Newly-adopted ELA standards focus on improving reading for all learners

MADISON — State Superintendent Carolyn Stanford Taylor today announced the adoption of newly revised Wisconsin Standards for English Language Arts, which help the state’s youngest students build reading foundational skills with an emphasis placed on developing an understanding of phonics through explicit, systematic instruction.

 

Earlier this year, Stanford Taylor stressed the importance of altering practices to include differing methods of ELA instruction so Wisconsin students learn to comprehend text.

 

“Emphasizing the role of explicit and systematic phonics in the teaching of foundational reading skills is one of the ways we can better help our students grow,” Stanford Taylor said. “Instruction in comprehension, writing, speaking, and listening are also core parts of ensuring all Wisconsin students achieve success and graduate college and career ready.”

 

Wisconsin Academic Standards serve as goals for teaching and learning and assist educators and stakeholders in understanding, developing, and implementing course offerings and curriculum in school districts across Wisconsin. Standards specify what knowledge and skills Wisconsin students should learn by the end of each grade level, or bands of grades.

 

The months-long revision process involved feedback from the public; development by statewide writing committees composed of Wisconsin educators, content experts, and stakeholders; and review by the State Superintendent’s Academic Standards Review Council, made up of a diverse group of leaders.

 

The 2020 Wisconsin Standards for English Language Arts build on the strengths of the 2010 state standards and focus on improving equity to advance learning for all students by providing every learner access to grade-level text, aiding Wisconsin students in being flexible writers, and supporting students in understanding how to vary their use of language based on audience, task, and purpose.

 

View the full adopted Wisconsin Standards for English Language Arts document here.