ABSTRACT
A broad functional symmetry exists between the five constructions of literacy sketched and trends within the work order. These can be identified as lingering basics, new basics, elite literacies, digital literacy, and foreign language literacy. At elementary and secondary school levels, lingering basics entail mastery of generalizable techniques and concepts for encoding and decoding text. Elite literacies refers to higher-order scientific, technological, and symbolic practices grounded in excellence in academic learning. The frequent references to digital literacy and use of new technologies as learning technologies reflect the increasing mediation of daily routines in work, civic, and domestic life by digital texts and electronic communications. Mastery of standard English is regarded by policy makers as necessary if individuals are to participate in, benefit from, and advance personally through the institutionalized spheres of social practice. Neoliberal educational reform standardizes literacy proficiency against accountability criteria and benchmarks predicated on broad goals of economic competitiveness, cultural cohesion, and national allegiance.
