About the data
Wis.Stat §118.016 requires the use of a statewide early literacy screener. The first administration of the screener for 5K – 3rd grade was mid-year 2024 – 2025; the first administration of the screener for 4K was spring 2024 – 2025. aimswebPlus by NCS Pearson is Wisconsin’s statewide early literacy screener.
Screening data from aimswebPlus can be used in combination with other data to understand individual student needs and inform small or large group instruction. Data from aimswebPlus can also be used in combination with other early literacy data to analyze literacy curriculum and instruction. Because aimswebPlus has only been in use since mid-year 2024 – 2025, it is risky to draw programmatic conclusions with only a few data points.
WISEdash for Districts includes the number of students who were below the 25th percentile during any screening administration. There is no plan to include this data in the WISEdash Public Portal, as it is already shared in a statutorily required annual report. Per Wis.Stat §118.016, any student in 5K – 3rd grade below the 25th percentile must be engaged in diagnostic assessment and have a personal reading plan. WISEdash for Districts also includes a student profile that shows subtest scores across every administration.
All information below is about aimswebPlus administration from 2025 – 2026 forward. A special section at the end addresses screening data from 2024 – 2025.
Screening windows
Statute requires screening in 4K in the fall and spring. Fall screening must be complete no later than the 45th calendar day after the first day of school. Spring screening must be complete no later than the 45th calendar day before the end of the school year.
Statute requires screening in 5K – 3rd grade in fall, midyear, and spring. Fall screening must be complete no later than the 45th calendar day after the first day of school. Midyear screening must be complete between approximately December 1 and January 31. Spring screening must be complete no later than the 45th calendar day before the end of the school year.
Test administration
aimswebPlus includes a series of subtests. What subtests are required vary by grade-level based on the developmental nature of reading.
In 4K – 1st grade, all subtests are administered one-on-one. The teacher presents stimuli to a student and enters the students responses in real time. 2nd and 3rd grades include a vocabulary measure completed on TestNav.
Who is screened
Wis.Stat §118.016 requires that every student in 4K – 3rd grade participate in early literacy screening. Statute does not allow for parental opt out nor does it provide for an alternate assessment.
For students with IEPs, the IEP team may determine that the effects of the student’s disability invalidate the norms of the assessment. In the rare cases where this applies, the student advances to diagnostic assessment where information is gathered to inform instruction.
Similar to statewide summative assessment, students who are English learners and newcomers are allowed one exemption in their first year in US schools.
Determination of below the 25th percentile
Wis.Stat §118.016 requires that schools identify and provide diagnostic assessment and a personal reading plan for students below the 25th percentile on early literacy screening, as defined by the test creator. As recommended by NCS Pearson, Wisconsin uses the national percentile on the following subtests to identify students as below the 25th percentile:
- 4K: Below the 25th percentile in both required subtests in spring (initial sounds and phoneme segmentation)
- 5K: Below the 25th percentile in the composite score (comprised of letter naming fluency and letter word sounds fluency)
- 1st grade: Below the 25th percentile in the composite score (comprised of word reading fluency, nonsense word fluency, and oral reading fluency)
- 2nd and 3rd grades: Below the 25th percentile in oral reading fluency
Early literacy screening in Spanish
Schools have the option of screening in Spanish only, Spanish and English, or English only. The department recommends screening in the student’s language of instruction. When to screen in Spanish is a district decision. For students who took the screening in both English and Spanish, the language that was assessed first is used for recording purposes. Pearson includes a time stamp in student scores for this.
In the school or district level chart that shows the number of students below the 25th percentile, students screened in English and Spanish are combined.
Data from 2024-25
2024 – 2025 was the first use of aimswebPlus as a statewide early literacy screener. Consider the following when using data from 2024 – 2025:
- In 2024 – 2025, educators learned to administer a new assessment.
- In 2024 – 2025, screening was required beginning with the midyear window (the spring window for 4K).
- In 2024 – 2025, aimswebPlus used norms from 2015. In accordance with best practice for test design, Pearson re-normed aimswebPlus for the 2025 – 2026 school year. Therefore, results from 2024 – 2025 cannot be directly compared to results from 2025 – 2026 forward.
- In 5K and 1st grade, the subtests administered in 2024 – 2025 are not the same as the subtests used from 2025 – 2026 forward. The change is most significant in 1st grade. In 2024 – 2025, a student was counted as below the 25th percentile based on their oral reading fluency score. Beginning in 2025 – 2026, a 1st grade student is marked as below the 25th percentile based on a composite score that includes nonsense word fluency, word reading fluency, and oral reading fluency.