Reading instruction based on the acquisition of basic skills has produced a basic level of literacy in children, but such minimal levels of literacy are no longer sufficient for students required to deal effectively with complicated literary and informational material encountered in upper elementary, middle, and high school texts. Research in the…

Contains representative selections from issues of "Language Arts" from its sixth decade of publication. Includes articles, editorials, and ads reflecting trends in English education that are currently of conern, such as declining test scores, censorship, the "back to basics" trend, and recognition of nonstandard dialects. (HTH)