The American Institutes for Research has updated its ratings on the effectiveness of popular improvement programs for elementary schools.
“CSRQ Center Report on Elementary School Comprehensive School Reform Models” is posted by the Comprehensive School Reform Quality Center.
Published for the first time last year by the AIR’s Comprehensive School Reform Quality Center, the consumer guide rates 22 schoolwide-improvement models on the strength of their research track records and other program characteristics. No models received “very strong” ratings for proven effectiveness this year or last. But two models—the National Writing Project, based in Berkeley, Calif., and the Literacy Collaborative for Learning, in Columbus, Ohio—raised their research ratings from “limited” in 2005 to “moderate” this year. “Moderately strong” ratings went to two other models, Direct Instruction, of Eugene, Ore., and the Baltimore-based Success for All program.
