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State Board hears experts on ELA curriculum as DCPS pilots CommonLit in middle schools
Summary
At its March 18 meeting the DC State Board of Education convened experts to review English language arts curriculum choices. DCPS described a middle-school CommonLit pilot and evaluation plan; panelists debated whole-book reading versus passage-based approaches and emphasized teacher training and family engagement.
The District of Columbia State Board of Education heard an expert panel March 18 examining English language arts curricula and a multi-district pilot of the CommonLit program in middle schools.
The panel followed introductory remarks from State Superintendent Dr. Mitchell and included speakers from DCPS, Center City Public Charter Schools, the Curriculum Insight Project and education writer Natalie Wexler. DCPS testimony said the district’s locally developed 'District Visions' curriculum has been revised and that a CommonLit pilot — covering roughly half of DC middle schools — includes professional development, school-level supports and data collection to inform next steps.
Why it matters: the panel framed a central tension for local policy: how to balance the Common Core-era emphasis on skill standards with curricula that build students’ background knowledge and reading stamina through longer works. Panelists argued curriculum design affects equity: students from resource-rich homes gain an advantage when instruction relies on background knowledge, while sustained engagement with full-length texts can build vocabulary and comprehension for all students.
DCPS’s district representative (who self-identified in testimony as Karen Kan) highlighted recent achievement gains and the district’s approach to piloting and evaluating materials. She said surveys, focus groups and district-level data will be used to assess teacher and student experience during the two-year pilot and that teachers retain autonomy to supplement lessons with additional full-length texts. "By the end of last school year, 79% of our K through 2 graders were meeting or exceeding the benchmark in foundational reading skills," she said.
Panelists from charter schools and nonprofit groups described the implementation trade-offs that shape adoption decisions: thorough vetting of materials; budgeted, publisher-provided professional development; providing students with copies of texts; and piloting modules before full adoption. Kate Merrill of Center City Public Charter Schools described adopting the Wit & Wisdom knowledge-building curriculum across K–8 and pairing it with Wilson Foundations phonics in early grades; she emphasized budgeting for materials and long-term professional learning.
Natalie Wexler argued that ELA standards list comprehension skills but do not prescribe the content students should read, and she urged curricula that build topic knowledge through sustained engagement with whole texts. "If we want students to build the reading stamina necessary for long works, it stands to reason they should work with longer books in schools," Wexler told the board.
Board members pressed panelists on evaluation metrics: how the district will measure student engagement and cultural relevance, how families and students are involved in selection, and what evidence would justify wider adoption. DCPS said its pilot evaluation will include focus groups of teachers, school leaders, students and families plus quantitative student-performance measures.
The session closed with a reminder that the board will review pilot outcomes and that staff will continue to gather feedback from classrooms and families.
What’s next: the board will consider the CommonLit pilot’s evaluation results in subsequent public meetings; DCPS will continue its two-year pilot and provide interim feedback to the board.
