Teach Effectively!

Shep Barbash published “Looking Beyond the Reading First Controversy” in Education Next, the quarterly journal of the Hoover Institute that examines issues related to US education reform. Although he probably wrote his piece before the recent release of the interim version of the study examining the impact of Reading First, Mr. Barbash makes a spirited argument for the benefits of Reading First. Here’s his lead:

“Reading First is the most effective federal program in history.” So reads the opening line of a report that Alabama superintendent of education Joseph Morton sent to his congressional delegation last June, in which he recounts how the program has raised reading achievement for poor students in his charge. Morton’s view is shared by leaders in many other states, where thousands of Reading First elementary schools have reported unprecedented progress closing the “literacy gap” among the poor.

In another venue, Mike Petrilli salutes Mr. Barbash’s article. The entry in Flypaper, the blog of the folks connected to the Thomas Fordham Institute and EdExcellence.net, provided an opening for comments. Unsurprisingly, one of the commenters sounds the RF-as-corruption horn; Reid Lyon’s response to that comment is worthwhile reading.

Read Mr. Barbash’s article here and then follow that with Mr. Petrilla’s blog entry (and the comments on it) here.

Obligatory disclosure note: I am a member of the Reading First Federal Advisory Committee. That I have pointed to documents does not imply that I endorse or condemn the views expressed in them. Nor does my reference to them represent the views of the committee or my colleagues who serve on it with me. Just passing it along, folks.