Complete Coverage

Publishers Question Fairness of ‘Reading First’ Process

State grant reviewers gave Dr. Cupp’s Readers a big, fat zero rating on one Georgia school’s Reading First application. Only later did its publisher find out that at least one of those reviewers had never laid eyes on the program.

That experience underscores how some small publishers feel about the federal initiative: They haven’t gotten a fair shake.

Frustrated and furious, Cindy Cupp, who publishes the books bearing her name, set out on a campaign to expose what she sees as unfair practices that give products from big publishers preference over lesser-known products without regard for...