From IRG Senior Research Director Quinton Klabon:
What happened? Within two weeks, a major, bipartisan reading bill will come out. The bill, shepherded by Rep. Joel Kitchens and DPI, is represented here by Executive Director Thomas McCarthy. They previewed it in a fantastic interview with WisconsinEye. Watch here.
Why is it important? IRG has been bold on this topic. Wisconsin students of all demographics underperform their peers nationally. States that pursued the correct reforms not only added a whole grade level to students but saw explosions in math ability as other learning unlocked. Our economic future depends on a great bill that gets passed. While Wisconsin is one of the last states to address students’ reading ability, getting this far is a major achievement.
What’s next? IRG will give you the first and best look at the bill upon its release. The interview suggested many upsides, but also raised major questions that need answering. See deep analysis and clips here.