Developed by the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Committee to Evaluate Curriculum Guides and Competency Requirements, this guide is intended to help teachers and administrators to develop exemplary English language arts curricula. The first part of the booklet presents an annotated list of recommended curriculum guides, representing a variety of curricular frameworks and content units for reference use by schools and agencies in the process of developing or revising a curriculum. In addition to the 1986 list, annotations for curriculum guides recommended in 1985 and 1984 are included, as is information on grade level, on content aims and objectives, and on how to obtain the guide. The second part of the booklet contains revised criteria for planning and evaluating English language arts curriculum guides. These criteria are organized under the headings of philosophy, objectives, language as content, composition, reading, literature, media, organization, policies and procedures, and design. (SRT)