[CALIBK12] A Seat at the Table: Capitulation to the National Standards Movement?

[Stephen Krashen]

A Seat at the Table: Capitulation to the National Standards Movement?
Sent to The Council Chronicle (National Council of Teachers of English) and Reading Today (International Reading Association) 

According to an article that appeared in Education Week on June 15, NCTE and IRA both want a "seat at the table" to create national standards along the lines proposed by Education Secretary Arne Duncan. 

Apparently, both organizations agree that spending billions developing national standards and national tests is a good idea, and are upset only because they have not been invited to join the party.  

Apparently, both NCTE and IRA agree that our major priority in education is more precise and uniform measurement, that all children should know where they are "on every step of their educational trajectory" (Arne Duncan) in all subjects.  

Apparently they agree that this assembly-line rigid approach is in tune with the way children learn.

Apparently, some of the leaders of the two major literacy organizations have not spent much time with children, and are unfamiliar with the vast research literature that says this approach is all wrong. 

Stephen Krashen
Susan Ohanian