A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

North Carolina

Team Report

The English Language Arts Standard Course of Study, including both the narrative and benchmarks, has been revised to emphasize a balanced, integrated, and effective program of study that addresses early and systematic instruction in phonics. The narrative portion of the curriculum was disseminated to schools in March 1997. Benchmarks were disseminated in May 1997. The State Board of Education and the Department of Public Instruction have used several methods for disseminating information about the revised English Language Arts Standard Course of Study. Representatives from the reading staff of both public and private teacher education programs met in Raleigh on May 20, 1997 to hear a formal presentation on the revised curriculum. The State Board of Education and the Department of Public Instruction broadcast a statewide interactive reading teleconference, and videotape copies of the broadcast were sent to each school system and to the UNC system as a follow-up to the broadcast. In October 1997, the Department hosted a statewide conference on best practices in reading.

The State Board of Education and Department appointed a committee of practitioners to develop a five-year plan for reading in-service to ensure that teachers have the necessary knowledge, skills, and attitudes to teach the revised Standard Course of Study. In January 1998, each school received a comprehensive notebook of reading materials designed to assist schools in understanding and implementing the revised curriculum.

The Department has distributed $4.2 million in professional development funds to school districts. Of those funds, $2.8 million is designed for reading, and $1.4 is designated for mathematics.

During the summer of 1998, the Department offered summer institutes in reading and mathematics that were designed by teachers, Department staff, and university representatives to enhance school-based leadership in understanding and implementing the Standard Course of Study and corresponding instructional strategies.

A North Carolina Success Story

During the summer of 1998, North Carolina designed and delivered summer literacy training entitled Reading Achievement: Step-by-Step for teachers in Grades 3-8. The Grade 3-5 portion of the institute was designed and delivered by a cadre of teachers from across the state and the K-5 English Language Arts consultants. Accountability Services identified patterns in the test scores of students scoring at each of four different achievement levels. Based upon the patterns identified in student performance, the sessions offered during the institute included Developing Word Fluency; Genre; Selecting and Responding to Text; Teaching Reading Strategies; Linking Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment; and Management. Distinctive parts of the training materials included a diagnostic matrix for decoding and word identification and a diagnostic matrix for End-of-Grade Reading Achievement Levels.

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