Links and Resources
Petition to End the Mandates
Join us in asking the Mayor and Chancellor to halt these mandates.
Curriculum Reforms
Scripted curricular reforms are often tied to privatization. We support robust, diverse, free, public, inclusive, community schools.
Reforms as a guise for Privatization
Top-down, scripted curriculum mandates are a disaster for our schools (MORE-UFT StrikeHot Blog Post)
The Achievement Effects of Scaling Early Literacy Reforms
Further Evidence that the Common Core Did Real Harm to U.S. Education
Why We Cannot Go Back to Basics
Reading Scores
News articles and opinion pieces in the media have looked critically at literacy instruction, especially after the popularity of the podcast, “Sold a Story”. Much of this reporting uses data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and inaccurately conflates “proficient” with “grade level”. A NAEP “Proficient” score is NOT synonymous with “grade level”. Conflating NAEP “proficient” with “grade-level” is uninformed and irresponsible. Looking closer at the NAEP data also reveals that on average children today read as well as children did 20 years ago. The recent articles focusing on literacy that imply there is a new “crisis” in reading education and that children are less well than in years past are simply not accurate.
NAEP Reading Achievement Scores by Grade
Big Lies of Reading Proficiency and NAEP
The Art and Science of Reading
Moving up the Grades: Relationship between Preschool Model and Later School Success.
Cultural Relevance
NYC Reads and Creative Curriculum materials were found to be culturally destructive and are written for a national audience, not for the very diverse student population of NYCDOE schools.
Report on the lack of representation in NYC curricula
Overwhelming whiteness: a critical analysis of race in a scripted reading curriculum
Who’s History? How Textbooks Can Erase the Truth and Legacy of Racism
Racially Just Public Schools calls on Mayor to Invest in Culturally Responsive Education
Evidence of Efficacy
None of the NYC Reads or Creative Curriculum are backed by peer-reviewed scientific studies. Research shows that children need to see themselves in classroom materials and teachers need autonomy in order to be effective.
Where’s the evidence in State Mandated SOR programs?
Literacy Experts say Some EdReports ratings are Misleading
Fact Checking the Science of Reading
Examining the Evidence for Selecting Reading Programs in a Large Urban School System