Nebraska’s PK-12 students have equitable access to high-quality literacy instruction that prepares them for the demands of college, career, and civic life. Instructional practices are grounded in student engagement with complex and challenging texts and are responsive to a range of student needs and interests.
We Believe
- Excellent literacy instruction provides opportunities for all students to learn, regardless of their race, ethnicity, or any other part of their identity;
- A clear, required sequence of foundational skills is important and necessary to developing proficient readers who have the capacity to comprehend a variety of texts across disciplines;
- Every Nebraska student deserves access to high-quality, culturally responsive instructional materials that are aligned to state standards and instructional shifts;
- Deep engagement with rich, worthwhile texts and tasks builds students’ knowledge of the world;
- Providing frequent and meaningful opportunities to write about text is an effective practice that helps students develop the ability to think critically about the content and ideas presented in all disciplines;
- Content-area and disciplinary literacy are essential components of college, career, and civic readiness; and systematic vocabulary instruction in all content areas, across all grade levels, plays a critical role in successful reading comprehension.
Foundational Literacy
The Nebraska State Board of Education supports and encourages systemic efforts to improve foundational literacy, working to ensure that all students become successful readers and writers. The Nebraska State Board of Education believes that all schools should establish policies that promote high-quality early literacy instruction that is grounded in evidence-based practices and that highlights the importance of grade- level reading. Foundational literacy instruction is essential to ensure all children become successful readers and writers. All students, including students with disabilities, English learners, and high-ability learners should have access to high-quality instructional materials and instruction.
English Language Arts Quick Links
News & Notes
NSCAS English Language Arts Constructed Responses
Constructed Response Items will be coming soon to fourth, seventh, and eighth grade this Spring of 2026 for field testing. Constructed Response items will allow for better assessment of our writing standards. Please review the following links to gain deeper understandings of writing and all the ways writing improves comprehension!
For more information visit:
Adolescent Literacy
Utilize our new Nebraska Adolescent Literacy Webpage with collaborations from focusing of high efficacy factors that administrators should routinely see and educators should routinely practice. Please review the six components of meaningful and purposeful instruction for students in grades 4-12.
- Grade-Level Expectations and Rigor
- Comprehension and Vocabulary Instruction
- Speaking and Listening
- Explicit Writing Instruction
- Collaboration Across Content
- Assessment and Intervention
National Civics Bee Coming to Nebraska in 2026!
In celebration of America’s 250th birthday, Nebraska is excited to host the National Civics Bee: a nationwide competition that empowers middle school students to engage in civics, strengthen their communities, and showcase their leadership.
Through essay writing and competition, students explore real civic issues, think critically to propose solutions, and compete for recognition and prizes at the regional, state, and national levels.
Participation is free.
