The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) must take steps to ensure that proposals for reform in literacy education are based on the best research, theory, and practice of teaching as well as on the perceived needs of the public and press. NCTE members can take steps to advise legislators and school board members of some of the "Actions for Excellence in English," which are relatively inexpensive and which reflect current knowledge of teaching and learning in English, including the following: (1) create fellowship programs for teachers in service to allow them to retrain and reeducate themselves in new methods of literacy teaching; (2) establish commissions of experienced English teachers and concerned community members to investigate local needs in literacy education and to make recommendations for the schools; (3) take advantage of institutes and workshops that offer excellent low-cost professional development; (4) channel funds away from the adoption of expensive back-to-basics textbooks toward the purchase of quality books, magazines, newspapers, and similar materials of literacy; (5) promote programs in "reading and writing across the curriculum" so that literacy is the focus of every classroom; (6) reduce class size; and (7) publicize programs that do an excellent job of teaching English. NCTE can provide extensive resources for members helping legislators and school boards improve English programs. (HTH)