Language Arts Program Pilot

Pilot Overview

While not yet available for wide-scale sale, the Core Knowledge Language Arts program is being piloted in 17 schools throughout the country. The 172 classrooms, 200 teachers and 4,466 students in these schools represent a diverse range of demographics that include rural, suburban and urban settings, including 10 public schools in New York City. These student populations vary in the percentage of students receiving free and reduced lunch (ranging from 30 – 99%), as well as the percentage of students for whom English is a second language (ranging from 15-60%). The 10 schools in New York City are presently field testing kindergarten and grade 1materials, while the remaining pilot schools are using kindergarten–grade 2 materials.

Pilot teachers participate in extensive professional development prior to initiating implementation of the program in their classrooms. This training ensures that teachers have a clear understanding of the structure of the written English language and synthetic phonics. Training also provides teachers with the competencies they need to conduct effective read-alouds and related exercises that engage students, while building and expanding oral language skills and background knowledge in specific domains.

Pilot Results

New York City Public School Three-Year Pilot results for Kindergarten through Grade 2 are now available.

Earlier results from the pilot schools were very promising insofar as student achievement. See a summary the New York City Department of Education evaluation of the NYC Core Knowledge Language Arts Pilot for Kindergarten and Grade 1.

Pilot Videos

Sequoyah Elementary School Core Knowledge Reading Pilot

Teirney Cook interviews Kindergarten teacher Melinda Elms, who describes the success of the reading program in this Oklahoma City public school.  Click the screen below to play. You can also watch this movie in Windows Media Player WMV (3 Mb, 1:30).

Three Oaks Elementary School Core Knowledge Reading Pilot

This 6 minute video clip, taken at Three Oaks Elementary School in Fort Myers, FL in January of this year, highlights activities from both the Skills and Listening and Learning Strands. Click the screen below to play. For better quality, watch the QuickTime movie MP4 17.3 Mb

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