CROSS PLAINS, Wis. — Glacier Creek Middle School reports that reading proficiency has risen nearly six percentage points after years of staff training and changes to literacy instruction, with some of the largest gains among student groups that had previously struggled to meet expectations. A case study published by curriculum provider Savvas Learning Company reports proficiency increases of nearly 18 percentage points for Black students, nearly 12 points for Latino students and 9 points for students with individualized education programs. The schoolwide increase was nearly 6 percentage points. The gains followed a period when educators saw reading proficiency decline and recognized that some groups of students were not making the progress staff hoped for. Over the past five years, professional development in the Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District has focused on vocabulary, comprehension and incorporating reading skills into subjects beyond language arts, the district said. The district also adopted Savvas materials, including myPerspectives for students in grades six through eight and myView Literacy for fifth graders. Teachers say the changes involve more than new curriculum: they have also reconsidered how students with different learning needs can access classroom reading. Previously, special education teacher Allie Warner said, students could be given different books based on reading ability. Teachers now use supports such as sentence starters, added vocabulary instruction and simplified material in advance so students can engage with the same texts as their classmates. Warner said that approach has helped students feel they have something to contribute and has made some more willing to begin writing assignments on their own. Sixth-grade teacher Aly Raffel said students are taking on more demanding material and building the stamina and confidence to keep trying. Glacier Creek also received Wisconsin’s highest state report card rating, “Significantly Exceeds Expectations,” for the 2024-25 school year. The district’s overall accountability score rose from 84.4 to 87.1. That measure includes several aspects of school performance and is not limited to reading. Sixth grader Jyotirmoyee Dey said she enjoys the range of reading in class, from graphic novels to the “Harry Potter” series. For students who find reading difficult, she recommended setting a small goal and building from there. The proficiency figures come from a case study published by Savvas, the company whose curriculum Glacier Creek adopted. The district’s accountability score and report-card rating provide additional measures of the school’s performance, but do not isolate the effect of any single instructional change.