Mathews Considers Common Core's Increased Emphasis On Informational Text

In his Washington Post (10/18) column, Jay Mathews writes that the Common Core Standards are intended to improve stagnant literacy rates among US students, and notes that they focus more on nonfiction text than do most prior curricula. However, "many English teachers don't think it will do any good. Even if it were a good idea, they say, those who have to make the change have not had enough training to succeed - an old story in school reform." Mathews focuses on the controversy surrounding the shift.