Project Description

DIR conducted a 3-year national evaluation of the FY2003 Early Reading First (ERF) program. ERF was created to improve early reading and language instruction in existing programs for early childhood education, especially those programs that serve low-income families.

A regression discontinuity (RD) design was used to determine the extent to which ERF funds and technical assistance given to grantee programs change the instructional content and children’s outcomes compared to the content and outcomes of non-grantee programs. The evaluation also explored the extent to which variations in program quality and implementation are associated with differences in participant outcomes.

To measure the impact of the ERF program on child outcomes, the evaluation team administered a series of child assessments to study participants in fall 2004, spring 2005, and spring 2006. The team also collected data through interviews with parents, surveys of program directors and teachers, observations of classrooms, and abstractions of administrative records.

DIR, under contract with the US Department of Education, partnered with Mathematica Policy Research and the Center for Improving the Readiness of Children for Learning and Education (CIRCLE) at the University of Texas Health Science Center-Houston for this evaluation effort.