This story was originally published by the Nashville Banner. Sign up for the newsletter at nashvillebanner.com/newsletters.
A committee of the Tennessee State Board of Education has recommended revising English language arts reading standards in order to explicitly include texts from diverse cultures and perspectives.
Among other suggested changes, the Standards Recommendation Committee suggested students “read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts from a variety of diverse cultures independently and proficiently.”
One of the reading standards would ask students to “consider a wide range of narrative and authorial voices, experiences and diverse cultural perspectives across places and times.”
The committee suggested revising one section of the standards that publishers look to for guidance when developing textbooks and instructional materials. Banks Lyons, manager of grades 9-12 English language arts at the Department of Education, said that this would “ensure that it is a core component of text selection that publishers look at.”