Information on current trends and issues informally discussed and then delineated by the directors of six National Council of Teachers of English commissions, is presented in this 15th annual report. The commissions and their directors are: (1) Commission on Composition (Christine Kline); (2) Commission on Curriculum (Kathleen Rowlands); (3) Commission on Language (Judith Wells Lindfors); (4) Commission on Literature (Carol Jago); (5) Commission on Media (Lawrence B. Fuller); and (6) Commission on Reading (Mary H. Maguire). Some of the subjects discussed in the report include: assessment; professional standards for writing teachers; the need for further attention to second language perspectives; the tendency of legislators, publishers, and others to use simple terms to redefine complex processes; legislative bodies mandating curriculum and assessment; trends mandating specific methodology for elementary and secondary classrooms and teacher education programs; role of research in relation to classroom practices in English/language arts; supporting students' right to their own languages; language awareness study for teacher and students; state standards documents overlooking the study of literature as an important and lasting outcome of a high school education; the rapid growth of applications of new media technology in U.S. business, homes, and schools; support for public schooling; professional development of reading teachers; informed discussion about reading, theory, research and practice; and understanding the complex intersections among race, class, gender, and language in reading, literacy curriculum, and practices in mainstream, bilingual multicultural communities. (RS)