Alvermann (IRA/UP Conference) - 1 Exemplary Literacy Instruction in Grades 7-12: What Counts and Who’s Counting? Donna E. Alvermann University of Georgia 309 Aderhold Hall Athens, GA 30602-7125 dalverma@uga.edu [This chapter has been published in the following book: J. Flood and P. L. Anders (Eds.), Literacy development of students in urban schools: Research and policy (pp. 187-201). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.] This paper reports on the status of research into exemplary literacy instruction in grades 7-12, thus partially covering what is commonly referred to as the middle years (typically grades 6-8) and high school. Its focus is on research that pertains to urban education, though in some instances, as in the National Reading Panel’s (2000) report, findings were not disaggregated according to geographic locale. Unlike earlier reviews of adolescent literacy instruction (e.g., Alvermann, 2001, 2002b; Bean, 2000), this paper takes into account research that has relevance for U.S. urban educators but was conducted in the larger international community. Finally, this paper views cultural and linguistic diversity not as markers of marginal differences, but rather, as factors central to interpreting the research on adolescent literacy and its implications for instructional leaders and policy makers in urban school districts. As McDermott and Varenne (1995) have noted, all cultures (including urban schools) are historically evolved ways of “doing” life. They teach people about what is worth working for, how to succeed, and who will fall short. To be concise, one might say cultures are about what