Early Years

An early-literacy initiative in Montgomery County, Md., has won praise from a team of independent researchers not only for its role in helping improve basic reading skills among some poor children, but also for officials' candor in the apparent failure of the efforts so far to bring English-language learners up to proficiency.

The 139,000-student district phased in the initiative for some students in kindergarten and 1st grade beginning in the 2000-01 school year. Under a new curriculum that emphasizes reading and mathematics, schools have bolstered instruction in phonics and language skills, increased professional development for teachers, added assessments of student progress,...