Amid the boiling cauldron of political unrest and anger in Wisconsin there is one issue that seems to have very little controversy surrounding it, the reading crisis. Wait wait, back up, reading crisis?  There’s a reading crisis in Wisconsin? I had no idea this was happening, but according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, last fall's statewide testing showed that only 37% of Milwaukee Public School 10th-graders were rated as proficient or advanced in reading.  For a state that was once rated at the top of the nation in reading a decade ago, this is a large step in the wrong direction.

Reading is a core fundamental of learning and has a strong relationship to performance in school, the students who are the best readers are very often the ones who get the best grades.  Seeing Wisconsin’s reading stats slip is a huge red flag for the entire education system in the state.

However there might be hope for Wisconsin’s young readers. The Wisconsin Legislature has created a task force with the goal of getting almost all kids reading on grade level before they leave third grade.  This may be a lofty goal for an issue with so many schools of thought surrounding it.

The reading crisis is far from over but the right people are paying attention and hopefully Wisconsin will reclaim its place at the top in the coming future.