This book presents findings from the Reading First Impact Study, a congressionally mandated evaluation of the federal government's $1.0 billion-per-year initiative to help all children read at or above grade level by the end of third grade. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (P.L. 107-110) established Reading First (Title I, Part B, Subpart 1) and mandated its evaluation. This evaluation is being conducted by Abt Associates and MDRC with RMC Research, Rosenblum-Brigham Associates, Westat, Computer Technology Services, DataStar, Field Marketing Incorporated, and Westover Consulting under the oversight of the U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences (IES). The present book is the first of two; it examines the impact of Reading First funding in 2004-05 and 2005-06 in 17 school districts across 12 states and one state-wide program (18 sites). The book examines program impacts on students' reading comprehension and teachers' use of scientifically based reading instruction.
The Reading First Program is a central element of the No Child Left Behind legislation (No Child Left Behind Act, 2001). It builds on findings reported in a national consensus report (NICHD, 2000), about proven strategies to reduce the prevalence of reading difficulty in the early grades in order to help children read at or above grade level by the time they reach third grade. The program provides resources to schools for professional development, for purchasing reading programs/materials, for assessments of students, and for salaries of reading coaches who can help classroom teachers. Reading First departs from historical precedent in its reach into the content of instruction. Traditionally, the federal education agency has been focused on issues of access, and determination of actual curriculum content has been left to states and localities. The legislation contained a savvy blend of federal guidance for local decision-making; it did not endorse any reading materials or professional development or assessments, but rather articulated the procedures states and districts were required to use as they made local decisions about which districts and schools to fund as well as which specific tools those districts and schools selected help to implement the program. The Reading First Impact Study was designed to assess the impact of the Reading First Program on two core domains: classroom reading instruction and student reading achievement. This paper will summarize the methods used and the study's findings on the two questions of program impact. (Contains 4 exhibits and 2 footnotes.).
This report presents findings from the third and final year of the Reading First Impact Study (RFIS), a congressionally mandated evaluation of the federal government's initiative to help all children read at or above grade level by the end of third grade. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 established Reading First (RF) and mandated its evaluation. This report examines the impact of Reading First funding on 248 schools in 13 states and includes 17 school districts and one statewide program for a total of 18 sites. The study includes data from three school years: 2004-05, 2005-06 and 2006-07. Key findings include: (1) Reading First produced a positive and statistically significant impact on amount of instructional time spent on the five essential components of reading instruction promoted by the program (phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension) in grades one and two; (2) Reading First produced positive and statistically significant impacts on multiple practices that are promoted by the program, including professional development in scientifically based reading instruction (SBRI), support from full-time reading coaches, amount of reading instruction, and supports available for struggling readers; (3) Reading First did not produce a statistically significant impact on student reading comprehension test scores in grades one, two or three; and (4) Reading First produced a positive and statistically significant impact on decoding among first grade students tested in one school year (spring 2007). Findings are generally consistent with findings presented in the study's Interim Report. Although the study finds, on average, that after several years of funding, the Reading First program has a consistent positive effect on reading instruction yet no statistically significant impact on student reading comprehension, findings based on exploratory analyses do not provide consistent or systematic insight into the pattern of observed impacts. Following the executive summary, detailed information is supplied in three sections: (1) Overview of the Reading First Impact Study; (2) Impact Findings; and (3) Exploratory Analyses of Variations in Impacts and Relationships Among Outcomes.) Seven appendixes are included: (1) State and Site Award Data; (2) Methods; (3) Measures; (4) Confidence Intervals; (5) Analyses of Impacts and Trends Over Time; (6) Analysis of Student Exposure to Reading First; and (7) Subgroup Analyses. (Contains 164 footnotes and 90 exhibits.) [For the interim summary of this study, see ED501219. For the full interim report, see ED501218. For the final summary of this report, see ED503345.].
This book presents findings from the Reading First Impact Study, a congressionally mandated evaluation of the federal government's one billion dollar per year initiative to help all children read at or above grade level by the end of third grade.
This document provides an executive summary of "Reading First Impact Study. Final Report. NCEE 2009-4038." The final report presents findings from the third and final year of the Reading First Impact Study (RFIS), a congressionally mandated evaluation of the federal government's initiative to help all children read at or above grade level by the end of third grade. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) established Reading First (RF) and mandated its evaluation. This report examines the impact of Reading First funding on 248 schools in 13 states and includes 17 school districts and one statewide program for a total of 18 sites. The study includes data from three school years: 2004-05, 2005-06 and 2006-07. Key findings include: (1) Reading First produced a positive and statistically significant impact on amount of instructional time spent on the five essential components of reading instruction promoted by the program (phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension) in grades one and two; (2) Reading First produced positive and statistically significant impacts on multiple practices that are promoted by the program, including professional development in scientifically based reading instruction (SBRI), support from full-time reading coaches, amount of reading instruction, and supports available for struggling readers; (3) Reading First did not produce a statistically significant impact on student reading comprehension test scores in grades one, two or three; and (4) Reading First produced a positive and statistically significant impact on decoding among first grade students tested in one school year (spring 2007). Findings are generally consistent with findings presented in the study's Interim Report. Although the study finds, on average, that after several years of funding, the Reading First program has a consistent positive effect on reading instruction yet no statistically significant impact on student reading comprehension, findings based on exploratory analyses do not provide consistent or systematic insight into the pattern of observed impacts. (Contains 6 footnotes and 5 exhibits.) [For the interim summary of this study, see ED501219. For full interim report, see ED501218. For the final report, see ED503344.].
This executive summary describes results of the "Reading First Impact Study: Interim Report." The report presents preliminary findings from the Reading First Impact Study, a congressionally mandated evaluation of the federal government initiative to help all children read at or above grade level by the end of third grade. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) established Reading First and mandated its evaluation. This document is the first of two reports: it examines the impact of Reading First funding in 2004-05 and 2005-06 in 18 sites across 12 states. The report examines program impacts on students' reading comprehension and teachers' use of scientifically based reading instruction. Key findings are that: (1) On average, estimated impacts on student reading comprehension test scores were not statistically significant; (2) On average, Reading First increased instructional time spent on the five essential components of reading instruction promoted by the program (phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension); (3) Average impacts on reading comprehension and classroom instruction did not change systematically over time as sites gained experience with Reading First; and (4) Study sites that received their Reading First grants later in the federal funding process experienced positive and statistically significant impacts both on the time first and second grade teachers spent on the five essential components of reading instruction and on first and second grade reading comprehension, in contrast to study sites that received their Reading First grants earlier in the federal funding process, where there were no statistically significant impacts on either time spent on the five components of reading instruction or on reading comprehension scores at any grade level. The final report is due in early 2009, and will provide an additional year of follow-up data, and will examine whether the magnitude of impacts on the use of scientifically based reading instruction is associated with improvements in reading comprehension. (Contains 4 footnotes and 5 figures.) [This report was produced by the National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences. For the full interim report, see ED501218.].
Since its beginning in 1965 as a part of the War on Poverty, Head Start's goal has been to boost the school readiness of low-income children. Based on a 'whole child' model, the program provides comprehensive services that include pre-school education; medical, dental, and mental health care; nutrition services; and efforts to help parents foster their child's development. Head Start services are designed to be responsive to each child's and family's ethnic, cultural, and linguistic heritage. The Congressionally-mandated Head Start Impact Study was conducted across 84 nationally representative grantee/delegate agencies. Approximately 5,000 newly entering 3- and 4-year-old children applying for Head Start were randomly assigned to either a Head Start group that had access to Head Start program services or to a non- Head Start group that could enrol in available community non-Head Start services, selected by their parents. Data collection began in fall 2002 and is scheduled to continue through 2006, following children through the spring of their 1st-grade year. The study quantifies the impact of Head Start separately for 3- and 4-year-old children across child cognitive, social-emotional, and health domains as well as ii on parenting practices. This book is essential reading for those in the education field.
