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Feb
23
This news isn’t coming from me. It’s coming from the U.S. Department of Education’s Inspector General. Read its audit report of the federal Reading First Program here (pdf) or here (Word). The program’s budget was over $1 billion in 2006, and nearly the same for the last four years, since NCLB was put in place.
From the report itself:
We concluded that the Department did not have controls in place to ensure compliance with the DEOA and NCLB Act curriculum provisions. We found that: 1) only a select number of reading programs were discussed during the “Theory to Practice: A Panel of Practitioners” sessions; 2) at the first and third RLAs, the luncheon speaker’s presentation featured one of the few reading programs discussed during the “Theory to Practice” sessions; and 3) participants at the first and third RLAs expressed concerns that certain programs were being endorsed and promoted by the Department.
and
We found that the Department did not adequately assess issues of bias and lack of objectivity when approving individuals to be technical assistance providers before and after the NCRFTA contract was awarded. Specifically, the Department did not: 1) adequately vet proposed technical assistance providers resumes, and 2) follow up on reading related contracts held by technical assistance providers in order to determine whether views and positions taken could be largely motivated from the close identification or association of an individual with a particular point of view or the positions or perspectives of a particular group.
…
Since the DEOA and the NCLB Act prohibit the Department from endorsing or promoting curriculum, it should have had a process in place to assess potential sources of bias and lack of objectivity. Without an adequate assessment of bias and lack of objectivity for individuals proposed to perform Department contract work, the Department could be placed in a situation where the public could reasonably question and perhaps discount or dismiss the work performed simply because of the existence of a potential bias. Further, the Department should ensure its contractors also perform this assessment.
I would say that that’s putting the public’s possible reaction lightly.
So, Ohio’s junior Senator, Sherrod Brown, sits on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee which is in charge of reauthorizing NCLB. Hopefully, he’s aware of this recommendation, made by the DOE’s Inspector General in this audit report:
We suggest that the Department and Congress, during the next reauthorization of the law, clarify whether reading programs need to have scientific evidence of effectiveness in order to be eligible for funding under Reading First.
I would think so.
Was Ohio affected? I don’t know. I’m not quite sure how to determine that, but I’m open to ideas.
Hattip to The Blotter.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 5:24 pm February 23rd, 2007 in Politics
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