English Language Arts

Standards

The current ELA Oregon State Standards

Guidance to School Districts - Addressing Challenged Materials in K-12 Education

The Oregon Department of Education (ODE) fosters excellence for every learner and recognizes that academic success depends on a safe school environment that protects the rights of all students. As an organization, we value the freedoms protected under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. In a school setting, the freedom of speech and expression is applied to academic freedom, including the freedom to read a diverse set of materials that provide support and enrichment for the general educational and program goals.

Each year, teachers, librarians and schools across the country face challenges to books and other instructional materials for a variety of reasons: race, religion, sexuality, sexual orientation, gender identity, mental health, suicide, violence and others. It is important for districts to offer professional guidelines for the selection of reading materials.

This document provides guidance to school districts, administrators, educators, and parents when a challenge to instructional materials is presented.

Teacher Updates

Oregon English Language Arts Update The Oregon English Language Arts Teacher Update is an e-newsletter that provides information about promising practices, professional development opportunities, useful links and ELA assessment information.

Oregon K-12 Literacy Framework

The Oregon K-12 Literacy Framework describes how districts and schools can successfully plan and implement instructional programs for both reading and writing to ensure that all young Oregonians

Achieve grade-level literacy skills
Earn an Oregon Diploma
Exit high school college and career-ready, without need for remediation in reading and writing.

The Reading Framework was adopted by the State Board in 2009. The Writing Framework was developed in 2011 as part of the Oregon Literacy Plan and was adopted by the State Board in March 2012.

Reading Framework

The State Board adopted the Oregon K-12 Literacy Framework (December 2009) as guidance for the State, districts, and schools to support reading proficiency, a requirement of the Oregon Diploma. The purpose of the Framework is to ensure students are

Reading grade-level text or above by end of first grade
Developing grade-level or above reading skills K-12 across all classes
Receiving intensified instruction to help them read at grade level, if they are not.

Designed as a Response to Intervention (RTI) model, the Framework was developed by the Literacy Leadership State Steering Committee (LLSSC) in partnership with ODE, to prepare Oregon students to

Meet on OAKS Reading at Grade 3
Meet on OAKS Reading in Grades 4 - 8 & High School
Graduate with an Oregon Diploma, college and career-ready (no need of remediation)
Be able to study and train for new jobs of the future.

Oregon Literacy Plan

The Oregon Literacy Plan is designed to ensure that in their first 18 years, young Oregonians will develop strong literacy skills that will prepare them for school, college, and career.

Writing Framework

Aligned to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for Writing, the Writing Framework provides a roadmap for districts and schools to ensure students meet or exceed the CCSS for Writing ...at each grade level ...in each content area ...during each school year and graduate with an Oregon Diploma prepared as writers for college and career without need for writing remediation…because writing well matters.

Writing matters! It matters in any academic setting. It also matters in a growing number of work environments where doing any job effectively requires employees to communicate clearly and precisely through print. A national survey of 120 major American corporations employing nearly 8 million individuals concluded that

“. . .writing is a ticket to professional opportunity, while poorly written job applications are a figurative kiss of death. Writing is a 'threshold skill' for both employment and promotion…." (National Commission on Writing, 2004)

The Oregon K-12 Literacy Framework—Writing (Writing Framework) provides guidance to districts on knowing

What to teach for students to become effective writers and how to teach it
How to identify students who are struggling and what to do to support their improvement
How to determine whether students have responded well or poorly to a school’s efforts to support their writing progress and what to do next!

For questions regarding the ODE English Language Arts program, email Tina Roberts or call 503-947-5603.