Are New Standards Changing Reading Instruction and Curriculum Selection?

With schools moving to implement more rigorous standards, some changes are occurring in reading instruction and the resources used for that instruction, although much remains the same.

Almost 40% of educators surveyed by Simba Information for its new publication K-12 Reading Market Survey Report 2017 said the Common Core State Standards or other new standards have resulted in a large change to the way their school teaches reading and/or the instructional materials used. An additional 41.4% said the Common Core State Standards or other new standards have resulted in a moderate change to the way their school teaches reading and/or the instructional materials used.

The percentage of educators saying there was little change, 12.1%, or no change, 6%, was small. And only 1.9% of surveyed educators said they do not have new standards.

Most K-12 Educators Have Followed Basal Program for Reading Instruction

While the research found a slight shift away from reliance on a core basal reading programs between 2014 and 2017, 65% of surveyed educators in 2017 had a basal program that they either followed closely or picked and chose from as needed for reading instruction.

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s Journey’s was the most widely used program cited by surveyed educators in 2014 and the percent of educators using that program increased by 2017.

Educators who were not using a core basal program were most likely to use guided leveled readers or trade books for reading instruction. There was virtually no rise in the overall average percent of reading time spent using any digital tools or content from 17.8% in 2014 to 17.9% in 2017.

More information can be found in the report, K-12 Reading Market Survey Report 2017, https://www.simbainformation.com/Reading-Survey-105.