Madison Reporter

The Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD) has reported improvements in literacy rates, with nearly 50% of students achieving proficiency in English language arts during the 2023-2024 school year. This aligns closely with the statewide average, where 48% of Wisconsin students reached grade-level proficiency.

The Wisconsin Forward Exam, administered annually to students from grades 3 through 8, saw a participation rate of 94% among MMSD students for its English language arts section. The district recorded a literacy proficiency rate of 47%, marking an increase of nine percentage points from the previous year.

Changes to the Forward Exam were introduced by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction last school year following updates to the state's academic standards for English Language Arts. MMSD plans to use last year's data as a new baseline for future comparisons.

Dr. Joe Gothard, MMSD Superintendent, stated, “The data shows us where we must focus on improvement and provides insights to identify our most urgent priorities.” He emphasized that efforts to enhance MMSD as a destination school district should consider student needs.

In its commitment to improving literacy outcomes and reducing disparities across the district, MMSD collaborated with the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2021 on a task force focused on early literacy. Recommendations from this initiative have guided decisions such as adopting a 'science of reading' approach emphasizing phonics-based instruction.

“We shifted the way teachers teach reading and writing to a science-based, phonics approach,” said Dr. TJ McCray, deputy superintendent at MMSD. “Literacy skills are a progression.”

In May 2022, MMSD adopted new curricular resources for elementary English classrooms and Spanish dual language immersion programs. By 2023, these resources were extended to middle schools. State legislation now mandates this instructional method across districts.

Becky Kundert, executive director of curriculum and instruction at MMSD, noted that K-12 teachers support literacy instruction from basic letter sounds through comprehensive writing tasks: “Teachers and staff take strategies from their professional development learning time and apply them in classrooms.”

A strategy called "learning walks" was implemented last year by central office leaders alongside principals and others who visit classrooms to observe how materials are used by teachers and engaged with by students.

“The most powerful assessments are those conducted daily or weekly,” Kundert said. “We want to ensure students engage with classroom learning.”

Several schools within MMSD exceeded state averages significantly; Shorewood Hills Elementary achieved an overall literacy proficiency rate of 84%, Van Hise Elementary reached 75%, Randall Elementary scored at 73%, Hamilton Middle School attained 76%, while Spring Harbor Middle School registered at 70%.

Cindy Green, assistant superintendent for teaching and learning remarked: “We know improvement does not happen by accident... here in MMSD we focus on guiding principles.”

School-specific interventions contribute towards enhancing student literacy rates too—additional learning support is provided via tutors from ‘Schools Of Hope’ along with pilot programs involving UW-Madison launched last year.

“The goal...is continuing targeted strategies ensuring not just closing gaps but providing acceleration,” Green added.

Looking ahead toward further developments within system-wide approaches includes investments made by Board Of Education encompassing smaller class sizes particularly during early elementary grades alongside expansion into full-day four-year-old kindergarten offerings according Kundert: "Madison deeply cares about ensuring all scholars can read/write so they become contributing members."