Panel’s Evaluation Faults Baltimore Rollout of Literacy Curricula

Baltimore school officials announced last week that they will scale back the use of a controversial middle school language arts program, after a review panel pointed to flaws in its implementation.

Beginning this spring, the district will search for a more comprehensive core curriculum that is aligned with state standards and includes more explicit lessons on reading comprehension.

That had been the plan all along, according to Bonnie S. Copeland, the chief executive officer of the 87,000-student district. But after the curriculum, called Studio Course, was introduced as the core language arts curriculum in the district’s 23 middle schools last fall, it began to draw criticism from some teachers. Ms. Copeland ordered a review of the curriculum, and the district’s attempts to put it into practice, after local news reports cited complaints that teachers had not been properly trained, and that some students were...