Could a focused reading strategy lift Milwaukee students, and what other states’ data suggests

A national literacy playbook is taking shape

Across the U.S., state leaders have increasingly centered early reading as an explicit policy priority, often borrowing from reforms credited with improving outcomes in Mississippi. The approach generally pairs science-based reading instruction with universal screening in the early grades, stronger teacher training requirements, and structured interventions for students who fall behind.

Mississippi has become the most-cited case study in this shift. State law adopted in 2013 created a framework requiring intensive reading intervention for students with significant reading deficiencies in kindergarten through third grade, and it established a promotion gate tied to reading performance at the end of third grade, with limited exemptions.

What “results” look like—and how they are measured

The benchmark most frequently used in cross-state comparisons is the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), known as the Nation’s Report Card. Mississippi’s 2024 NAEP results were widely highlighted for long-term gains in fourth-grade reading since 2013 and for overall improvement in rank from earlier years.

Wisconsin’s NAEP results have drawn attention for a different reason: fourth-grade reading proficiency has been reported as trending downward compared with pre-pandemic levels, even as the state posts relatively strong performance in some other tested areas.

Wisconsin’s policy pivot: Act 20 and early-grade screening

Wisconsin’s major statewide effort is Act 20, enacted in 2023, which requires science-based early reading instruction and expands early literacy screening in 4K through third grade. Milwaukee Public Schools has outlined how the district is aligning to these requirements, including statewide use of an early literacy screener beginning in the 2024–25 school year.

Policy implementation has also been shaped by subsequent legislative changes affecting training and assessment timelines for the first years of the rollout.

Lessons from other states: more than one model

Other states have enacted similar packages—often combining screening, aligned instructional materials, tutoring or summer supports, and promotion policies.

• Tennessee’s literacy law requires phonics-based instruction, high-quality materials, universal screening in grades K–3, and additional supports. State reporting has shown that while many third graders score below proficiency, only a small share are ultimately retained after interventions and promotion pathways.

• Louisiana has reported early-grade reading gains and is implementing a third-grade promotion policy tied to literacy screening, alongside structured supports such as summer interventions.

What this means for Milwaukee: key variables to watch

For Milwaukee, the question is less whether “reading focus” matters and more which components are implemented consistently and at scale. The experience in other states highlights several measurable variables likely to shape outcomes:

• Whether screening results reliably trigger timely, evidence-based interventions.

• Teacher training coverage and fidelity to science-based instruction across schools.

• Availability of tutoring, summer programming, and staffing for small-group supports.

• How promotion policies, exemptions, and parent options affect both student trajectories and system accountability.

In states that show sustained improvement, literacy reforms have typically been built as multi-year systems: screening, instruction, intervention, and accountability operating together rather than as stand-alone initiatives.

As Wisconsin’s Act 20 implementation matures, Milwaukee’s progress will be most clearly reflected in early-grade screening trends and future NAEP cohorts—indicators that allow comparisons beyond local tests and illuminate whether policy design is translating into classroom-level change.