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Get Ready for the Reading First Reviews

Announcement: California’s Reading First Program - Evaluation Study Due July 20 (Jul 6) California Department of Education

Their Description: the California Department of Education (CDE), in consultation with the State Board of Education (SBE), is seeking proposals from eligible bidders to conduct an independent evaluation study of the implementation, effectiveness, and impact of the federal Reading First (RF) Program, as implemented in California public schools in accordance with California’s Reading First Plan, approved by the U.S. Department of Education (ED) in August 2002....

The evaluation will provide information to the CDE, the SBE, the Governor’s Office of the Secretary for Education (OSE), ED, and the public school community about the following operational factors:

• The effectiveness and extent of RF Program implementation in participating schools and districts and how variations in implementation impact student achievement in reading performance.

• The impact of the RF Program on the reading performance and achievement of K-3 students in participating schools and districts.

• The impact of RF Program participation during grades K-3 on student achievement in reading performance in grades 4 and 5.

• Other factors related to the RF Program implementation and its impact on participating schools....

Currently, a maximum of $408,000 is available for work in the first year of the evaluation and, contingent upon availability and appropriation of funds, $408,000 for each of the subsequent years (2009 to 2013)....

The pertinent federal legislative language follows.

“SEC. 1202. (d) STATE USES OF FUNDS- (C) ANNUAL REPORTING- (i) IN GENERAL – A State Educational Agency that receives a grant under this section shall expend funds made available under subparagraph (A) to provide the Secretary annually with a report on the implementation of this subpart....

(iv) CONTRACT- To the extent practicable, a State Educational Agency shall enter into a contract with an entity that conducts scientifically based reading research...”

Per the Reading First law and the California Reading First Plan, the State Educational Agencyis to (a) make annual reports to the Secretary of Education and (b) contract with an independent entity to assist in the preparation of the annual reports.

The CDE expects the contractor to collect and analyze both qualitative and quantitative data (i.e., indicators and measures of student, teacher, school, and district processes and outcomes) in undertaking this study. The proposal must include a detailed study design that includes a conceptual framework for the evaluation, including key variables and indicator definitions, and a description of the overall evaluation plan broken down by tasks that can be linked to the proposal budget....

Public or private corporations, agencies, organizations, or associations may submit proposals to contract for the independent evaluation.

Our Thoughts: Reading First is an important and controversial program. The California evaluation offers the winning firm and its project leader, interesting work, a high level of professional visibility and no end of media opportunities. 

From a financial standpoint, it is worth noting that every state that took Reading First funds is required to do this kind of study. With a project management team and evaluation process for California in hand, the marginal cost of adding other states to the effort may well give the winner a non-trivial price advantage over competitors. ••••