In the final stop on our Wyoming road trip, this blog delves into Marzano Research’s statewide assessment of the Wyoming Believing in Literacy Together (WY BILT) grant implementation and impact. To read about some of our district-level partnerships around the state to improve literacy systems, check out the previous blogs in this series.
Wyoming’s bold literacy vision
Literacy is the foundation for all learning. Yet many students continue to struggle with reading proficiency. Seeking solutions, the Wyoming Department of Education (WDE) undertook an ambitious 5-year literacy grant in 2021—Wyoming Believing in Literacy Together (WY BILT).
The 5-year grant pursues a bold vision: to improve literacy outcomes for students statewide and close opportunity and achievement gaps for historically underserved student groups.
Through the WY BILT grant, WDE aims to:
- increase educators’ knowledge and skills around literacy instruction
- ensure kindergarten reading readiness
- have students reading proficiently by grades 3 and 5
- ensure graduates possess literacy skills needed for college and careers, and
- provide family access to literacy programs.
WDE engaged Marzano Research in 2021 to support their work by tracking and reporting on grant implementation, progress, and outcomes. WDE’s efforts in the first year of the grant were largely structural and logistical, setting the stage for full implementation in Years 2-5. The department increased its literacy staff, awarded subgrants to an initial cohort of school districts, identified technical assistance providers, and collaborated with us to establish the evaluation process for the 5-year initiative. In the second year, WDE began hosting professional learning events for educators and awarded additional district subgrants.
Now, as 2024 marks Year 4 of WY BILT, we’re looking back at the results of Year 3 (2023), which demonstrate promising improvements.
Upshifting Literacy Efforts
Our Year 3 Statewide Assessment on WY BILT Progress
Although the primary metric for evaluating grant implementation is student performance on the Wyoming Test of Proficiency and Progress (WY-TOPP), Marzano Research also measures grant implementation at the district and school levels to determine how changes in evidence-based strategies and the implementation of educator trainings correspond to student outcomes.
Student Proficiency Gains
Our assessment for Year 3 of the grant, conducted in 2023, showed gains in oral language and reading proficiency for students (as measured by 2022-23 WY-TOPP performance), and successful educator professional learning events.
In oral language development, 84% of evaluated 4-year-old children achieved gains based on pre- and post-test comparisons across 21 reporting districts. This exceeds WDE’s goal of 80% of students making oral language progress.
For reading proficiency across the 25 districts participating in WY BILT, statewide assessments showed improved proficiency between 2021-2022 and 2022-2023. For example, 5th grader proficiency jumped from 47% to 55%, meeting WY BILT’s goal of outperforming the prior year. Similarly, 8th grade proficiency rose from 55% to 60%.
“I think we’ve had our best WY-TOPP results ever on [English Language Arts] since we started WY-TOPP … we’ve moved significant numbers of students out of low into basic, proficient, and advanced,” reported one educator.
Effective professional learning for educators
The professional learning events also met established goals. Individuals from 100% of participating districts attended at least one event or training. Post-surveys showed around 90% of participants agreed or strongly agreed the events they attended had been high quality, impactful, and useful, exceeding WDE’s 80% goal.
“Educators are being reminded of why they do what they do. They’re being empowered with tools that maybe they didn’t have, and they knew they were lacking in some spaces, but they didn’t know what to do,” a surveyed educator said about the events. “They’re learning, and I think everybody really loves learning when it’s important stuff.”
A unified focus for districts
At the district level, 100% of districts reported implementing literacy plans and establishing teams to monitor that implementation, hitting the goal for universal district literacy planning and support.
Within districts, most teachers expressed confidence in core literacy instruction competencies like vocabulary, comprehension, fluency, and literacy strategies. Around 80-90% of teachers agreed or strongly agreed that they have the skills to teach these critical areas. Additionally, 97% of teachers reported using formative assessments to track student progress.
Overall, the grant has brought districts together with shared goals, fostering collaboration and optimism.
“I really feel that there’s an interest, a desire from staff and administration that they support this grant, and they want to see good things literacy-wise happen for the district with the grant. They’ve been willing to participate, putting in the time for our literacy committee, attending professional development,” said another educator.
While further work remains, the data suggest the grant is achieving its objectives and improving literacy education statewide.
Mapping Out the Future
By the end of 2025, when the 5-year grant period concludes, WDE aims to have finalized a comprehensive statewide literacy plan to guide their ongoing efforts to improve student literacy proficiency levels. They also hope to apply for an additional 5 years of grant funding.
Marzano Research will be supporting Wyoming’s next steps by continuing to collect data and generate reports, assisting with the creation of the statewide plan, and developing tools to easily measure district alignment to state goals.
By investing in literacy, WDE is demonstrating their commitment to ensuring all students gain this foundational skill for future success and closing opportunity and achievement gaps for underserved student populations. The statewide collaboration set in motion by the WY BILT grant has unified districts under a common vision. While progress takes time, the multi-year efforts have already proven worthwhile, with data showing improved literacy outcomes.
This blog is Part 5 of a series about Marzano Research’s partnership with the Wyoming Department of Education to improve literacy and use of data for districts and educators statewide.
Sources
Joyce, J., Liu, J., Hubach, S., & Scott, C. (2021). WY BILT project: Year 1 annual report. Marzano Research.
National Center for Education Statistics. (n.d.). Table 203.20 Enrollment in public elementary and secondary schools, by region, state, and jurisdiction. https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d13/tables/dt13_203.20.asp
Wright, J., Hubach, S., & Scott, C. (2022). WY BILT project: Year 2 annual report. Marzano Research.
Wright, J., Rosario, E., Schwartzbard, R., & Scott, C. (2023). WY BILT project: Year 3 annual report. Marzano Research.
Wyoming Department of Education. (n.d.). WY BILT. https://edu.wyoming.gov/for-district-leadership/literacy/wy-bilt/
Wyoming Department of Education. (2021). Wyoming Comprehensive Literacy State Development Grant. https://edu.wyoming.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Formatted-CLSD-Subgrant-Application-SH-2.24.21-time-12.01.docx
