ABSTRACT
Beginning in the 1990s and continuing in the first decade of the twenty-first century, the discretionary powers held by reading professionals in making curricular and instructional decisions were gradually eroded in the name of systematic education reform and accountability in the United States. This chapter examines the complex and interlocking relationship between policy-driven literacy practices and the role of the media in shaping public perceptions of education in general and literacy learning in particular, and discusses the impact of recent policy decisions on literacy teaching and learning. Policy initiatives of the 2000s focused on providing literacy instruction to children from high-risk environments by integrating scientifically-based reading researched with instructional practices and materials. The concept of a “national reading crisis” in the United Stated did not begin with No Child Left Behind Act, or even in the decade that immediately preceded it.
