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Squire Office for Policy Research in English Language Arts
The Squire Office for Policy Research in English Language Arts has been established to provide NCTE members and other interested parties with timely research-based information on topics and issues critical to NCTE's mission and strategic objectives. The sites below explain issues, offering information about current legislation and/or policy discussions; suggest ways to take action that could help shape policy decisions; and offer research-based resources and NCTE services that will deepen knowledge and understanding. |
Adolescent and Young Adult Literacy
| Approximately 8 million students in grades 4-12 are reading below grade level, and limited literacy skills cause 3,000 students to drop out of high school every school day. Here you can learn about the unique challenges of adolescent literacy, how current legislative proposals seek to bolster effective programs, and what research tells us about effective literacy instruction. |
Assessment
| In recent years, students have been required to take more standardized tests than ever before. In an effort to make schools accountable for learning, state and federal legislation has embraced standardized assessment as the most important indicator of student achievement. Here you can learn about the unique challenges presented by assessment, how testing policies impact schools and students, and what research tells us about effective assessment. |
English Language Learners
| According to the 2000 census, 47 million people or 18% of the population in the United States speak a language other than English at home. As the number of English Language Learners has increased, the politics of English language learning have become more prominent and complicated. Here you will find explanations of NCTE’s position on ELL as well as the challenges of English language learning, current legislative proposals, and research-based policy statements on the issue. |
Multi-Modal Literacies
| In today's world literacy means--in addition to interacting with print texts--recognizing how texts are produced and understanding how multimodal forms of representation convey meaning. This means that students engage with a variety of texts, both print and multimodal, as they learn. By exploring the information here and becoming aware of the initiatives that contribute to the development of new approaches, you can learn more about how to extend the reach of multimodal literacy. |
Research and Teaching
| Current calls for scientifically-based research in education raise anew questions about the relationship between teaching and research. Furthermore, English teachers wrestle with continuing questions about how research does and does not inform their work as well as what kind of research might play a role in forming educational policy. Here you can learn about the complex relationship between teaching and research as well as its connection to educational policy. |
Teacher Quality
| The "highly qualified teacher" is a familiar figure in discussions of educational policy, but it’s not always clear what teacher quality means or what policies support it. Projections that 50% of the teacher corps will retire within the next five years give urgency to considerations of teacher quality. Here you can learn about various definitions of teacher quality, how current legislation addresses it, and what research tells us about the meaning of and support for teacher quality. |
Writing
| Recent developments in education and technology have drawn national attention to the instruction and practice of writing. New electronic media like e-mail, instant messaging, text messaging, personal Web pages, and blogging have created multiple opportunities for students to write in different styles for varying purposes and audiences. Here you can learn about effective writing instruction strategies, how writing should be assessed, and what research tells us about how students learn to write. |
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