Reading First Axed by Congress

By David Cyprian

 

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Congressional House and Senate Appropriations committees struck all funding from the federal Reading First program in June.  The move is expected to cause the program’s demise no later than 2010.  Reading First has been battered in the last year by reports of mismanagement and conflicts of interest at the highest levels, and ineffectiveness in its mission. The program provides federal grants to schools districts that agree to incorporate scientifically based reading research into systematic instructional practices.   

 

Reading First has not demonstrated improvement in students’ reading comprehension test scores according to an interim report from a Congressionally mandated study of the program released in May. The study compared 1st, 2nd, and 3rd graders’ reading scores from study sites in twelve states (including approximately 100,000 students), and found no statistical evidence of improvement at Reading First schools compared to other schools. The study did find that, on average, teachers at Reading First schools did spend more time (about 10 additional minutes per day) on the five components of reading instruction promoted by the program.

 

Reading First had cost approximately $1 billion annually to operate nationwide during the period of study.  Last year, several reports of conflicts of interest and mismanagement surfaced and Congress cut 60% of the funding for the program.  Some critics of the study’s findings argue that the methodology for evaluating students’ reading comprehension is flawed, and others blame uneven and disparate implementation of Reading First’s principles.  All observers agree that, without a significant change of heart by Congress, the program’s days are numbered.