These standards are designed to complement other national, state, and local standards and contribute to ongoing discussions about English language arts.
NCTE / IRA Standards for the English Language Arts
The language discussed below reflects the historic contexts in which the standards were first developed. NCTE fully intends for states, school districts, and other entities to adopt these standards.
The NCTE Executive Committee reaffirmed the NCTE/IRA Standards for the English Language Arts in November 2012.
Published jointly by NCTE and the International Reading Association (IRA) in 1996, The Standards for the English Language Arts is designed to complement other national, state, and local standards and contributes to ongoing discussion about English language arts classroom activities and curricula.
The Standards book is now available as a free download!
All students must have the opportunities and resources to develop the language skills they need to pursue life’s goals and to participate fully as informed, productive members of society.
These standards assume that literacy growth begins before children enter school as they experience and experiment with literacy activities—reading and writing, and associating spoken words with their graphic representations.
They encourage the development of curriculum and instructionthat make productive use of the emerging literacy abilities that children bring to school.
These standards provide ample room for the innovation and creativity essential to teaching and learning.
They are not prescriptions for particular curriculum or instruction.
These standards are interrelated and should be considered as a whole, not as distinct and separable.
The Standards
Students read a wide range of print and non-print texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.
Students read a wide range of literature from many periods in many genres to build an understanding of the many dimensions (e.g., philosophical, ethical, aesthetic) of human experience.
Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).
Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.
Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.
Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and non-print texts.
Students conduct research on issues and interests by generating ideas and questions, and by posing problems. They gather, evaluate, and synthesize data from a variety of sources (e.g., print and non-print texts, artifacts, people) to communicate their discoveries in ways that suit their purpose and audience.
Students use a variety of technological and information resources (e.g., libraries, databases, computer networks, video) to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate knowledge.
Students develop an understanding of and respect for diversity in language use, patterns, and dialects across cultures, ethnic groups, geographic regions, and social roles.
Students whose first language is not English make use of their first language to develop competency in the English language arts and to develop understanding of content across the curriculum.
Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety of literacy communities.
Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).
