You only have to prove the efficacy of your local reading program. That's all your local families are really interested in. Neither A Guide to Curriculum Planning in Reading by Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction which is based on an interactive model of reading, Wisconsin's Model Academic Standards for English Language Arts which were recently given an A rating by conservative critic Chester Finn's group or the survey data from the recent Wisconsin legislative audit of reading programs would suggest that whole language is the pervasive way of doing reading instruction in Wisconsin. It is really irritating to these folks. It totally integrates them.
First balance is supported by the research.
Secondly, to most of our stakeholders balance intuitively makes more sense. Don't let this one go by. Taylor's Spin Doctor , Coles' Misreading Reading , Krashen's Three Arguments or Ellis' chapter in In Defense of Good Teaching . Also head to the WSRA Website where you currently can see the corporate and political vested interests connected to this study. For the future, we are preparing materials you can download to use in preparing a critical response to this work.