Education Experts Talk Text Complexity

Education Update Online Extra

April 2012 | Vol 54 | No 4

Research identifies the ability to read, comprehend, and cite complex texts as a foundational skill upon which future college and career success is built. As the Common Core State Standards require opted-in states to teach and test students with more complex texts, how will educators respond to emerging needs like identifying appropriately complex texts, and building the foundational skills and persistence students will need to closely read complex texts? 

The following interviews accompany the April 2012 Education Update article "It's Complicated: What the Common Core's Focus on Text Complexity Means for Your School." Read the article.

• Matt Copeland, Kansas Department of Education
• Jay McTighe, Author, Understanding by Design
• Grant Wiggins, Author, Understanding by Design
• David Liben, Student Achievement Partners

Matt Copeland 

Matt Copeland, English Language Arts and Literacy consultant for the Kansas Department of Education, describes how he envisions schools will use text complexity analysis tools to take stock of their current curriculum and vet additions to the curriculum for appropriate levels of complexity.

Jay McTighe 

Author Jay McTighe (Understanding by Design) explains how personal meaning making can support transfer goals in complex text comprehension.

Grant Wiggins 

Author Grant Wiggins (Understanding by Design) discusses the need to teach students resiliency when working with complex texts.

David Liben 

Researcher and education consultant David Liben of Student Achievement Partners addresses how teachers can shift from over-scaffolding to focusing on close reading, and put the text first, before strategies.