State panel presents draft K–12 ELA course of study focused on reception and expression
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Summary
A committee of teachers and higher‑education specialists presented a draft English language arts course of study organized around reception (reading/listening) and expression (writing/speaking), with K–12 progressions, literacy‑foundation alignment and a requirement that each high‑school grade include study of a Shakespeare play as a substandard.
A state committee composed of teachers, literacy specialists and higher‑education representatives presented a draft K–12 English language arts course of study that the department described as grounded in the science of reading and vertically aligned from kindergarten through 12th grade.
The committee framed literacy as a communicative process with two core dimensions: reception (reading and listening) and expression (writing and speaking). For early grades the draft places emphasis on literacy foundations — phonological awareness, phonics (decoding/encoding), fluency, vocabulary and comprehension — aligned to the Alabama Literacy Act and to research‑based progressions (e.g., LETRS materials). The draft includes sample standards and a progression chart showing how expectations increase in complexity by grade band.
At the secondary level committee members said they deliberately rebalanced literature focus to increase diversity in the eleventh/tenth grade bands: the draft staggers world, American and British literature across high‑school years while preserving a substandard that recommends study of a Shakespeare play in each high‑school grade. Committee members said the Shakespeare requirement reflects the play’s cultural and linguistic place as a touchstone for literary and language study but acknowledged the board’s earlier questions about diversity and encouraged local curriculum choices that expand author diversity within the grade bands.
Committee members also described planned rubrics and implementation supports, and departmental staff said further materials and expert reviews are available and that the literacy task force and other review groups provided formal feedback. Board members asked for supporting documentation: expert reviews, alignment statements to the Alabama Literacy Act and to dyslexia guidance, and sample text lists. Staff and committee members said they would circulate the reviewers’ comments and alignment matrices to the board.
The board received the draft and asked staff to circulate the expert reviews and to return with any requested clarifications and materials that districts will need for implementation if the board approves the standards.
