What is Act 20?

The diagnostic reading assessment must include:

• Rapid Naming: How quickly students can name objects or symbols.
• Phonological Awareness: Recognizing and manipulating sounds in words.
• Word Recognition: Identifying familiar words.
• Spelling: Understanding and writing words correctly.
• Vocabulary: Knowing the meanings of words.
• Listening Comprehension: Understanding spoken language.
• Oral Reading Fluency (when appropriate): Reading smoothly and accurately.
• Reading Comprehension (when appropriate): Understanding and interpreting text.

Yes! If a child is bilingual or participates in a dual language program, the early literacy screener can be given in the language of instruction, as long as the assessment meets state requirements and is approved by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI).

If the student doesn't score at or above  25% on the early literacy screener, additional diagnostic reading assessments are required. This helps identify specific reading challenges early so that a personalized reading plan can be provided and communicated to families.

Starting in the 2024-2025 school year, schools must provide all of the following within 15 days after scoring the screening assessment:

• The child’s score in each literacy skill assessed at their grade level
• The child's percentile rank (when available)
• Definition of “an at-risk learner” and what your child’s score indicates his/or her  status is
• Plain, clear  language from school to home explaining your child’s scores and how the school will be responding with personalized instruction and weekly progress monitoring measures  to support your child in the areas identified by the assessments
• If a child is placed on a Personalized Reading Plan, families will be asked to sign the plan and should expect to receive updates on their child’s progress in the identified areas from the teacher every ten weeks to ensure that accelerated progress is being made to remediate the targeted areas

Yes, parents must sign and return the personal reading plan to the school. This is a notification, not a consent form.

If a diagnostic assessment shows a child is at risk, schools will provide information and details about:

• How to make a special education referral.
• Dyslexia and related conditions.
• Interventions and accommodations for dyslexia.

As part of the law, districts are required to collect information from families regarding your family’s history with dyslexia, as well as your child’s previous summer school recommendations in reading or previous involvement with reading intervention. 

Families will be asked to complete a very short survey. Though districts are required to ask for this information, families have the right to not respond.

The Appleton Area School District has been learning about science-aligned instruction for the past three years. 

In 2023-2024, all K-5 teachers worked monthly during our professional development sessions with our CESA Literacy Coach to identify and implement high-leverage instructional practices related to literacy instruction. 

All of our K-5 teachers participated in a book study around Jan Burkins Shifting the Balance book to provide collaboration around these new instructional routines.  Simultaneously, our elementary principals and literacy interventionists began intensive DPI-approved literacy training around early foundational skills and the reading brain. 

As our site literacy leaders, we needed to define the practices we want all our AASD teachers to implement in every classroom within our district.  In the summer of 2024, over 350 elementary teachers voluntarily signed up to receive training around our new ELA resources, and that training continues monthly during our professional development sessions. 

Our teachers are committed to improving literacy outcomes in the AASD!  In the spring of 2025, we will begin a DPI-approved Early Literacy training called “Cox Campus” to continue and expand our growth of knowledge on the best ways to teach reading and writing to support all our AASD learners.