Teach Effectively!

Despite the recent turmoil about it, the US Department of Education Reading First program has been evaluated by the US Office of Management and the Budget (OMB) and received a rating of “effective.” OMB describes a rating of effective as “the highest rating a program can achieve. Programs rated Effective set ambitious goals, achieve results, are well-managed and improve efficiency.”

Of the 977 programs that OMB has assessed, 22% are described as “results not demonstrated,” 3% as “ineffective,” 28% as “adequate,” 30% as “moderately effective,” and 17% as “effective.” The only other programs from the Department of Education that achieve a rating of “effective” are the National Assessment of Educational Progress and the National Center for Education Statistics.

Of course, the timing of this report is open to question. Was it rushed as a means of counteracting the bad press that came from the recent hearings in the Congress? Perhaps. I do not know. Do the hearings mitigate the importance of the report? I don’t think so.

Link to the OMB page showing the details of the Reading First rating.