No reading legislation won approval during the 1995 session, but the Department of Public Instruction responded to the concerns raised in the legislature in 1995 by revising the K-2 assessment to include more specific references to the importance of word recognition skills. The changes were insufficient, however, to satisfy critics who had come to view the assessment as essentially a document that promoted whole language. In its 1996 session, the legislature revisited the debate over how to respond to the problem of reading instruction. Legislation carried over from the 1995 session to make phonics the only acceptable way to teach reading in North Carolina schools was again debated. The Board of Education was given six months to develop its plan and report to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee.
Plan clearly defines balance.
Following further revisions in response to comments from legislators and the public, the plan was adopted formally by the board. Effective teachers interweave these activities in their instruction and make sure that direct teaching of skills is done in conjunction with reading connected, informative, engaging text. At the same time, the grade-level benchmarks developed by the department to help in assessing children's progress in reading and writing have been revised again to reflect the curriculum changes. The North Carolina plan also addresses the need for both preservice and inservice professional development if the proposed curriculum changes are to be implemented effectively. In teacher education programs, additional competencies specifically addressing the role of phonics in reading are needed.