The new framework embraces elements of both approaches, reflecting the prevailing view of researchers that effective reading programs need to combine foundational skills and real books. The critical factor, officials say, lies in the sequence of instruction.
The new guidelines make clear that early reading lessons need to explicitly teach fundamental skills.
Starting in kindergarten, pupils need to learn that words are composed of bits of sound, and that those sounds are represented by letters.
As children move through the primary grades, they learn to blend sounds into more complex words.
At the same time, students must be exposed to literature, expository texts and other materials so they can build their vocabularies and develop a love of reading, according to the framework. Vocabulary and reading comprehension should be taught explicitly as part of the process.
The guidelines emphasize that students must become fluent readers by the end of third grade or risk falling behind as their course work grows increasingly complex.
"The kind of pressure we put on kids after grade three increases dramatically," said Edward Kame'enui, an education professor at the University of Oregon and coauthor of the framework. "If you can't read, you can't get access to the information. You won't be able to participate, period."
Officials have held public hearings and revised the framework during the last year. The state board is scheduled to vote on the final draft today.
The vote will culminate a sequence of reforms that began in 1995 after California's fourth-graders posted the lowest reading test scores among 39 states.
Nearly 60% of the state's fourth-graders were found to have less than basic skills, preventing them from gaining even a superficial understanding of most texts, the National Assessment of Educational Progress found.
The scores alarmed educators and lawmakers.
The state's superintendent of public instruction, Delaine Eastin, convened a task force to fix a "crisis that demands our immediate attention."
The Legislature passed laws requiring phonics lessons in new textbooks, smaller class sizes in the primary grades and phonics training for new teachers.
Then last November, the State Board of Education adopted new standards for what students need to know at the end of each year.
The framework is based on those standards that, among other things, call for kindergartners to learn sound-letter relationships, develop reading comprehension and write simple words.
