Tennessee SRC finalizes reading standard edits, adds diversity and multimodal language

The Tennessee State Board of EducationEnglish Language Arts Standards Recommendation Committee (SRC) met electronically on Sept. 30, 2025, to continue final revisions to the K'012 reading standards and related guidance. Committee members agreed to a set of wording changes, to add explicit references to "diverse cultural perspectives" across grade bands, and to include language covering multimodal (print and digital) texts.

Why it matters: the committeewhose work will guide instructional materials and textbook selection in Tennesseeapproved wording that publishers and districts will use when selecting and designing materials. Those edits affect how teachers are asked to sequence instruction, what kinds of texts students should encounter, and how the department will assess alignment with the standards.

Most significant outcomes

- The SRC agreed to revise several cross-grade phrasings (for example, editors replaced "as well as" with "and" in places and favored "synthesize" over "integrate" in certain grade-band standards) to improve clarity and grammatical consistency across the progression.

- The committee added explicit language about "diverse cultural perspectives" to the reading cornerstone and to sub-standards (K—), and directed staff to carry that language through the progression so instructional materials include texts representing a range of cultures and experiences.

- Members reached consensus to make the standards explicitly include multimodal and digital texts (print and digital formats) where appropriate, and to use language that publishers will understand when assembling both literary and informational text sets for each grade band.

- The SRC preserved a focus on both literary and informational texts across the progression and agreed to ask publishers to include longer complete works as well as shorter excerpts, though members debated how explicit to be about length and quantity at each grade band.

- On a procedural matter, the committee voted by roll call to accept the electronic recording as the meeting minutes.

Key discussion points and examples

Wording and grammar: Committee members spent time harmonizing wording across grade bands. Several editors recommended replacing passive or ambiguous constructions ("which") with tighter phrasing ("that") and replacing "as well as" with "and" in standards that describe what students should do. The group also discussed whether to use the verbs "integrate" or "synthesize" when asking students to combine information from multiple texts; members agreed "synthesize" better described the mental work expected in several grade bands.

Comparing texts and source material: For middle and high school bands, the SRC accepted TDOE's suggestion to make literature standards read more like the informational standards: members adopted language such as "analyze two or more thematically related texts in order to evaluate the approaches each author takes" and added a clause to encourage students to consider how texts draw on or allude to source material.

Allusions and complexity: Members debated whether to keep explicit references to literary devices such as "allusion" in the middle grades. The committee agreed those items should be introduced more explicitly at the high-school level (9'12) and noted that standards guides can call out instructional emphasis in middle grades without adding the technical term to every grade-level standard.

Diversity and text selection: After multiple members flagged the need for varied cultural representation in instructional materials, the SRC added language to the reading cornerstone to read: "read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts from a variety of cultures independently and proficiently." Committee members said they will add matching guidance to the standards guide and wish list so publishers know to include culturally varied texts.

Multimodal and digital texts: Committee members discussed the term "multimodal" versus "print and digital text." Because the department and publishers often use different terms, the SRC agreed to include language that signals both the print and digital formats and to provide definitions in supporting documents and the glossary used by publishers and teachers.

Grade-band balance and text length: Members debated the degree to which full-length informational works should be required in middle and high school. The group agreed to require publishers to include both longer (complete) works and shorter excerpts, while allowing the standards guide and appendix to clarify how to assess text complexity (quantitative and qualitative measures) and appropriate length for each grade band. The committee left the specific count of full-length texts to be clarified in supporting guidance rather than the standards themselves.

Public comment: The committee read one written public comment into the record. Miss Summers read the submission verbatim; it recommended adding the phrasing "Ensure subject, verb, and pronoun antecedent agreement" to a foundational literacy standard. Summers prefaced the reading by noting the comment was submitted to the public comment folder and had not been edited. The committee placed the comment in the parking lot for later review.

Procedure and vote: Early in the meeting the chair moved that the electronic recording serve as the meeting'minutes, citing Tennessee Code Annotated governing electronic meetings and roll-call voting. The motion was seconded and approved by roll call (six ayes, zero noes).

What the committee directed next

- Staff will update the standards guide and glossary to define terms such as "multimodal," "digital text," "text complexity," and "diverse cultural perspectives." The SRC asked TDOE staff to carry the new language through all affected grade bands and to add clarifying examples in the standards guide and appendices.

- The SRC flagged the inclusion of allusion-related instruction for the high-school standards and asked staff to add guidance in the standards guide rather than adding technical device labels in middle-grade standards.

- Members agreed to continue with electives work at the next meeting and to circulate updated drafts to the committee before reconvening.

Selected quotes

"Taken directly from Warner's English Grammar and Composition . . . Ensure subject, verb, and pronoun antecedent agreement," read Miss Summers, reading a written public comment into the record.

"Use history is fine. The word 'alter history' lands as troubling to me," said Doctor Stout during a debate about how to describe the relationship between fictional portrayals and historical accounts in a sixth-grade standard.

Next steps and timing

The SRC will reconvene to continue work on elective standards and to finalize remaining edits to supporting documents. Staff said they will prepare a consolidated packet for reviewers that includes the revised standards, standards-guide language, and a glossary of terms for publishers and instructional-material reviewers.

The committeewhich met electronically because members are statewidesaid it will post revised drafts and guidance for public review before final adoption by the State Board of Education.