Text complexity in the early grades: Shooting ourselves in the foot?
Here are some quotes from the most recent issue of Educational Researcherregarding text complexity in the early grades, one of the hallmark pushes of the Common Core State Standards:
the CCSS text complexity standards for Grade 3 appear to be aspirational, much like the No Child Left Behind Adequate Yearly Progress targets (Shepard, 2008). The small set of studies that have examined text complexity over time does not show that text complexity at Grade 3 has deteriorated. Neither is there evidence that the accelerated targets in the primary grades are necessary for high school graduates to read the texts of college and careers. (p. 47)AND
Another potential indirect effect on students may be their motivation and engagement. The