Big Brother and the National Reading Curriculum

Arguing that the new educational reform plans in the United States are simply recycled bad ideas, Allington (education, U. of Florida) presents 13 contributions that argue that the federal reform plans, especially as embodied by the reports of the National Reading Panel, are unscientific, lack evidence, and mask motives of politics and profit that are likely to be damaging to reading education. After including critical reviews of the reports of the panel on phonics, fluency, and other matters, contributors explore the politics of the report. Finally, Allington offers a critique of 30 years of federal testing regimes and suggests alternatives. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

RICHARD ALLINGTON is the Irving and Rose Fien Professor of Education at the University of Florida. He is a past president of the National Reading Conference, a member of the Reading Hall of Fame, and recipient of numerous awards for his contributions to understanding reading difficulties. He is the author/coauthor of several books, including most recently What Really Matters for Struggling Readers: Designing Research-based Programs (Allyn & Bacon/Longman).