As a former high school English teacher, teaching reading skills is very important to me. This goes beyond mere phonics and decoding. At the high school level, we focus more on the content of the text. This can include implications and layers of meaning. It can include quite dense information. Highly proficient readers take many different issues into account.
The reading standards differentiate reading informational texts from reading literary texts. The basic idea is that reading a novel or short story is quite different than reading a newspaper article or a text book. I am not sure that the reading standards quite get at the distinctions as I might wish, but there truly are important differences.
We we have been working on understanding cognitive complexity of reading items on tests, we have faced a truth that makes each of us a bit upset: test prep encourages reading literary texts as though there are informational texts.
Literary texts should generally be read and enjoyed linearly, from beginning to end. They are usually narratives, and while their structure might push a reader to refer back to earlier pages from time to time, they generally move forward. On the other hand, reading informational texts is often much more purposeful. The reader of a literary text should trust the author to take them where the author wishes, the reader of informational texts might bring much more purpose to the task. They might be looking for particular information.
Therefore, authentic reading of informational texts can be much more strategic and intentional than reading of literary texts. But so many test questions about literary passages turn those passages into informational texts. The reader is looking for the answer to a particular question — about some detail or the meaning of a particular excerpt – rather than taking in a making meaning from the text more organically. This means that students can be encouraged to apply strategies of informational reading to what should be literary reading.
I am not sure how to get around this problem. Certainly, I am no fan of such directed and often simplistic items — even the best versions of those items. Authentic reading and appreciation of literary texts — be they fiction or non-fiction — should not be picayune in its focus or goals.
Certainly, the emphasis on multiple choice items — generally for their speed and scoring economy — is a problem. In fact, they might be incompatible with this sort of reading (and therefore reading standards).