In some districts, the schools within the district use the same foundational material, in other districts the materials vary from school to school. Many districts are using reading materials dated in the 1980s. For the high school portion of the survey, some respondents indicated materials used in literature courses, some indicated that reading was taught in all content areas, some indicated that reading wasn't taught as a discrete course, and some indicated specific titles of trade books or content area textbooks. Responses varied from district to district. Responses to the checklist of methods of reading instruction used in each school likely will include every possible combination of responses from checking one of the five listed methods or the other box to checking all five methods plus other and every combination in between that range.
Most districts check more than one method.
This reporting is consistent with the June 1998 report released by the Wisconsin Legislative Audit Bureau that indicated that Wisconsin teachers report using a mixture of approaches to reading instruction. A Position Statement of the International Reading Association. This position statement includes useful information regarding reading methods, research review, and references. Single copies are available free with a No.10 self-addressed, stamped envelope.