Education Book Reviews

Allington, Richard L. (2002) Big Brother and the National Reading Curriculum: How Ideology Trumped Evidence. Portsmouth, N.H.: Heinemann.

This book is the reading area’s response to the report released by the National Reading Panel (NPR) in April 2000 that generated the “evidence-based” instruction standard for reading pedagogy. Essays by Allington and other reading educators present a scathing condemnation of the report.

The book is divided into two parts and a conclusion. Part I, “Unreliable Evidence: Response to the National Reading Panel Report,” attacks the composition of the panel, the methodology that was utilized, and the report’s findings. Allington and others point out that the conclusions of this report do not mesh with previous research. One theme that emerges is their concern about the report’s support of phonics over other methodologies and the lack of emphasis on reading comprehension. The essays are written by experts in the field of reading and include “The National Reading Panel Report [A Review]” by James W. Cunningham; “Beyond the Smoke and Mirrors: A Critique of the National Reading Panel Report on Phonics” by Elaine M. Garan; and “Babes in the Woods: The Wanderings of the National Reading Panel” by Joanne Yatvin.

Part II of the book, “Politics, Policies, and Profits: The Political Context of the National Reports,” links the report to the political arena. The report is viewed as ideology disguised as scientific research. In “The Politics of Phonics,” Frances Paterson links phonics policy to the Republican Party. She also refers to the Christian Right and concludes that “States with substantial or dominant Christian Right influence are more likely to have phonics provisions in their Republican Party platforms” (p. 173). Allington’s essay in this section cites numerous studies related to decodable text and his concern that states such as Texas and California are legislating the use of decodable texts without evidence of their effectiveness.

In the conclusion of the book, “An Unwarranted Intrusion: The Evidence Against a National Reading Curriculum,” Allington laments that “Maybe it is all about power rather than improving schools. Maybe it is more about making education more ‘efficient’—read, cheaper—than about making schools richer and more engaging places for children to spend their young lives” (p. 261). I can hear sorrow as well as outrage and anger in this somber assertion. Allington concludes his final essay with the warning that “The federal push for a national reading curriculum is simply part of a much larger and much more dangerous attempt to shift control of public education from those who are closest to it—local taxpayers and teachers—to those who sit in bureaucratic offices far from the classrooms they are attempting to control….There is much at sake here. The ideological push for a national reading curriculum is just the tip of the iceberg” (p. 284).

My reaction to this book is mixed. Allington’s introduction really drew me in. He describes feeling like the Bill Murray character in the movie Groundhog Day who kept seeing the same things happen over and over again. Like Allington, many of the “new” education reforms remind me of the performance contracting, programmed learning, and competency testing that were in vogue when I entered the profession in the 1970’s. I was prepared to wholeheartedly embrace the views expressed in his book, but by the time I finished reading it, I came away with some reservations. Although I was sympathetic to much of what was being said, I felt that his tone became “shrill.” What is Allington trying to accomplish with this book? If he intends to influence educators, he is “preaching to the choir.” If he intends to influence policy makers, his tone and blanket condemnations will likely put them on the defensive and result in their dismissing even his most valid criticism. The general public will probably view the book as just a liberal diatribe against the Bush administration’s education policy.

Perhaps the book could have had more impact had Allington taken the advice offered in Cathy Toll’s excellent essay, “Can Teachers and Policy Makers Learn to Talk to One Another?” Toll discusses the differing “discourses” represented by the National Reading Panel report and a report published by the National Education Association, a report that comes to a much different conclusion and that predictably invests more authority in individual teachers. She does not minimize the disagreements, but argues for “…a new way to conceptualize the issues, a way that might open up new ground for debate and for moving ahead” (p. 152). In order for real improvement to take place, the opposing sides need to listen to each other. My final reaction to the book was to agree with Toll’s conclusion: “Perhaps it is time to open up a new discourse” (p. 152).

Libraries serving teacher education programs should purchase this book.

References

National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. (2000). Report of the National Reading Panel: Teaching children to read: An evidence based assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction. (NIH Publication No. 00-4769). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

Pages: 304     Price: $21.15    ISBN: 0-325-00513-3

Reviewed by Sharon Naylor, Illinois State University

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