Reading & Literacy Collection

Reading First

Read Education Week’s coverage of the Bush administration’s flagship reading program.

Reading & Literacy Federal Path for Reading Questioned
The $6 billion spent on the program has helped students with basic decoding but not with understanding, a major study finds.
Kathleen Kennedy Manzo, December 1, 2008
7 min read
Reading & Literacy No Effect on Comprehension Seen From 'Reading First'
The $6 billion spent on the program has helped students with basic decoding but not with understanding, a major study finds.
Kathleen Kennedy Manzo, November 19, 2008
3 min read
Reading & Literacy ‘Reading First’ Event Draws 6,000, Despite Woes
With the likely loss of funding, educators try to figure out how to keep the federal reading program alive in their districts.
Kathleen Kennedy Manzo, August 6, 2008
4 min read
Reading & Literacy ‘Reading First’ Funds Headed for Extinction
Federal, state, and local officials are scrambling to figure out how to sustain the program, or at least some of the instructional changes it fueled.
Kathleen Kennedy Manzo & Alyson Klein, July 15, 2008
6 min read
Federal Senate Panel Also Votes to Kill Funds for 'Reading First'
Joining its House counterpart, the Senate subcommittee that handles education spending would eliminate funding for the controversial reading program in fiscal 2009.
Alyson Klein, June 24, 2008
3 min read
Reading & Literacy Keep ‘Reading First’ Funds, Advisory Group to Urge Congress
Panel members believe a recent evaluation has caused confusion and misperceptions about the program’s effectiveness.
Kathleen Kennedy Manzo, June 24, 2008
5 min read
Reading & Literacy House Panel Would Kill ‘Reading First’ Funding
Citing a federal study of the program, lawmakers would zero out funding for the beleaguered program in the fiscal 2009 budget.
Alyson Klein, June 19, 2008
4 min read
Reading & Literacy Reading First Doesn't Help Pupils 'Get it'
The $1 billion-a-year program has had no measurable effect on students’ reading comprehension, on average, a major federal report finds.
Kathleen Kennedy Manzo, May 1, 2008
7 min read
Reading & Literacy Massive Funding Cuts to ‘Reading First’ Generate Worries for Struggling Schools
The reduction of more than 60 percent may affect reading coaches, professional-development programs, and instructional materials that are the cornerstones of the Reading First program.
Kathleen Kennedy Manzo, January 14, 2008
7 min read
Reading & Literacy State, Local Officials Again Find ‘Reading First’ Useful
Despite problems with the implementation of the program—which resulted in several federal investigations and congressional hearings over the past two years—it's worth preserving or expanding, a study found.
Kathleen Kennedy Manzo, October 31, 2007
2 min read
Reading & Literacy ‘Reading First’ Panel Awaits Program Evaluation Reports
Is Reading First working? Advocates claim it is and critics say it isn’t, while others contend there isn’t enough information to know.
Kathleen Kennedy Manzo, October 23, 2007
5 min read
Reading & Literacy Reading Results Hard to Translate, Panel Concludes
The Reading First Advisory Committee has asked for more time and technical assistance in evaluating the data from the $1 billion-a-year program.
Kathleen Kennedy Manzo, August 23, 2007
3 min read
Reading & Literacy Senate Appropriations Panel’s Cuts to Reading First Are Less Sharp Than in House Plan
Many of President Bush’s education priorities would be slated for cuts under a plan approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee today.
Alyson Klein, June 21, 2007
4 min read
Federal Former ‘Reading First’ Adviser to Leave Federal Post
Edward J. Kame’enui will leave his current position at the Department of Education next month, the agency announced last week.
Sean Cavanagh, May 22, 2007
5 min read