Change in Literacy Education Policy on the Horizon
by NCTE Executive Directror Kent Williamson
May 2008 Council-Grams

“There is in the worst of fortune the best of chances for a happy change.” --Euripides

Last month, as dozens of NCTE members who visited Capitol Hill during Literacy Education Advocacy Day (April 17) shared accounts of their sessions in congressional offices, I was struck by how much things have changed since 2001-02.  NCTE members are no longer outcasts among legislators who were once convinced that they knew best how to leave no child behind; now, educators are actually being listened to for their insights about the complexities of literacy learning, and what federal policy can do to advance it.

It wasn’t always so. During our foray to the Hill in 2001, with HR 1, the newly-minted No Child Left Behind Act, drawing wide bi-partisan support, our deep concerns about the bill fell on deaf ears. In many cases we were reduced to raising concerns about implementation strategies in the states and funding levels, since little research had yet been marshaled about how schools were narrowing curricula and test time was surging. By 2003, several NCTE leaders endured a lengthy meeting with a high-ranking Congressional aide whose sole goal seemed to be to instruct us on how miserably colleges of education were failing to prepare teachers of reading and writing, and how conclusive the research was in support of an exclusive focus on the “five elements of reading."

By 2004, some NCTE leaders had become so dispirited from meetings with Congress or Department of Education officials that they chose to skip Capitol Hill altogether and spend time comparing notes with and learning from the most effective education policy groups in Washington. In retrospect, this was a very savvy use of time. Shortly thereafter, we resolved on three far-reaching changes:

1) We would build our capacity to engage in systematic policy-research, initially by establishing the James R. Squire Office for Policy Research in English Language Arts;

2) We would open a small office in the Washington, DC, area, and work to become recognized by government officials and non-profit sector leaders as an authority on literacy education;

3) We would emulate a practice engaged in by the American Association of School Administrators, and annually develop a legislative platform keyed to the Congressional calendar to guide our advocacy work in Washington DC.

During the past few years, these steps have been validated by progress on several fronts:

• Specific language that NCTE has suggested on changing the definition of “scientifically based research” to a broader “scientifically valid” standard has been adopted in several bills passed by or pending before Congress. We are playing a vital role in advancing changes to Title II in the Higher Education Act and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, Striving Readers, and Success in the Middle. And NCTE is a steadfast supporter of full funding for the National Writing Project.
  
• The addition of policy research briefs in each issue of the Council Chronicle. Recent surveys show that nearly 90% of readers regard these as helpful, and a majority of readers reported sharing these briefs with others.
  
• Wide circulation of NCTE research and policy platforms to Congressional offices and other key literacy advocates in Washington DC provoke questions and dialogue.
  
• Research we conducted on the Reading First grants scandal and subsequent suggestions we made about improving peer review and strengthening support for adolescent literacy learning has made its way into documents released by the House Education and Labor subcommittee.
  
• Key congressional representatives and their aides not only meet with NCTE representatives regularly, they call on us for research and advice about potential bills and pending legislation.

Perhaps most importantly, members who make time to participate in the policy process are being rewarded for their efforts.  Among the 131 members who participated in Literacy Education Advocacy Month activities or attended Advocacy Day in Washington DC, many reported that policymakers they visited with had deep concerns about testing and AYP measures in schools, a genuine interest in 21st century literacies and literacy coaching, enthusiasm for growth models and locally-developed assessments, and at least some level of understanding of the needs of English Language Learners and the importance of on-going professional development for literacy educators.

Okay, I acknowledge that 131 member-participants doesn’t yet qualify us as a national movement, and that much of the momentum to change literacy policy flows from innate flaws in current federal programs and the work of many other groups towards reform. Still, I believe that the moment has come when a relatively small corps of well-informed, organized, literacy policy advocates can make a great difference. With a new administration and Congress on-deck, these next 18 months represent an historic opportunity for policy shift. Watch for Action Alerts and other invitations from NCTE to help place the interests of students and their teachers back on top of the literacy policy agenda.