longer-term analysis because cell sizes and assessment language mixes changed year to year.

Board questions and next steps: Board members asked about comparability across assessments after national renorming cycles and the difference between STAR, AIMSweb and the Wisconsin Forward exam. District staff said STAR percentile ranks remain comparable across years, AIMSweb provides more discrete skill-level diagnostic detail (phonics, oral reading fluency) and Forward uses state-specific cut scores that changed this year, making direct year-to-year comparisons difficult.

Staff said spring AIMSweb windows were still closing at the time of the meeting and that the board would receive an updated report when final spring data are available. District leaders identified year‑two priorities: completing LETRS training, deepening collaborative planning, monitoring students on personal reading plans, and extending professional development on the science of writing.