Federal Preschool Reading Program Gets Mixed Results

A federal study of the Early Reading First Program has found that the program had a positive impact on children's print and letter knowledge, but not on phonological awareness or oral language, including vocabulary development.

The federal grant program aimed at low-income children ages 3 to 5 years old was created by the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, which also mandated the independent review of its effectiveness. The study was conducted by Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences.

According to the Institute, "Using a quasi-experimental design, the study found that the program had a positive impact on children's print and letter knowledge, but not on phonological awareness or oral language. The program had positive impacts on aspects of the classroom environment and teacher practices that are intended to support the development of language and literacy skills."

The Associated Press reported that the government has made five rounds of grants so far. The awards have ranged from $750,000 to $4.5 million per site for a three-year period.

An executive summary of the study, as well as a complete copy of the report, can be viewed at the Institute of Education Sciences Web site.

The Early Reading First Program is completely separate from the Reading First program, also mandated by NCLB, that has been plagued by charges of conflicts of interest of officials connected to the program and mismanagement.