Defining the Standards

This document describes standards for the English language arts—that is, it defines what students should know about language and be able to do with language. Our goal is to define, as clearly and specifically as possible, the current consensus among literacy teachers and researchers about what students should learn in the English language arts—reading, writing, listening, speaking, viewing, and visually representing. The ultimate purpose of these standards is to ensure that all students are offered the opportunities, the encouragement, and the vision to develop the language skills they need to pursue life's goals, including personal enrichment and participation as informed members of our society. Over the past several years, national educational organizations have launched a series of ambitious projects to define voluntary standards for science, mathematics, art, music, foreign languages, social studies, English language arts, and other subjects. These efforts have served as catalysts in a wide-ranging national conversation about the needs of students and the instructional approaches of their teachers. This dialogue is healthy and speaks well of the value placed on education by the American public. This document adds to the national dialogue by presenting the consensus that exists among thousands of English language arts educators about what all students in K-12 schools should know and be able to do with language, in all its forms. We believe that the act of defining standards is worthwhile because it invites further reflection and conversation about the fundamental goals of public schooling.