Image: The State Board of Education’s Standards Recommendation Committee meeting to review English Language Arts standards. Image Credit: Lillian Avedian / Nashville Banner
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by Lillian Avedian, [The Nashville Banner, Creative Commons] –
The State Board of Education is debating significant changes to English subject standards that would reassign the focus placed on various writing modes throughout middle school.
A committee tasked with reviewing and revising English Language Arts (ELA) standards convened from Monday through Thursday this week in the Knoxville Room of the Tennessee Tower. Committee members deliberated whether each year of middle school should be dedicated to learning one of the three writing modes — narrative writing in sixth grade, informative writing in seventh, and argumentative writing in eighth. The three areas are currently given equal attention every year.
The ELA standards are the foundation for instruction and testing in reading and writing across the state. Schools and educators craft curriculum and lesson plans to meet expectations for what students should know and be able to do by the end of a grade level. The standards also determine how the state devises standardized tests like the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP).
The Standards Recommendation Committee, composed of eight members appointed by the governor, lieutenant governor and speaker of the house, received the latest round of suggested revisions from the board’s Educator Advisory Team (EAT). Nicole Moore, a chair of EAT and sixth grade ELA teacher, said the proposal on middle school writing instruction was informed by research, teacher feedback and real classroom experience. A public feedback survey regarding EAT’s proposed revisions received 23,358 respondents, 76 percent of whom were K-12 teachers.
“We heard it loud and clear that trying to do all three equally every year spread students too thin and left less room for true growth,” Moore said during a virtual board meeting on Sept. 5.
For example, in seventh grade students could practice organizing evidence and explaining why it matters; in eighth grade, students could then hone crafting an argument supported by evidence, according to Moore. A clear theme from the public feedback was that the rigor of certain standards, including argumentative writing, may be better suited for higher grade levels.
An issue of availability
The Department of Education raised concerns during Wednesday’s meeting that this change could limit the state’s access to high quality instructional materials, including textbooks. According to the department, as this approach to teaching middle grade writing is unprecedented in any state, vendors would have to create new instructional materials for Tennessee schools, which they may be unwilling to do.
Committee members also considered how the potential change could provide teachers with clarity and foresight regarding what modes of writing will be assessed by the TCAP. Educators on the committee acknowledged the pressure felt among many teachers to anticipate what will be in the state assessments and balance their lesson plans with teaching to the test.
The committee appeared most supportive of a proposal by committee member Lacey Nau. The high school English teacher suggested on Thursday that the Department of Education announce in the spring which mode of writing will be tested on the TCAP that year. That way, educators could teach all three writing modes throughout the year, then dedicate the end of the school year to the mode that will be tested.
Vice chair Lucas Hilliard described this as a “compromise that would allow for instruction to still focus on all three types of writing in equity” while providing “some additional emphasis without monopolizing interest to the assessment.”
Committee member and communications consultant Dr. Cathryn Stout also raised concerns about the apparent higher level of expectation placed on middle school students and teachers, as compared to elementary and high school. Public feedback reflected that middle school students do not have the time to master the writing skills expected of them.
“The original feedback is very much, ‘We don’t have time.’ And now, essentially, we’re putting more on their plate,” Moore said. “Are we meeting the feedback?
“And I say, give them more time,” chair Larry Kernagis, adjunct professor at Middle Tennessee State University, responded. Kernagis argued that, rather than reduce the rigor of the standards, the state legislature should consider lengthening class time, potentially to 90 or even 120-minute blocks, so that students have the time to learn all three writing modes.
“Our job is simply to set world-class standards for our kids for writing,” he said.
The State Board of Education reviews ELA, math, science and social studies standards at least every eight years in an intensive two-year process. The current ELA standards review process began in summer 2024 and will conclude with a final reading and vote in February 2026. Districts will then adopt new textbooks and materials in 2028-2029, and schools will implement the new standards in 2029-2030.
The committee also said it expected an additional 15 hours of virtual meetings to further discuss potential changes to ELA standards. Those meetings will be open to the public; dates and times had not yet been determined.
