This study investigated the influence of state-mandated tests on the thoughts and actions of three middle school-junior high school literature teachers. Case studies revealed that the changes the tests caused in their teaching were a function of two factors: (a) the fit between the teacher’s preferred approach to teaching literature and the conception of literature embodied in the state tests, and (b) the amount of “curricular power” the teacher held—that is, the teacher’s place in the curricular decision-making structure of the school. The conclusions suggest that a subject such as literature, for which several competing conceptions currently exist, presents special problems during a time when tests are being used to influence classroom practice.

We are approaching the 20‐month mark on the historic closure of school buildings and the move to remote instruction doe to the COVID‐19 pandemic. Public health directives currently allow options for remote, online, blended, and fully in‐person educational delivery in some parts of the world, but there is still a need for precautions and vigilance. Due to these circumstances, the need for policies that support online and digital learning has increased. This column argues for the need to consider digital literacies as part of comprehensive plans for online learning inside and outside of pandemic. The author provides background information on the various levels of preparation for pandemic learning in various US states, familiarizes readers with some current plans in state legislatures about online learning, and theorizes how digital literacies might be included in policies moving forward.

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We are so proud to be incoming co‐editors of the literacy policy column for JAAL. We desire to open a forum that illuminates how policy functions in contemporary settings, especially in relation to literacy teaching and learning. Our experiences as teachers, teacher educators, and literacy scholars has taught us that knowledge about policy is powerful. Such knowledge can make one feel less like a victim of politicians and policy‐makers and inspire advocacy. It can also help teachers work around and even resist uninformed and poorly‐designed policies. During our tenure, we will strive present our observations in an interesting way‐‐because one problem with learning about policy is that the writing about it is too often unnecessarily technical, legalistic, and down‐right dull. This first column looks carefully at the shower of policies that rains down on a teacher, making a seemingly mundane request from peers a veritable deluge of policy decisions.

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