NC may approve new reading standards. See what students could be taught.
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- State Board will vote in Jan 2026 on K–12 ELA standards expanding science of reading.
- New draft links secondary curriculum to elementary phonics and research-based practices.
- Implementation scheduled for 2027–28; DPI must train teachers despite limited funding.
North Carolina wants to expand the use of the “science of reading” into middle schools and high schools in an effort to improve literacy skills for the state’s 1.4 million public school students.
The state Department of Public Instruction presented Wednesday the fourth and final draft of new K-12 language arts standards that build on the phonics-based science of reading approach used in elementary schools. DPI staff said other changes help to simplify the current standards, challenge students to read challenging materials, and give teachers more flexibility in what sources they can use.
“Draft 4, we feel, truly brings standards for students to life, really fortifying our teaching and learning framework and our strategic plan, deepening students’ engagement to literacy and really empowering them to take on whatever phase of their lives comes next.” said Stacy Daniel, DPI section chief of English Language Arts and Languages
The State Board of Education is scheduled to vote on the standards in January. If approved then, the next year and a half would be used to train teachers in the new standards before they’re used beginning in the 2027-28 school year..
In North Carolina, the state sets the standards that say what students need to know and be able to do in a subject. Schools then adopt the curriculum to use to teach those standards.
Build on the science of reading
In 2021, state lawmakers passed legislation requiring elementary schools to use the science of reading. It’s an approach that’s been credited with raising reading performance in other states.
All of the state’s elementary school teachers completed the 160 hours of science of reading training last year.
Daniel told the state board that the new standards make more explicit connections to the science of reading. Secondary school teachers will be expected to build on the foundational skills taught in elementary school.
”We recognize that our (grades) 6-12 educators will need support in ensuring that their instruction is aligned not only to the standards but of course to the science of reading research,” Daniel said.
There’s no state funding to train all middle school and high school teachers in the science of reading. But Daniel said they’re working on ways to provide training for teachers.
State board member Jill Camnitz said she hopes this will move the work forward in their use of the science of reading.
More flexibility for teaching reading
A repeated theme during Wednesday’s presentation was how the new standards will give teachers more flexibility in the types of materials they can use. One of the principles in the new standards is providing a variety of texts.
Texts can include media such as audio and video as well as the traditional use of the printed word. Daniel said teachers will get the flexibility to use more contemporary types of literature that may not exclusively fall into a single genre.
“It prepares them to succeed in our increasingly digitally driven society where, as you know, texts are not just static print anymore,” Daniel said.
There’s also more flexibility now for students to use different kinds of texts, such as spoken word and speeches, in class.
Teacher training encouraged in new standards
DPI staff has said one of the other goals they had was to streamline the existing standards. Daniel said the new draft removed some of the redundancies found in the current standards.
The streamlining was welcomed by state board members and board advisers. But the message they gave was that teachers will need help in using the new standards.
“Our ELA standards are extremely complicated and that’s my specialty in terms of teaching, and I would struggle with this if I were a classroom teacher trying to understand how all the pieces come together and make sense in terms of instruction,” said state board member Olivia Oxendine.
Oxendine encouraged DPI to reach out to the continually low-performing school districts to offer them training in the new standards.
Beckie Spears, the principal of Wilkesboro Elementary School, said DPI should develop a suggested progression that teachers can use in their language arts courses. If not, Spears said the flexibility that teachers are getting may not help.
“The freedom to organize these things as it’s appropriate to your students feels wonderful when you know what you’re doing,” said Spears, a North Carolina Principal of the Year and adviser to the state board. “When you don’t, it just feels like somebody handed you a stone and a chisel and said, ‘Get to work and find a statue.’”
