Focus on U.S. Education Policy and No Child Left Behind:
Recommended Reading

Books and book chapters

Click on a title to find a detailed description, and to browse contents and sample chapters.

Educators on the Front Line, by Jill Lewis, Kathleen Stumpf Jongsma, and Allen Berger

Evidence-Based Reading Instruction

No Quick Fix, The RTI Edition, edited by Richard L. Allington and Sean A. Walmsley

Reading Assessment: Principles and Practices for Elementary Teachers (2nd ed.), edited by Shelby J. Barrentine

Reading Education Policy, edited by Patrick Shannon and Jacqueline Edmondson

Standards for the English Language Arts

Understanding and Implementing Reading First Initiatives, by Carrice Cummins

Understanding and Using Reading Assessment, K–12, by Peter Afflerbach

“Preparing students for high-stakes test taking in reading,” by John T. Guthrie, in What Research Has to Say About Reading Instruction

“Standards, assessments, and text difficulty,” by Elfrieda H. Hiebert, in What Research Has to Say About Reading Instruction

Articles

From The Reading Teacher, IRA’s journal for those working with children up to age 12:

“One reading specialist’s response to high-stakes testing pressures,” by Lori Assaf (Oct. 2006; vol. 60, no. 2)

“Leave no discipline behind,” by Raymond C. Jones and Timothy G. Thomas (Sept. 2006; vol. 60, no. 1)

“Evidence-based literacy education and the African American child,” by J. Helen Perkins and Robert B. Cooter, Jr. (Oct. 2005; vol. 59, no. 2)

“Toward the peaceful coexistence of test developers, policymakers, and teachers in an era of accountability,” by Marcia A. Invernizzi et al. (April 2005; vol. 58, no. 7)

“Accountability for reading and readers,” by Pat Wilson, Prisca Martens, and Poonam Arya (April 2005; vol. 58, no. 7)

“The changing face of education,” by Carla C. Dearman and Sheila R. Alber (April 2005; vol. 58, no. 7)

“Multiple dimensions of literacy and conceptions of readers,” by James S. Damico (April 2005; vol. 58, no. 7)

“Consensus scoring and peer planning,” by Douglas Fisher, Diane Lapp, and James Flood (April 2005; vol. 58, no. 7)

“Using literacy assessment results to improve teaching for English-language learners,” by Lori A. Helman (April 2005; vol. 58, no. 7)

From the Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy:

“The expertise of adolescent literacy teachers,” by Sheri R. Parris and Cathy Collins Block (April 2007; vol. 50, no. 7)

“Critical literacy in democratic education,” by Elaine J. O’Quinn (Dec. 2005/Jan. 2006; vol. 49, no. 4)

“Standardized students,” by Bronwyn T. Williams (Oct. 2005; vol. 49, no. 2)

“No Child Left Behind,” by Mark W. Conley and Kathleen A. Hinchman (Sept. 2004; vol. 48, no. 1)

In Reading Research Quarterly:

“In the press to scale up, what is at risk?” by Anne McGill-Franzen (July/Aug./Sept. 2005; vol. 40, no. 3)

“Reinterpreting the development of reading skills,” by Scott G. Paris (April/May/June 2005; vol. 40, no. 2)

“Contemporary qualitative research methodologies,” by Joseph Tobin et al. (Jan./Feb./March 2005; vol. 40, no. 1)

“Asking different questions: Critical analyses and reading research,” by Jacqueline Edmondson (Jan./Feb./March 2002; vol. 37, no. 1)

“‘What’s my name?’” by Patrick Shannon (Jan./Feb./March 2000; vol. 35, no. 1)

Available in Reading Online, IRA’s free e-journal:

“The National Reading Panel: Using research to create more literate students,” by Timothy Shanahan (Aug. 1999)

Selected from Reading Today, the Association’s bimonthly newspaper:

“The good, the bad, and the sometimes silly: State Teachers of the Year speak out on No Child Left Behind (NCLB),” (June/July 2007) FREE!

“New reports fault management of Reading First program,” (April/May 2007) FREE!

“IRA constant in monitoring Reading First, NCLB,” (April/May 2007) FREE!

“IRA members speak out on NCLB,” (Feb/Mar 2007) FREE!

“IRA issues NCLB recommendations,” (Oct/Nov 2006) FREE!

“A classic case of mixed feelings,” by Alan E. Farstrup (June/July 2005) FREE!

“Mixed reactions to NCLB” (Feb/Mar 2005) FREE!