Reading First Impact Study: Interim Report

Title:	Reading First Impact Study: Interim Report
Description:	Created under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001, the Reading First program provides assistance to states and districts in using research-based reading programs and instructional materials for students in kindergarten through third grade and in introducing related professional development and assessments. The program's purpose is to ensure that increased proportions of students read at or above grade level, have mastery of the essential components of early reading, and that all students can read at or above grade level by the end of grade 3. The law requires that an independent, rigorous evaluation of the program be conducted to determine if the program influences teaching practices, mastery of early reading components, and student reading comprehension. This interim report presents the impacts of Reading First on classroom reading instruction and student reading comprehension during the 2004-05 and 2005-06 school years. The evaluation found that Reading First did have positive, statistically significant impacts on the total class time spent on the five essential components of reading instruction promoted by the program. The study also found that, on average across the 18 study sites, Reading First did not have statistically significant impacts on student reading comprehension test scores in grades 1–3. A final report on the impacts from 2004–2007 (three school years with Reading First funding) and on the relationships between changes in instructional practice and student reading comprehension is expected in late 2008.
Online Availability:	Browse this document. Download, view and print the report as a pdf file. (1.64MB) Download, view and print the executive summary as a pdf file. (656KB) Download, view and print chapters 1-4 as a pdf file. (888KB) Download, view and print the appendices and references as a pdf file. (1.03MB) Need Help Viewing PDF files?
Cover Date:	April 2008
Web Release:	May 1, 2008
Print Release:	April 24, 2008
Publication #:	NCEE 20084016 General Ordering Information
Center/Program:	NCEE
Authors:	Beth C. Gamse, Project Director, Abt Associates; Howard S. Bloom, MDRC; James J. Kemple, MDRC; Robin Tepper Jacob, Abt Associates/University of Michigan; Beth Boulay; Laurie Bozzi; Linda Caswell; Megan Horst; W. Carter Smith; Robert G. St.Pierre; Fatih Unlu; Corinne Herlihy; Pei Zhu.
Type of Product:	Evaluation Report
Keywords:	Achievement (Student) • reading Curriculum • elementary school Education Indicators Educational Attainment Educational Goals Reading
Questions:	For questions about the content of this Evaluation Report, please contact: NCES WebMaster.