National Evaluation of Early Reading First
Contract Information
Current Status:
This study has been completed.
Duration:
July 2003 – May 2007
Cost:
$4,000,000
Contract Number:
ED-01-CO-0027/0002
Contractor(s):
Decision Information Resources
Mathematica Policy Research
University of Texas-Health Science Center at Houston
Contact:
Reports
Early Reading First (ERF) was a discretionary grant program authorized by the No Child Left Behind Act and funded at $113 million in Fiscal Year 2008. ERF was designed to improve pre-reading and language instruction in early childhood programs and targeted funding toward early childhood programs that served primarily low-income children, including Head Start centers, Title I preschools, Even Start Centers, State pre-kindergartens, and independent child care centers. This study was congressionally mandated and examined the impact of ERF on student outcomes.
- Did ERF participants improve their language and literacy outcomes relative to children who were enrolled in non-ERF preschools?
- What social and emotional outcomes did ERF participants attain relative to children in non-ERF preschools?
- How did language and literacy instructional practice differ between ERF preschools and non-ERF preschools?
The study focused on a single cohort of ERF applicants that applied for funding in Fiscal Year 2003. Using regression discontinuity methods, the study compared child outcomes and literacy instruction between 28 sites that received grants and 37 sites that applied for but did not receive ERF funding. Data collection was conducted during the 2004–05 school year and included individual assessments of four-year-old children's early language and literacy skills; classroom observations; and surveys of preschool directors, preschool teachers, and parents.
A report, titled National Evaluation of Early Reading First, was released in May 2007.
- Overall, ERF had a statistically significant positive effect on children's print and letter knowledge but no statistically discernable impact on phonological awareness or oral language.
- ERF had a positive impact on the number of hours of professional development that teachers received and on the use of mentoring as a mode of training.
- ERF had a significant impact on many aspects of classroom environments and teacher practices that were major focuses of the program, including language environment of the classroom, book-reading practices, phonological awareness activities, and materials and teaching practices to support print and letter knowledge and writing.