Page1

2 0 0 6 . 1 - l . 1 5 . p a v i d D u n n ,sRhre r o u n d n b u s e si n u . s , p J a n f o r Readfng. txt

****-ori ginal Message--**-

FrQm:
[maiI to
s e n t : w e d n e s d a yN, o v e m b e1r5 , 2 0 0 6 5 : 2 3 n u
To: Private - Spellings, Margaret; Dunn, pavjd; Madd<rx, Lauren; young,
T r a c y ; C o n a t y , l o s e p h ; r a l b e r t , K e n t ; J o h n s o n ,H e n r y ; s i m o n , R a y ;
K u z m i c h ,t t o l l y ; M c n i t t , T o w n s e ntd- . ; e r i g g s , K e r r i ; c o 1 b y , c h a d
S u b j e c t : N Y T :s h e p o u n dA b u s e si n U . 5 . p l a n f o r R e a d f n g
November1,5, 2006
on education
s h e r o u n d A b u s e s i n u . S . plan for Reading
By losEPH BERGER
SAVANNAH, G .
Don't be overly disarrnedby cindy cupp's southern molasses.
"r'm just a littje old peon downhere in Savannah"
1S
the way she describes herself and her company,which publishes reading
kits for kindergartenersand first graders.
Y e s , h e r b u s i n e s si s s m a l l . D r . c u p p , 5 7 , a n d c i n g e r o o u g l a s s , h e r
older sister, are the only employees,working out of a small warehouse
o n t h i s c i t y ' s o u t s k ' i r t s . T h e i r p r o f i t s h a v e n e v e r t o p p e d5 2 0 0 , 0 0 0 .
8ut Dr. cupp has proved to be a cannybusinesswoman; she sel]s her
r e a d i n u k i t s t o 8 0 o f c e o r q i a ' s 1 , 2 6 7 e l e m e n t a r ys c h o o l s . s h e h a s a l s o
e m e r q e da s s o m e t h i n oo f a i i a n t - k i l l e r , w i t h r e l e n t l e s s s l e u t h i n o . s h e
has 6ecomeone of s6veral frtristle*blowerswho uncoveredevidence-of
conflicts of interest and favoritism in the eushadministration's $6
b i l l i o n R e a d i n gF j r s t p r o g r a m .
T h e p r o g r a m ,w h i c h w a s i n t e n d e d t o e n s u r et h a t a l l l o w e r - i n c o m e
c h i l d r e n l e a r n e d t o r e a d , a w a r d e dn r r l l i * . i states to buy reading
 Page2

2 0 0 6 . L 1 - . 1 5 . o a v ' i d o u n n . nsEh e r o u n d l b u s e s i n u . s . p l a n f o r R e a d i n g . t x t
> textbooks and tests. rt turn€d out to be a bonanzafor certa"in
> textbook publishers and authors. a ha'lf-dozen experts setting
> guidelines for which reading textbooks and tests could be puichased by
> ichools were also the authoFs of textbooks and tests that bnded up
> being used,
> DR. cuPP'S complaints about the program helped propel an jnvestigation
> by the inspector general for the united states Department of rducation
> t h a t h a s r b s u l t e d * i n t h r e e r e p o r t s c o n d e m n i n s" a l a c k o f i n t e q r i t v a n d
> ethical values" in Reading Fii-st. rhe prograil's director resi[ned-in
> September. More reports are anticipated, and Representative George
> uiller, the rankinq Democraton the House Education and the workforce
> c o m m i t t e e , l i k e l y t o b e c o m ei t s n e w c h a i r m a n , h a s c a l J e d f o r a
> cri minal -investi gati on .
> Dr. cupp "is a self-described speedboat who spent 1"9years teaching
> c h i l d r e n a n d a d u l t s t o r e a d . A t h e r c o m p a n y ,c u p p p u b l i s h e r s , s h e
> visits ceorgia schools demonstrating her reading kits, while her
> sister, a retired guidance counselor, packs them for shipping and
> handles the bookkeeping.
> when the federal oovernment enacted neadina First in 2002" Dr'. cupp
> t h o u g h t h e r c o m p a t yw o u l d s u r e - l y g e t a s l i E e o f t h e p i e . R f t e r a l l , g O
> percent of students in the schaols that use her kits had learned to
> i'ead by the end of first grade.
> The federal proqram enohas"izedphonics - masterinq the sounds of
> l e t t e r s a n d l e t i e r b l e h d s - a s b p p o s e dt o w h a t o f f i c i a l s considered
> t h e m u s h i n e s so f w h o l e - I a n g u a g et e a c h i n g , w h i c h e m p h a s i z e sg r a s p i n g '
> m e a n i n gt h r o u g h g o o d c h i l d r e n ' s l i t e r a t u r e . Dr.
> cupp's
> materials also emphasizedphonics - in 60 stories centered on t$ro
> caped turtles nambd:ack aird I'illy,
> That emphasiswas on display one day recently in ttarie Durrence's
> kinderghrten at the East aroad street Elementary school here,
i "lack can see the manplay," rerrica tlt'ijliarns read, pride glinting
> th rough her bashfu'l smi'l e .
> "Jack can s€e the mango, go,go," x i a r a P l u m m e rc h i m e d i n .
> still, schools that used her marerials found themselves frozen out of
> federal rnoney.Dr. cupp sought an explanat,ion from a friend at the
> Georqia Depaitment of education. where Dr. Cuppwas director of
> reading frbm 1996 to 1999, and was told., s[e bai.d, that any school
> listing her reading program "would not be funded.'
> After the federal deparlryent repeatedly rejected their grant
> applications, Georgia officials concluded that "this nnney is
> avlilable if you follow the rulebook,"
> s a i d n a n a T o f i g , c o m m u n i c a t i o n sd i r e c t o r f o r t h e c e o r g i a E d u c a t i o n
> Department. Dr: cupp's reading program "d'id not meet the benchmarksit
> had t0 ffeet, "
> he said, adding that the officials who could expla'in why no longer
> worked jn the department.
> Dr. cupp pofnts out that georgia chose_big textboak publishers,-like
> s c o t t F o r e s m a na n d M a c m i i l a n / t v l c c r a w * H i l l , s p u r n i n g w h a t s h e t a l l e d
> h o m e - c o o k e dt u r k e y d i n n e r s l i k e h e r r e a d i n g p r o g r a m '
> she ended up losiirg contracts at about a half-dozen schaols. Then, she
> sajd. bv demandinq-files under ceorqia's og€o recards law, she
> disc6veied that a national evaluatoF had nbver even looked at her
nage 2
 Page3

2 0 0 6 , 1 1 . 1 5 , p a v i d u u n n . R Es h e r o u n d R b u s e s i n U , 5 . p l a n f o r n e a d i n g . t x t
program.
Dr.,cupp's dealings with the Georgia Educatjon Departmentare beinq
e x a m i n e db y t h e f e d e r a f i n s p e c t o r g e n e r a l . M a r y t t i t c h e l s o n , c o u n s e T
f o r t h a t o f f i c e , s a i d , " t r r ed o n ' t t a l k a b o u t o u - r p e n d i n g w o i k . " B u t D r .
Cupp is hoping to get some answsrs,
Others.might have given up.when they lost their contract, but Dr. Cupp
said she has a strong inclination to resist iniustice, rooted in a
c h i l d h o o d s h a d o w e db ! a n a l c o h o l i c m o t h e r . s h e - d i d n o i s h e e p i s h l y
accept her fate because she thought she deserved a p1ace.
"we're not al1 going to be wal-Marts and K-Marts,"
sne
sa"id. "I go to the hardware store down the street because I can walk
in and say, 'He1p me with this,'
becauser knowthe guy." so she filed a cornp'laint.
A c c o r d r ' n gt o R o b e r t E . S l a v i n , c h a i r n a n o f s u c c e s s f o r A 1 1 , a
nonprofit publisher whose phonics-based program is used in 1,200
Merican schools and who also complained when 200 schools dropped h{s
program in order to get federa'l money, Dr. cupp got the ball ririfing
against Reading,First. the "gave us an example and gave us some
courage , " lulr, 5l avi n sai d .
> tqst Decembrr,federal inspectors cane to Savannah,a city graced by
> sleepy squarei and shadedby oak trees dripping wiih spanisfi moss,
> Dr. cupp showedthe investiqators hundreds of document,sshe collected
> over thi'ee y€ars that showed links between contractors hired bv the
> federal sov-ernmentto evaluate schooi readino Droorams. and thL
> wrirers of those Droorans. she also d'iaqramm6O'th6se links. Her
> find'ings and thosb of others, inclqding-reporters for education week,
> found that consultants hired to help school d"istricts apply for and
> run neading rirst grants sometimes received hefty royalties from the
> very materials that schools were encouraged to biry.
> For example, Dr. cupp'learned that a writer of a scott, Foresman
> reading textbook selected by schools in ceorgia and other states was
> E d w a r dK a m e ' e n u ' i , a p r o f e s s o r o n l e a v e f r o m t h e t J n i v e r s i t y o f o r e g o n ,
> Dr.
> K a m e ' e n u i h e a d e da R e a d i n q F i r s t t e c h n i c a l c e n t e r i n o r e o o n . o n e o f
> three under contract that-help state officia'ls run neadtig pirst
> programs. Dr. Slavin
=-* message tfuncated ==-

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rage 3
Re:CharlesMiller Page4 PageI of3

Frorn: Halaska,
Terrell
Sent: September22,200S3:15PM
To: Katherine;
McLane, Young,Tracy;Dunn,David;Talbert,Kent

---€fuinal Message*---
From:Cain,Alice[mallto:Alice.Caln@mail.house,gov]
Sent: Friday,September7*2,2W62155PM
Tol Quarles,
Karen
Miller
Subjectr Rf: Charles

Hereis a copyof ourrclease:

News - U.S" House of Representatives

EDACATION& THE WORKFORCE COMMITTEEDEMOCRATS

GeorgeMiller, RankingMember
Congressman

rom
Kirey* lll*ff*'J,Tfi g
:;1311
", "ff
CULTT.IR$ON'CSRBUB:UAN
ONCE AGAIN, BUSH ADMIMSTRATTON PUTS CRONIES
AHSAD OF TAXPAYERS AI{D SCHOOLCHILI}RAN
ScathingNew [nspectorGenerulReport Showsthat StateswereForced to
UseSelectReadingCurriculum- or RiskLosingFederalFund.s

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Bush administrationpushedlocal schooldisn"ictsacrossthe countryto use

a readingcurriculumthat hadbeendevelopedby a companywith closepolitical andfinancialties to the
adminisraticndespiteconcemsaboutthe quality of the curriculumanddespitethefact that,in some
statessoughtto use othercurricula, accordingto the resultsof an independentgovennnent
ca.ses,
investigationreleasedtoday.As a result,the investigationconcludedthat the Bushadministration
violatedthe No Cftild Left Behindfederaleducationlaw.

Rep. GeorgeMitler (D-CA), the seniorDemocraton theHouseEducationand theWorkforce

Committee,saidthat the reportshowsthat it's time for theDepartmentof Education* which lastyear
admittedthat it had paid mediacommentators hundredsof thousandsof dollarsto producecovsrt
propaganda- lo cleanhouse.

"Comrpt croniesat the Departmentof Educationrvastedtaxpayerdollarson an inferior reading

curriculumfor kids that was developedby a companyheadedby a Bush friend andcampaign
of puttingchildrenfirst, they choseto put their croniesfirst. Enough
conkibutor," saidMiller. 'oln$tead
is enough.PresidentBush andSecretarySpellingsmusltakeresponsibilityand do a wholesale
housecleaning at the EducationDeparhnrent.

"Everyoneat the Departmentof Educationwho was involvedin perpetratingthis fraudon school

dishictsshouldbe fired * not suspended, not reassigned,
not admonished,but fired.This wasnot an
accident.This was a concertedeffort to corruplthe process
on behalfof partisansupporters,and
taxpayersandschooichildrenars theoneswho got harmedby it," saidMiller.

The investigation,conductedby the Departmentof Edrrcation'sInspectorGeneral,found that the

file://K:\OS'Exec%20Sec\SOIA%20letters\07-00517%2OCREW\2006.09.22.DavidDunn.h-.
5l(t/20A9
Re: CharlesMiller Page5 Page2 of3

Deparrnentof Educationmadestates'fundi*g underthe federalReadingFirst progam contingenton

their using a readingcurriculumdevelopedby McGraw-Hill, Inc. or one from a shortlist of commercial
readingprograms.The reportconcludedthattheDepartmentof Educationhad stackedpeerreview
panels,ignoredfederalsiatutes,andmanipulatedstateand local readingcurriculurnselectionprocedures
to steergrantsto its favoredvenders.More than$5 billion hasbeenspenton ReadingFirst since2002.

McGraw-Hill.'sChairmanandCEO,Harold McGrawlil, and its ChairmanEmeritus,Harold McGraw

Jr.,contributeda total of over $23,000to theRepublic.an
NationalCornmitteeandto PresidentBush's
campaignsbetweil 1999and2006.'Ihe BushandMcGraw familieshavebeenpersonallyan{
professionallyclosesincethe 1930's,accordingto publishedreports.

The scathingIC reporlwasreleasedjust as anotherIG report,from the Deparknentof Housingand

Utban Development,concludedthat HUD SecretaryAlphonsoJaclson had instructeddepartment
employmsto direct federalgrantsandcontractsto organizations politically friendly to the Bush
adminishation.And it comesone day after ihe New York Timesreportedthat the Interior Depar'lrnent
preventedfour federalauditorsfrom collectingroyaltiesfrom oil comparriesthathad beencheatingU.S.
taxpayers.The lnterior Department'sInspectorGeneralrecentlytold Congressthat "simply statedo short
of a crirne,anythinggoesat thehighestlevelsof theDepartrnentof the Interior."

"Deparhnentafterdeparunentin the Bushadministrationis infestedwith comrption,andthe American

peoplearepaying the price," saidMiller. "The Americanpeopledernandaccouutabilityandneeda new
direction so that thsir interestsandnot the corrupt interestsa:e servedby this government."

Miller urgedthe Republicanleadersof theHouseEducationand the WorkforceCommitteeto hold

imrnediatehearingsinto the findingsof the IG report*but he saidhe did not hold outmuch hopethat
suchhoaringswould be schoduled.Miller had previouslyrequosteda GovernmentAcoountebiliryOffice
revisw of ReadingFirst; thatreportis forthcoming.

'"TheRepublicanCongressis a giantrubberstampfor tho administation.They alwayshavebeen,and as

long asthey arein power,theyalwaysrvill be," saidMiller.

###

* 8 *{.1, ** * {t * * {. *,t 1.* * * rt rt * ** * * * * t *r1+f,A* * * {( *tt

AliieJolmeon Cain
Ifonanble Georgef,'Iillc r
Committee on Educetian and the WatAdorce
U,S, House of Represcn&$ives
W\ohingtott, PC 20515
202-226-2068(phone)
202-225-3614(hx)

http;/Jsfup:&tps,hpux,ggy/d*n-ocnls
Gel fie inslde seoop an education and labor actisn on Capitol Hilll
Click hs;rc to signrp f_Orlfte€d_C*!florkforcePemqc_r,atS:"E-we t$e*

From: Quarles, Karen[maifto:lGren"Quarles@ed,govJ

$en* Friday,September27,20#612;25PM

fi1e://ti:\OS-Exec%20Sec\FolA%20letters\07-00517%20CREWU006.09.22.DavidDunn.h,..
516/20A9
Re: CharlesMiller Page6 Page3 of3

To: Cain,Alie
Subject: RF;ChadesMiller

Alice.
$orry we weren'table lo set up a timefor them to talk. I know how busy schedulescan be. Anyway, lwanted to
sendyou a link to the Secretary'sstntementin lesponseto he report.
h$pfuvv-
Pleaselet me if you haveany furtherquestions.
Karen

---{riginal Message---'
Frum: Cain,Alice fmailtolAlice.Cain@mail,house-gov]
Sent Friday,September72,200612:16PM
Tor Quarles.Karen
Subject: Re: CharlesMiller

In termsof highered itwouldbe bestto workwith Gabby.I sawSylviaa few minutesago and she asked
me to let you know GM is not goingto be able to $querezein the call today.He'son his way back to CA
already.

Sentfrommy BlackBerry
WirelessHendheld

---Ongtnal Messagq-
From:Quarfee, Karen <Kgfp_q.
Qggrlq_s gdg"W>
To; Cain,Alice
Sent Fri Sep22 11:42:59
2006
SubjecLCharlesMiller

I wantedto follow up with you in rogardsto lhe possibilityof settingup a moetingwith the Congressman
and CharlesMiller,Chairmanof the HigherEducationCommission for sometimenextwaek. I knowit is
goingto be a crazyweekbut I am hopingwe mightbe ableto find sometime.

Thanks.
Karen

file://I(:\OS-Exec%20Sec\FOIA%20letters\07-00517%}ACREW\2006.09.22.DavidDunn,h...
5/6nAA9
 Page7

From! Mclane,Katherine
Sent Tuesday,
February28,20071:12FrM
Toi Dunn,.David;
Maddox, LaurerlSirnon,
Ray;LaForce,Hudson; Oonaf,Joseph;Talbert,
Ken!
_ Halasl€.
Tenell;fanig Amanda;Warder,Larry
$ubj+ctl C.ommunirdtions panern0f rnddlingin
shor,rr .Fnading
firsf (EDWfgK)

Published:
February2A,ZA0T
 PageI

E*Mails ReYealFederalReachOver
Rending
Communications showpatternof meddlingin
'ReadingFirst.o
By KathlpqnKqnnodyManzo
TheReadingFirst initiative's rigorousrequirements haveeamedit areputationas the
mostprescriptivefederalgrantprsgrarnin education.Now, an EducqtionWeek
review of hundredsof e-mail exchanges detailsa pattemof federalinterferencethat
skirtedlegalprohibitions.
In the midst of canying out the $ I billion-a-yefi prograrn,which is partof the No
Child Left BehindAct, federalofYicials:
. Workedto underminethe literacyplan of the nation'slargestschoolsystem;
. Pressurcdsevetal$tatesto rejectcsrtainreadingprogramsandassessments that
were initially approvedundertheir ReadingFirst plurs;
. Ralliedinfluentialpoliticians,political advisers,andappointeesto €nsurethat state
schoolschiefsstayedon track with programmandates;emd
. Pressedone statesuperintendent to withdrawgrantfundingfrom a district that
dsmoteda principalin a participatingschool.
In regulare-maildiscussions,ChristopherJ. Doherty,the ReadingFirst directorat
the U.S. Deparfmentof Hducationuntil last September, andG. ReidLyon, a
branchchief al the NationalInstituteof Child Health andHumanDevelopment
until June2005andan influential advissrto the initiative,closelymonitored
states'progressin applyingfor ReadingFirst money,in issuingsubgrantsto
districts,andin complyingwith the law's provisionsfor scientificallybased
insfruc,tion.They alsoworkodout skategiesfor interveningwheretheydeemed
more fbderal control was warranted.
"We ding peopleall the time in ReadingFirst," h4r,Dohertywrots in March
2005,after hepressuredilinois educationleadersto pull funding8om a distict.
"'Wedon't like to do it, of course,but we do it ber:auss
othsrwiseR-Fturnsto crap
andmeansnothing,jusl anothgrfundingstreamto do whateverit is you were
goingto de anyway."
Someformer fedsralofficials andsupportersof the programarguethat such
oversightwas essentialto its success,but a numberof stateand localofficials
tcok offenseandquestionedwhetherReadingFirst staffmembersexceededtheir
authority.Somepolicy expertssaytheycamecloseto doingso.
o'That'san unprecedented level of interferencsn"
saidChristopherT. Crcss,a
policy consulmntfor Crass& JoftusLl,C in Danvlile, Calif. Mr. Crosshelped
write the ban againstfederalinterveniionin cuniculum andinstructianinto ihe
ElementaryandSecondaryEducationAci in the 1970sandlater servedas an
 Page9

assistantsecretaryin the EducationDepartrnentunderPresidentGeorgeH.V/.

Bush.
The languagewas left in whenthe law wasreauthorizedas theNo Child Lefi
Behind Act in 2001.It statesthat federalemployeesareprohibitedfrom
exercising"any direction,supervision,or controlover the curiculum, pragramof
inskuction,administration,or personnelof any educationalinstitution,school,or
schoolsystern."
'"Theintenlionin'hentlmt languagewasput into the $fatute,"Mr. Crosssaid,'\uas
that thesewsre decisionsthat hadta be madeat the local level in connectionwith
Iocal sl^rdards.I think there'sno questionwh*t went on [in ReadingFirstJis
right on the borderof crossingthe line on that provision."

Showdownin Rackford
A higfulycritical reportissuedby the EducationDepertment'sinspectorgeneral
last fall concludedthat federaloflicials may haveoverste,pped
their authorityin
craftingthe stict requirements..lnspector GeneralJohnP. HigginsJr. alsosaid
thoseofficials seemedto favor a particularinstructionalmethodwhile discrediting
others.("ScathineRepod Castg_CloudOver' Reading First'.:j
</edarticley_?905/.i0i0al06rsad.h?.6,ht$l: Oct. 4, 2006.)
The crassandsometimesvulgare-mail exchanges that underpinncdthe in$pector
goneral'$ftndingssturnredmany educatorsandpolicymakers.The findings led to
a shakeupin the deparhnsnt'sReadingFirst office.
But advocatesof the program,and alliesof Mr. Doherty,protestedthat the repod
was overblownandhadunfairly selectedsensationale-mailsto painta dedicated
andeffectiveernployeeas a rogueoperatorwithin the department.The e-mail
record,however,showsMr. Doholty's aggressive and arroganttonerepeatedin
messages to Mr. Lyon andothercolleagues,
The e-mailswere obtaineiby Educationllleekanda complainantin a cass
againstthe Deparhnentof Educationthroughthe Freedomof InformationAst.
E-mail Excerpts
I am goi.ngto reviewall my flndianal Jiles on lu{onday.Havingdoneno subgrants
yet, it may he hard to makesomethingstick,but if they are trying to go soft with
the requtrements, theyarelust asgood a candidate{is any otherstateto show
them/therest lhat RF is NAT just a:notherfederalreadingprogram that can be
fiouted.
-ReadingFirsf Director ChristopherJ. Dohertylo G. Reid Lyon, a branchchief
for the Nation*l Instituteof Child HealttrarrdHumanDevelopment,citing
concemsthatIndianaofficialsmaynot be takingReadingFirst requiroments
seriouslyenough,March2,2003
Monitoring will be key us utual. Thqt wtll gamethe system{they can. Theythink
thq havealreadydoneeverythingand are getting the RF buclcs to shine shit.
How strongshou[dI be with respectto guidanceat the higheststatelevel.I will
meetwith Cov.{KathleenJSebeliwin the morning.How eletailedshouldI be with
 Page10

respectto theshortcomings-
-Mr- Lyon to Mr. Doherty regardingKansas'ReadingFirst program,April 16,
2AA3
I have beenin good, regular touch with Everett Barnes,pres" OfkluIC Research
Corp.,which doesboth fReading First TechnicalAssistanaeJ andsone
fComprehasiveJ Centerwork, too re: the ShaywitzreI]ort and I am very happy to
learn that youfi.ndit scathtngand clear in its conclwions/recommendations. Nol
happy that NYC is dotng something this bad, af course,jwt glad that the report is
'On
not the usualerluivocattng theonehand,.,but on the other...'kind of
stufi.-..thisk nat a 'duelingstperls'kind of thing. Thk has theF[at Earth Saciety
on oneside andpeoplewho owrdanderstand globeson the other.
-Mr. Dohertyto Mr. Lyon, referringto a review of New York City's literacyplan,
Aug.79,2AA3
Confidentially:...|{ell, I spoketo fa NewJerseyafrcia\ with a roomfulaf others
on their endand they are HAITING thefandtng of Rigby anel,while we were at it,
Wright Group. TheySTOPPEDthe districts who wantedto usethoseprograms.
Wewon in Matne,w€ won in New Jersey.Morale is slq'high ccrossthe country.
Statepla:ashavegonefront*on average-crap,to eachone being-atleast on pilper-
strong and alignedwi.th{scientificallyhasedreadingresearchJ,and u,ehave lots
of monitoring muscletofler and {teehnicalassistanceJbrains to provide- Strong
law, grealfandfutg,solid,guiding science,Wearewinning.
-Mr. Dohertyto Mr. Lyon, in referenceto therejectionof readingtextbooksthat
they viewedasnot meetingfederalrequiremerrto, Sept,5r2003
Jwt got off thephone (again)vtith RandyDunn.He confirrnsthat pllinoisJ has
frozen Roc$ord's RF renainder of 8638,633and we are workingonfinalizing
this together.Please,closehold. Therearelwill he be consequences
for
Rocffird's tdiocy,And kids,unfortunately,arepayingfor the deelsionsaf adults,
again.
-Mr- Dohertyto Mr, Lyon, Feb.15,2005
SOTIRCE:NationalInstitutesof Health
Somestateandlocal officials saidthey felt butliedby Mr. Doherty.One suchcase
playedout in Rockford,Ill,, in early2005,afferfederalofficials receivede-mail
messages abouta principalat a ReadingFirst schoolthere.Theprincipalwas
reassignedafterbattling with district ofllcials overreadinginstructionat Lewis
LemonElementarySchool.The new superintendent, Der:nisThompson,and
district directorof instnrctionMarthaHayeswantedthe schoolto supplernontits
direct-insbuctionmodel with morevariedreadingselectionsand writing activities
after determiningthat studentswer6n't beingpreparedfor the morerigorous
courseworkof the latergrades.
The principalreceivedhelp from a local supporterof the NationalRight to Read
Foundation,which promotesphonicsinstruction.RobertW SweetJr., then an
influentialsenioranalystwith the educationcommitteeof the U.S.Houseof
Representativesand fhe founderof theNRRF,askedMr. Lyon to look into fre
 Page11

matter.Mr. Lyon corresponded

withMr. Doherty a direct-instructionadvocate,
aboutthe needto applypressureto stateleadersin lllinois.
In March of 2005,afler numeroustelephonediscussionsand a meetingwittr state
schoolsSuperintendontRandyDunn, Mr. Doherty senta letter to the state,
expressinghis dissatisfaction
with Illinois' implernentation of the granr.Mr,
Dohertycitedthe Rockfordcaseandthe state'shiring of an employeefor the
ReadingFirst programwho he thoughtdjd not subscribeto scientificallybased
readingresearch.He infonnedMr. Dunnthat the statewasbeing"designatedin
needof correctiveactio4" sndwould be subjectto additionalmonitoring,
consequently riahingthe lossof millions of dollarsin futuregrantfunding.
"Clearly thsrervereissuesof programcompliancein Rookford andwe were
worki:rgto addressthem,"saidMr. Dunn,the stateschoolschiefuntil last manth.
"But the situationwith the principal therehad given a greateirtreeto the feds to
startwielding a heavyhand.Theytook an opportunilywith a situationthat was
kind of se,paatefrom the ReadingFitstprogramto get aholdof us,the state,
directly by the thmat."
Mr. Thompson,the dishict chief,saidthe issuewasa personnelmatter,unrelated
to ReadingFirst.He saidhe wasn'tevenawarethat federaloflicials were
involved andkept apprisedofthe situationin Rockforduntil informedby
Education Week.
Mr, DoherfyandMr. Lyon e-mailedeachotherrepeatedlyaboutthe situation,
sometimesin responseto Mr. Sweet'squeries,They expressed outrageat what
appearedto themto be misbeahnentofthe principalanddistrict officials'
prograrnwith "their ill-fatedwrong turn to
underminingof the direct-instruction
balancedliteracy."
Although '"balancedliteract'' is viewedby manyeducatorsasan approach
incorporatinga variety of skills- andliteratrue-based
readingmethods,it is
consideredcodefor'1n{rolelanguage"by Mr. Dohertyandotherspushingmore
explicit andsystematicinstruction.
The field of readingirnkuction hasbeenmarkedfor decadesby disputesoverthe
bestapproachto teachingreading-generally speaking,a phonics-based vs. a
litmature-based approach.Overthe pastdecade,a consensus hasemergedthat a
combirraticnof approaches is best,althoughthereis still considerable
debateover
how much skills instructionis needsd.
In responseto Mr. Doherty'sdemands,Illinois bied to senda monitoringteamto
investigateRockfcrd's ReadingFirstprogram.Mr. Thompsonrefusedto
cooperatewith the statebfficials andfederalconsultantswho visited,sayingthe
shortnoticewouldhavedisruptedschcols'operations. Mr, Dohertythendirected
the stateto freezeths district'sfunding,andultimatslyto withdrawthe grant.
Thoseactionsprompts.danothere-mail from Mr. Lyon: "wow - Talk abouta guy
with srnarts,integrity AND balls," he wrote."l am talking aboutyou Chris."
The principal at lrwis LemonElernentarysuedthe district.Distict officials said
a seftlementwasreachedin the case.butcouldnot discussthedetails.
 Page12

'"Theymadeall thesejudgmentsaboutus whentheyknew absolutelynothing

aboutwhat we were doing" saidMr. Thompson,who addedthathe was
perplexd how the revisionsto the readingplan could be perceivedas whole
language."We endedup gettingintc a war of labels."
Mr. Doherfywould not commentfor rhisstory.SandiJacobs,who helped
administerReadingFi:st as a seniorprogramspecialistwith the Education
Departrnent,saidsheandMr. Dohertybelievedthat the Rockforddiskict was
"$everelyandsignificantlyout of cornpliance.'o
They thenpressedstateofficials
to dealwith thCImatter.

New York Story

In New York City, federaloflicialsjunrpedinto the fray over readinginshuction
monthsbeforethe stateeveirappliedfor ReadingFirst mon€y,Whencity Schools
ChancellorJoelL Klein unveiledhis plansfor a districtwideliteracyframework
in January2003,his actiondrew criticismfrom a numberof readingexperts,who
arguedthat a highly structured,phonics-basedprogramwould servestudents
berterthanthe literature-andr.vriting-based
plan.
Rod Paige,theU.S. sesretaryof educationat the time, askedMr. Lyon to help
city officials in understandingtheresearchon sffectiveinstruction,accordingto
an accounlof the eventsMr. Lyon sentin an e-mailto a prominentreading
researchsr.A groupof rssearchers associated
with fhe NICHD, Mr. Lyon's
agency,thenwrote a letterto Mr. Klein detailingwhy theybelievedhis "balanced
literacy" programwas not sufficientlyresearch-bassd. The researchers
subsequentlymet wiih DeputyChancellorDianaLam and otherdiskict officials
to discusstheirevaluation.
'New York Cily wass big concern,andlegitimatelyso," Mr. Lyon saidin an
interviewthismonth."If you put in placea newprogramthat changeslhe rules,
and you havea city like New York getthemoneyandflout the rules,then
everyoneelsewould want to do thesamething."
After district officials addeda strongerphonicstext, one of the researchers
involved in the review lold EducationlTeeksheconsideredit a sound
instructionalapproach.("N..Y.C.Hang$.Topgh.Q_v.-e:Maverick-Curriculum."
<&rv/.qrtiples/2q03/ I U I 5"/07n [E{: Oct. 15, 2003.)
vccuni6.h23.

BalancedLiteracy Rebuffed
But later in 2003,asNew York stateu'asnegotiatingwith federalofficials over its
{inal ReadingFiist plan, federalofficials andconsultantstook anotherstabat
persuadingcity officials to takea differenttack on readinginstruction.
In the interview,Mr. Lyon said stateofficialsrequestedguidanceon how New
York City couldmeetReadingFirst criteria.Sally Shatwitz, a Yals University
professoranda memberof the NationalReadingPanel-acongressionally
mandatedcommitteethat issuedan influential2000reporl on readingresearch-
andtwo otherresearchers conductedihe roview.
 P a g e1 3

Mr. Lyon helpedarrangefor thoseresearcher$ to meetwith ChancellorKlein to

outline their findingsanddiscusshow thecity's schoolscould benefitfrom a
commercialcoreprogramfor roacling,insteadof the customizedframeworkthe
city had crafted.
A federalcontractorfor ReadingFirst oversawthe review andrecommendedthat
a task force,c.onsisting
of Ms. Shaywitzandotherkey researchers, be appointed
to help the districtchoosean appropriateprogram.
Mr. Lyon regularlyehockedin with Mr. DohertyofReadingFint to ask,,'C&n
you brief rneon the statusof theNYC RF applicationasI am gettinges frorn
higher." Therequestcontinued:"Did theydo the right thing?" Later,Mr. Lyon
indicatedthst therewas"WH interest."
The formerNICHD branchchief,who managedthe $120million grantprograrn
for readingresearchat theNationallnstitutesof Healthin Bethesda,Md., asked
anotherrosearcher, an authorof theOpenCourt commercialreadingcurriculum,
to help him makethe casefor a structured,cornprehensive coreprogram.Mr.
Lyon said he soughtadvicefrom the researcher, Marilyn Adams,becauseof her
long-standingreputationin readingresearch.He did not considerherlink to Open
Court a conflict of interesibecause her commitmentwas to the researchfirst. '*I
needgood dalafast,"Mr. Lyonu'rote to Ms. Adarnsin August2003,after
describingMr. Klein's reluctaneeto adopt"an evidencebasedprosam like Open
court" becauseof the mixed resultsofthe programin otherbig cities,and the
alternativeapproaches beingusedin BostonandSanDiego.*I think he will listen
if rvecan show gainsfrom evidencebasedprograms."
Mr. Lyon alsoacknowledges in the e-mailthat the text wasjust oneof the
esseirtialcomponents,
"teachersand implementationbeingas important."
In e-mailsto MargaretSpellings,who wasPresidentBush'schief domestic-policy
adviserbeforebecomingeducationsecretaryMr. Lyon discusses "}rfY City,"
accordingto the subjectline. AII but oneline wasredactedunderan exemptionin
the federaj freedom-of-informationlaw that considerspendingdecisionsto be
confidential.In the end,Mr. Lyon asks,"Let me know if you wantme to do
anything."
kr sharingthemessagewith Mr. Dohsty, Mr, Lyon commented:"Gees- this
neverstops- we haveto win thisone."
When the BducationDepartrnentinspectorgoneral'sreportwasreleased,now-
SecretarySpellingssaidthattheproblemscited"reflectedindividualmisfakes."
But at leastoneformerEducationDepar-frnent official hassuggestedthatMs.
Spellingsrvasdeeplyinvolvedin theprogramwhile workingat theWhite House.
"Shemicromanaged the implementafionof ReadingFirst fromher WestWing
office,n'MichaelJ. Petrilli,who workedin the department from 2001to 2A()5,
underSecretaryPaigeandSecretarySpellings,wrote in theNational Review
online last fall, "Shewastheleadingcheerle aderfor an aggressiveapproach."
 Page14

Mr. Penilli, norva vice presidentof theThornasB- FordhamPoundation"a

Washingtonthink lank, hasarguedthatMr. Doherty did what officials in tlie
White HouseandCongressexpectedhim to do.
Ms. Spellingshasnot respondedto theallegationsabouther role. The Education
Departrnentdid not respondto e requestfor commentlast week.
Nsw York statew*s awardedit's ReadingFirst gra* in September2003, In the
en4 New York City relentedandchosea commercialreadingpropam-Harcourt
Trophies-forits 49 ReadingFirst schools,but stuckwith tbe balanced-literacy
programto guidereadinginstuction at other schools.
The 1.1million-studentdistrict'sReadingFirst flrndingis consideredvulnerable
becausethe inspectorgeneralfou:rdits pant applicationshouldnot havebeen
approved,andrccommended that thestaletakeback its $107million grsnt.
ChancellorKlein would not cofiment for this article.But in a August2003
interviewwith I&e Nqw York Tintes,he said:"I think it's a 'less fillingitastes
great' debate.I don't believecurriculumsarethe key to education.I believe
teachersare."

FingerprintsSlsewhere
Many otherReadingFirst detailslargeandsmall cameto the attentionof Mr.
Lyon andMr. Dohertybefween2003and2005,which theydiscussed by e-mail.
Mr. Lyon alsovisited statesto provideguidanceon ReadingFirs:.
In March 2003,for example,he agreedt0 meetwith a handftl of hdiana
legislatorswho rcquestedhis adviceonwa)isto ensurettratstateofficials adhered
to ReadingFirstmandates. Mr. Lyon suggested fhe slatewould needextra
monitoringbecauseof tlepotential for noncompliance, which could senda
messageto otherstatesof the consequences of not adheringto the requirements.
The legislatonhad suggested to Mr. Lyon that stateeducationofficials in lndiana
werenot readyto abandonits existingreadingapproach.
After meetingwith offrcialsin louisiana andNorth CarolinE Mr. Lyon told Mr.
Doherfythattheyneededto discussvariousissuesof concern,includingthe
assessmsntsandeonsultantsthatthe stateswereplanningto useundertheir
ReadingFirsi grants.The fwo federalofficials discussedLouisiana'sdesireto use
an assessmentfor ReadingFirst schoolsthat they did not deemresearch-based,
andMr. Lyon suggested to a North Carolinaadministratorthat a textbookby a
well-knownreadingresealchsrwas inappropriatefor usein ReadingFirst training
sessions,
communityleaders,or parsntsalertedthem to some
l,ocal educatcrs,researchersr
issues.
OneNew JerseyparentaskcdMr. Lyon for help in July 2003,becausestats
officials were*llowing the useof a Wright G*'t p readingprogram,ownedbythe
McCraw-HitlCos.Shedidn't considerihe textresearch-based, Mr. Lyon alerted
Mr. Doherty.TheReadingFirst director recalled lhal "we forcedMaine.todrop
 P a g e1 5

the bad program.n'BySeptember2003,nearlya yeara{terNew Jersey'sgranthad

beenapproved,New Jerseyoffrcialsdisallowedfunding for the text.
"As you may remember,RF got Maine to UNDO its alreadymadedecision to
haveRigbybe oneof their fwo approvedcoreprograms(I{a, ha - Rigby as a
COR-Eprogram?\ltrenpigs flyl) We alsoasyou may recall,got NJ to stop its
disticts from usingRigby (andthe Vfright Croup,btw) and aredoingthe samein
Mississippi,"Mr. Doherfywrote in October2003,"This is for your FYI, as I think
this program-bashingis bestdoneoff or underthe majorradarscreens."
In May 2005,HarcourtAchieveInc., which ownsthe Rigby Literacyprogrart
issueda pr€ssreleaseoutliningchangesit madeto the programto ensureit
atignedmorecloselywith research.The changeswereprompted,the company
said,by deficienciesthat werebrouglrtlo light by the ReadingFirst grant reviews.
And vrhena TexasconsultantinfcrrmedMr. Lyon andlvk. Dohertyof breachesin
that state'sReadingFirst programbythe interim statecommissionetof education,
they debatedin a seriesof e-mail exchanges with a researchsr how bestto get
stateofficials backin line. They discussedgettinginfluentialadvisersto theBush
administration,andfederalofficials with Texasties, to put pressureon the state
educationdeparilnent.

Hypervi gilanceD efended

By many accounts, Mr. Doherty,a formerdirectorof a Baltimore.based
reading,was a tirelessleaderfor the
organizationthatoverseesdirect-insfuuction
program.ReadingFirst,rvhichhasthe supportof many educators, was intendedto
bring research-based
instructionto thenation'sunderperformingschools,Mr.
DohertyandMs. Jacobswereessentiallythe only staff msmbersassignedfull
time to theprogram.
Many stateoffrcialsralliedto his defensewhen the inspectorgeneral'sreportwas
last fall. ReadingFirst recentlyreceivedthe highestperformancerating
release.d
of a1lNCLB programsfrom the White HsuseOffice of ManagementandBudget.
"It's not that Re*dingFirst was over the top," M$. Jacobssaid."It's muchmore
lhat manyprograms[administeredby theEducationDepartment]are severely
undermonitored."
Sol Stern,s seniorfellow at the oorwervative
ManhattanInstitutsa$d sn
outspokoncritic of New York City's readingplary alsodefends&e hard-line
approach.
"If Doherty'ssin wasto leanen a stateeducationagencyor fwo to promotea
readingprogrambackedby scionceoveronethat wasn't,well, that'sjust whatthe
ReadingFirst legislationintended,"Ivlr, Stern,wrote in the Winter 2AA7editionof
City Journal, the institute'srnagaeine.
Mr. Lyon, who is designinga teacher-preparationprogramfor the Dallas-based
BestAssociates,saidthis monththat the"hypen'igilantmonitoring'"was
necessary,bul thathe did not anticipatehow theReadingFirstmandates wouldbe
complicatedby theissueof localcontrol.
 P a g e1 6

"Hsre you havelocal control,which historicallyhasalwaysbeenthere,andthen

you haveReadingFirst beingveryprsscriptive,"he said.
"In my mind,ReadingFirst hasto carrythe day," he added.

'ShamefulBehavior'
Critics,otherobservers,andsomestakeholders alike,however,saythe resultsdo
justify theheavy-handed
not necessarily management. Somevendorsclaim their
readingprogramswerenot given a fair shake.The nonprofit Successfor All
progrilm'for example,haslost businessunderthe federalinitiative,accordingto
founderRobertE. Slavin,despiteits extensiveresearchanddocumentedresults.
Many of the e-maildocumentswere obtainedrecentlyby Mr. Slavinfrom the
NationalInstitutesof Flealth,morethan l8 monthsafterhe subrnittedthe request.
Someof the commercialprogramsthathavebeenwidely adoptedby Reading
First schoolsdid not haveany more evideuceof effectivenessthanothersthat
werenot assuccessful.
"The law saidnothingaboutpicking specificprograms,it just indicated
scientificallybasedprograms.But rvhenws lookedat the otherprogramsthat
werebeingapproved,1vesawvery little evidencethat thoseweremore scientific
thanihe oneswe weretrying to use,"saidGeneWilhoit, who asstate
superintendent in Kentuckysentlettersof complaintto the EducationDepartonent
quesiioningthepressurehis agencyreceivedto rejectcer{ainreadingprograms
and assessments.
Mr. Wilhoii, now the executivedirectorof the Council of Chief StateSchool
Officers,said,"We didn't feel like [the federaloversiglrt]wasjust an attemptto
hold onto theintegrity of the program."
SusanB. Neuman,who helpedroll ont theprogramasthe Education
Departrnent'sas$istantsecretaryfor elementaryandsecondaryeducation,agrces.
Someof the e-mailswere alsosharedwith Ms. Neuman,and in a few of the
exchanges,Mr. Dohertyindicatedhe wasrelayingMs. Nzuman'sviews on how
the programshouldbe carriedout,
But in one e-mailto her, lvlr. Dohertysuggeststhat sheshouldnot be involved in
the talksoverstateapplicationsandimplementation,Ms. Neuman,who left the
deparnnentin Janu*ry2003,hassaidthat shewas left out of manydiscussions
with stateoffioials.
"They far exceededtheir mandats,"shosaid in an interuiew,referringto Mr.
Dohertyandotherfederalofficials."We wantedto figure out rvaysthat we could
makeReadingFirst a morepowerfulintervention[than previousfederal
programsj,but certainlynot in miorcmmraging schooldistricts."
"In thebeginning,"Ms. Neumanadded,'this was an honesteffort to make
something better,... but this is shamefulbehavior."
Vol. ?6,Issue24,Pages1,18
 Page17

2 0 0 7 . 0 2 . 2 3 , D a v i d D u n nO
. Rees p i t e s t u m b r e s. t x r
From: D u n n ,D a v i d
seilt: r e b r u a r y 2 3 , 2 0 A T1 : 5 7 g u
I9;",,'Yi|?'ii-$EI!:.l3i;nffi?-3lf;l;"ili.fi$}};P[}flYi*,*iii]i,
Landers, Ange'la; Maddox, Lauren; l.tcnitt, TownsendL,; Mesecar, Douq;
Pitts, cfizabeth; tucker, sara Frart'inez; scheessele, Marc; Simon, aay; ].ada,
w e n d y ; r a l b e r t , K e n t ; T o o m e y , L ' i a m ; ' t y o u n g 0 u i h o . e o p . g o v;' w i l l i a m s ,
Cynth'ra; Young, Tracy
c c : _ _ c o l p y , c h a d ; - D i t t o , T r e y ; N e a l e , R e b e c c a ;R e i c h , H e i d i ; R u b e r g , C a s e y ;
Terre | | , Jul1e; Yudof, saftara
subject: R e : o e s p i t e s t u m b l e s , R e a d ' i n gr ' i r s t i m b u e s s c i e n c e i n t o j n s t r u c t i o n
(rdlcation pai 1y)

Very nice.
sent from my BlackBerry wireless ttandheld

-----ori gi nal i,lessage-----

From: Mclane, Katherine
T o , P r i v a t e - s p e ' l 1 i n g s , M a r g a r e t ; B e a t o n , m e r e d i t h ; r r i g g s , K e r r i ; D u n f i , oavid ;
Evers, sill;
F l o w e r s , s a r a h ; H a l a s k a , T e r r e l l ; : o h n s o n , H e n r y ; K u z n i c h , H o l l y ; t a n d e r s , angela;
t,taddox,
L a u r e n ; u c n j t t , T o w n s e n dt - , ; M e s e c a r , D o u g ; p i t t s . e l i z a b e t h ; r u c k e r , s a r a uarti nez;
s c h e e s s e le ,
Marc; simon, Ray; Tada, !,qndyl talbert, Kent; Toomey, Liarr; Tracy young
< t y o u n g @ w h o . e o p . g o v >w; ' i l l i a m s , c y n t h i a ; Y o u n g , T r a c y
C C :_ c o l b y , C h a d ; n i t t o , T r e y ; ' N e a l e , R e b e c c a ; R e i c h , t - t e i d i ; R u b e r g , c a s e y ; r e r r e l l ,
lulie; Yudof,
Samara
sent: rrf reb 23 08:30:34 2007
subject: Despite stumb'les, Reading First imbues science into "instruction {education
oai I y)
oespite stumbles, Reading rirst imbues science into instruction (Education oaily) sy
feanne
svveeneyand Stephen sawchuk Education oai1y, February 7.3. 20AT
neading Fi rst , the t'to chi ld t-eft eehi nd nct' s K-3 readi ng i ni ti ati ve, has, for al l
its tr6ubles,'
m a n a g e dt o q u " i e t ' l y s h e p h e r d a n e v o l u t f o n i n r e a d i n g i n s t r u c t i o n t h a t h a s m o s t
researchers ,
educators, ald policymakers agreeing on at leasl one thing: science can tell us
nuch about the
way children beqomereaders.
The scandal over whether the Education Oepartmentfavored somecommercia'lprograms
has
attrac-ted media attention to the program, but for local officials, that has
overshadowedthe
p r o q r a m ' s r e a l . s u c c e s s - a s e a c h a n q e ' i n h o w t e a c h e r s a D p r o a c hr e a d i n q i n s t r u c t i o n .
i q o t i v a t e d b y H c l a ' s d e m a n dt h a t a ' l l - c h i l d r e n r e a d a t g r b i l e 1 e v e 1 b y 2 6 1 4 , d i s t r i c t s
are
increasing'ly adopting research-basedpractices to teach a set of specific skills
defined by the
Natjonal Readin€ Panel as essential for everv oroficient reader.
that chanqe has"foster€d collaboration amonotbachers and consistencv behind
cl assroom-doors
"Teachers are al1 speakfng the same language, they have a csrunonvocabulary," said
Sandra
K o { z w a r a , w h o w r o t e P u t n a mc o u n t y ( T e n n . ) s c h o o l s ' R e a d i n g r i r s t g r a n t .
As districts focus on instruction, however, the program is engendering new debates
over whether
classroom-instruction is too rigid and scripted, whether the focus on the five
eage I
 Page18

Despite stumbles'txt
readinq skirrs r, .#ot'0?'23'Davidsunn'Re
ngffqw; or whether it is appropriate to prescribe one method of teaching when
chiJdren's readinq
skills vary widel! in the early grades.
Riso up in the a'ir is the program's future, education stakeholders generally believe
the orogram
will'be*part of the No chjld t-eft sehind nct reauthorjzation, but questions remajn
about what
tweaks congress might make to Reading Fi.st in light of the scandal * and whether
those tweaks
couid impact the program's instructional conponents.
"People $rant to get their pound of flesh politica'lly," s a i d A n d r e wR o t h e r h a m ,
co-di rector of the
xducation Sector.
rive componentsEnacted at a critical time in the decades*long "reading wars"
between
proponents,of-old-style phonics instruction and advocates of whole language,
observers declared
neading First a win for the trad'itionalists, The legislation spec"ifically adopted
the NRF's
r e c o m m e n d a t i o nt h a t a l l c h i l d r e n b e i n s t r u c t e d i n f i v e s k i l l s : p h o n e m i c a w a r e n e s s ,
p h o n ic s ,
vocabulary, fluency and comprehension.
ep officia'ls implemented this requ"iremextto the point of misconduct, accord{ng
to a series of
internal reviews (see box), turning downstates'grant applications until they
promised to adhere to
ED's narrow specifications.
But as monev started flowinq, acceptance of the NRp's recommendationsqrew.
" w e ' r e n o t h e r e t o e x p e r i m e n t w i t h ' o u r c h i J d r e n , " s a i d J a m e sH e r m a n ,d i r e c t o r o f
neadinq Fjrst in
Tenneslee. "ws have to know what yvorks,"
And as one former federal neading rfrst official says, whichever program districts
ul ti matel y
selected, its inpact lay'in howwell teachers used it to instruct to the f"ive
colnponents.
"Mest programs will say they have those five components," said sandi Jacobs, former
n e a d in g
rirst program officer. "[eut] if yorJ're not talking about explicit and systematic
i nstructi 0n, t,hen
you're not necessarily ta'lking about scientifically based reading instruction."
ieacher prep t,ihile coirtrovers! at the national levbl has centered on textbooks and
favored
publishers, school officials say the most fundamental element of their Reading First.
proorams nas
b e e i s t a f f d e v e l o p m e n t . r h a t ' s b e c a u s em o s t p r a c t i c i n g t e a c h e r s w e r e n o t e d u c a t e d i n
the five
componentsof neadjng, and are not equ'ippedto apply research-based strategies in
the classroom,
"y'le had to reeducate our teachers in the five components," Koczwara said.
"rt's neally three p'ieces," lacobs said, noting that professional development and
i nst ructi onal
s t r a t e g i e s a r e u 1 t - i m a t e l y g r o u n d e d i n o n g o ' i n gp r o g r e s s m o n i t o r i n g o f s t u d e n t , s '
orowth and areas of
fieakness. "Anything thar says this is all about a textbook is just total'ly wrong."
Louisa Moats,-a relding conlultant and researcher with Sopris ilest, said the
combination has
esoeciallv impacted hiqh-needs schools
"what Reaaing First ha5 been able to engender through professional development,
coachi ng ,
accountibility, leadership training and an underst*nding of the practjces that work
better than
others, is a complete change in the functioning of a school cu'lture," Moats sajd.
eage 2
 Page19

2 0 0 7. A 2 . 2 3 . D a v ' i d D u n n . n o
ee s p i t e s t u m b l e s . t x t
too scripted?
A testament to that change is districts are now debating the hows rather than the
whys of
scientifically based readinq instruction.
For examp1e,,-severalpopulaF curnicula, such as the widely used open court, have
i nst ructi onaJ
routines on each of the fjve componentsthat dictate what the teacher is to do and
say when
introducin0 the readinq technique.
s o n r el e a d e F s h a v e p r a i 5 e d t h a t ' a p p r o a c h f o r f a c i l i t a t i n g program fjdelity.
" l { e ' v e s t a y e d p u r e t o t h e c u r r i c u l u m , t e a c h i n g t h e s t a n d a r d s , " s a i d r u a n c yL u c i a ,
associ ate
superintendent in Elk crove (calif.) unified scho91 nistrict, which uses open court.
others, though, characterize the approach as overly "scripted."
"[t'tany districts] use the series Jike a cut and dry recipe and it doesn't always
work well." said
cathy.nolier, director of research and policy for the International neading
, q 5 5 0 C 1a t l ( } n .
Moats said such curricula are highly structured and help teachers internalize a
routi ne.
And administrators agre€ their teachers do more than adhere to a script. rn Elk
Grove, academ"i c
support teams set annual targets for each student, monitor progress regularly and
adjust instruction
as necessary, Lucia said,
S t ' i l 1 , r e a d i n g i s m u c h m o r e c o m p l e x t h a n f i v e c o m p o n e n t s ,n o l l e r a r g u e s , " M o t i v a t i o n
i s c n u c i a l .t"' r t
she said, d o e $ n ' t d o a n y g o o d t o cover the five coftponefits if you've got k'ids
who don' t vrant
to do it."
Tweaking the modeJ one of the concerns for sone researchers is whether it is
approprlate to
a s s u m €a l l c h i l d r e n - e v e n a l l a t - r i s k c h ' i l d r e n - n e e d i d e n t i c a l i n s t r u c t i o n i n t h e
primary grades
in a typical Reading First rnodel, a1'l children receive 90 to 120 minutes of daily
core 'tnstructl 0n 'l n
a w h o J e - g r o u ps e t t i n g , o f t e n c a l l e d T ' i e r 1 " , w i t h s u p p l e m e n t a l i n s t r u c t i o n a n d
lnterventlOns rn
successive tiers for struqqlers.
But even within Tier 1 telEhers should tailor activit'ies to the skil'l level of
indivtdual children, says
carol connor, a researcher at rlorida State university and the rlorida center for
Readinq
Researth, one of the eu-funded neading First techn'ical assistance centers "There is
a tendency to
rely too much on the core curricu'lum," she said. "!ve don't want everyone to be on
the same page
a t t h e s a m et i m e . "
Adm'in'istrators share her concern,
" O u r u p p e r q u ' i n t i l e s t u d e n t s a r e n o t m a k i n g a s m u c h p r o g r e s s , " K o c z w a r as a j d . " T h a t
15 0n€ ol
the areas we need to 'look at."
l'/toats sai d i deal 1y , teachers di fferent'i &te i nstructi on f rom the begi nni ng and use
the ongoing
progreis monitoring to adjust instruct-ion. such a practice rnodels th€ tradit'ional
tiered "readi no
grcups" used ii american elementary schoo"ls.Th€ djfference, Moats noted, is the
focui on qetti ns
students il'ith tfie weakest skills causht up.
:acobs said the best approachjs probably'a mix. "The key'is ensuring that time is
well and
appropriately spent."
rage 3
 Page20

2OO7 tE ed.
.03.07.oavidDunn. t. nllowedsinqli Read'i pi rst p

Froil: Mclane, Katherine

sent: wednesday, March 07, 2007 8:l-7 Afi
T o : D u n n , D a v i d ; t v t a d d o xL, a u r e n ; c o n a t y , J o s e p h ; f a r r i s , A m a n d a i5 i m o n , R a y ; L a
Force,
Hudson; ra) bert, Kent; Rosenfe'lt, ph'il
Cc: Ruberg, Casey; Quesinberry, Elaine
subject: Ed. oept. *Ilowed singfing out Of'Reading First' Products (eowcer)
€d. Dept. a'llowed singling out of 'Reading rirst' Products (EDwEEK)
ey xathleen KennedyManzo
Education lveek, March 7, 2OA7
The U.S. Department of education erred from the outset of the Reading First program
in focusinq'
o n s e l e c t e i l r e a d ' i n g p r o g r a m s a n d a s i n g l e a s s e s s m e n ti n t r a i n i n g s e s s i o n s f o r s t a t e
offi ci al s
?pplying for a share of the $1 billion-a-year progratn, a report by the department's
l n s p e c t o r g e n e r aI
concl udes.
pederal officials also failed to screen a contractor for potential bias and
conflicts of interest, says
th€ report unveiled last month.
Those brrors led to widespread confusion over the program's requirements and fueled
percepti ons
that there was ail approved"ljst of commercialtexts and tests for use in Reading
ri rst. Moreover!
the department did not ensure that employeesand representatives fol'lowed legal
restrictions that
orohibit them from directinq olinfluencins c u r n i c u l u m a n d a s s e s s m e n td e c i s i o n s .
The report, the fifth in a ieries on neadiig rirst, provides further evidence of
questi onable
managementpractices in the program.
Page l"
 Page21

2007,03-07.DavidDunn.BE Ed_..oepJ.allowed singl_i-ng ou!_of neading rirst products (enwreK),txt

"The content of what lthe inspector general's auditors] were finding, to me anyway,
seemsawfully
damn"ing,pl!'ticu'larly since it seems[departnentofficials] had an opportunity to
recoon]ze tnel r
erroF and correct jt any numbeo r f t i m e s , " s a i d n o b e r t g , s l a v i n , t h e c o - f o u n d e ro f
the Baltirnore-
based succe$s for a'l'l poundation, whose a'llegat'ions of misrnanagenentof Reading
Fi rst helped
launch the federal investiqation Jast vear,
rhe first report offered a*scathing critique last fall of the Education Department's
oversight of the
grant-lpplication process, rt concluded that federal officia'ls seened biased toward
a partlcu lar
fnstructional approach, direct instructjon, and did not screen consultants for
potential conflicts of
1n t e r e s t .
T h a t . ] e n g t h y r e v i e w b y r n s p e c t o r c e n e r a l : o h n p , t t t g g i n s J r . u / a sp u n c t u a t e d b y
e-mail exchanges
between federal officials that suggested extensive interfenence in state grant
proposals and
implementation. ("e*uails Reveal redera'l Reachover Readjng," Feb. 21", 2007.)
Education Dgpartment officia-ls "have completed or are in the process of completing
overv one of
the lc's recommendations,"press secretary Katherine McLanewrote in a Feb. 23
e-mai 1 .
rhe federal tto child Left Behind lct, whtch authorized Reading rirst f"ive years ago,
states that
federal employeesare prohib'ited from exercising "any d'irection, supervision, or
control over the
curriculum, prograrn of instruct"ion, administration, or personnel of any educational
i nsti tuti on ,
school. or school gystem."
But it appears that-officials s k i r t e d that rule from the outset. As the education
Departmentnolled
o u t . t h e p r o g r a m ,i t h e l d s e m i n a r st o h e l p s t a t e o f f i c i a l s u n d e r s t a n d t h e g r a n t s '
st.rl ct requlrements.
three Readingleadership Academies,h e l d i n w i n t e r 2 0 0 2 , i n c l u d e d w o r k s h o p s ,k e y n o t e
a d d r e s s e s ,a n d p a n e l d i s c u s s j o n so n reading research, assessments,and instructional
materials. The
s p e a k e r s a t s o m eo f t h o s e s e s s i o n s , a s w e l J a s t h e g u f d e b o o k d i s t r i b u t e d a t a l l
three academies,
specified products and approaches. ("some Educators See neading Rules as Too
Restrictive. " Feb.
20, ?002.)
A 'selJ JOb'
l panel d'iscussion that was part of the academies, for example, featured educators
an(I
a d m i n t s t r a t o r sw h o d i s c u s s e dc e r t a i n p r o g r a m s ,p r i m a r i l y d i r e c t i n s t r u c t i o n , c r e a t e d
by a researcher
at the un'iversity of oregon, and open cDurt Reading,published by the Newyork
ci tv-based
M c c l ' a w * H i ' lCI o s .
Thosematerials were also discussedin other sessions, which causedsome
participants to complain
t h a t t h e y w e r e b e i n g s u b j e c t e dt o a " s e l l j o b . " A n o t h e r q u i p p e d , " r t h i n k r ' 1 1 g o
buy shares in open
Court. "
M o r et h a n h a ' l f a d o z e np a g e si n t h e ' i n s p e c t o l g e n e r a l ' s r e p o r t s u m m a r j z ceo m m e n t s
from those
who attended the academies.
rn the thick binder that was handed out to p a r t i c i p a n t s , t h e r e t v a sa i e n g t h y a n t i c l e
on a readr'ng
Page 2
 Page22

2OO7.O3.07.oavidDunn._RE Ed". Depl. Rllowed S"ingfing out Of neading products (EpwEex).txt

a s s e s s m e n t , t h e D y n a m i cr n d l c a t o r s o f B a s t c E a r l y L ' i t e r a c y s k i^F-i_rst
1 1 s , o r D T B E L S r. h e
test was
deveioped by researchers at the university of oregon, who also served as advisers on
the reading
a s a d e m i e sa n d l a t e r w e r e c o n s u l t a n t s o n i m p l e m e n r i n q R e a d i n o F i r s t .
DTBELSwas "one of many screening tools on the market that Eould have been used to
perform
Reading F'irst lssessments," the inspector general writes, but "only DTBELSwas
featur6d in" the
a c a d e m ym a t e r i a l s ,
That test v*as later included in most state grant applications, and no orher
assessilent is used as
wjde1y in Reading First schools. ("states pressed to nefashion Reading First Grant
Designs," Sept.
7, 2005.)
Someof the feedback offered by the participants praised the speakers and content of
the. academy
seminars; somescolded officials for inc'luding spec'ific product inforrnat{on.
"Please do not promote a progran (open court)-(uirect Inbtruction)," one participant
wrot,e i n
commentsco'llected at the end of th€ first academy, according to the report. "That,
is not the
D e p a r t m e n to f r d u c a t i o n ' s p l a c e t o d o . "
rhe.complaints. compel'ledfbderal officials to clarify for participants in the first
academvthat there
was not an approved "list of programs, but the texts and tests were also discussed in
subsequent
sessl orts.
Then-secretary of Education nod raige issued a statement 'in apr"i1 2002 to dispel the
PqrcePti on
of an approved list, But that view persisted throughout the grant-application
process.
several vendors of. programs perceived as not having federai approval began
complaining that they
w e r e l o s i n g b u s i n e s s ' b e c a u s eo f t h e m f s c o n c e p t i o n , a n d l a s t y e a r a s k e d t h e j n s p e c t o r
general to*
1n v e s t l a a t e .
Presenting Examples
ln responding to the latest report, o€puty secretary of education Raymondl. Simon
wrote that "it
is reasonable that the departnent should be ab"le to present information on certain
Programs, as
long as-it is made clear that the programs presented are rnerely examples of the
types ot programs
that might be supported w'ith Reading First funds and that the presentation was not
intended to be
an endorsementor promoticn of a soecific proqram."
whether intended oi not, sr- slavih sa'id, the-content of the workshops appeared to
do iust that,
"fllEy said there was no recommended list," he said, "but then they kept doing these
thlngs that to
anyone paying the slightest bit of atteiltjon'indicated that there was a'list."
The Government.accountability offtce, the jnvestigative arm of congress, also
J a u n c h e da r e v i e w
last year, rts report is expected 'in the comingweeks,
A notice in the march 1 rederal Register announcedthat the department will convene
a neadi nc
rirst ndiisory Comnittee to review state grant appl'ications and progress reports.
the committee'
wjll include rnembersselected by the education secretary, the Natjonal rnstitute for
t'iteracy, the
N a t i o n a l R e s e a r c hc o u n c j l , a n d t h e x a t i o * a l t n s t i t u t e o f c h i l d N e a ' l t h a n d n u m a n
Development.
rage 3
 Page23

ZAA7.03.07.navidDun_n.Rq Ed. Dept. *llowed Singling out. of n-eadingq'irst products (epweer),txt

The comrhittee is also expected to review the Reading First applicat'ion for puerro
Rico, the only
iurisdiction that has not yet been awardeda grant.
the inspector general's report that cameout in september found that several state
appl i cati ons
had been approved without documentation show'ingthat they met the requireilents.
("scath'i ng
neport casts cloud over 'neading First'," oct. 4, 2006.)
The IG recommended that the department review all neading First applications to
determine if all
the funding requirements had been met.
The inspecror general is set to issue one more report on Reading First, an audit of
a contractorts
administration of technical assistance for the program. The portsmouth, ru.9.-based
RMCCorp.
was involved in the Jeadership academies and gave technical assistance to states as
they prepared
and revised their grant applicat'ions. Rptcalso oversees the Nat'ional Reading rirst
rechni cal
Ass-istance center and its regional centers at F'lorida state University, the
university of oregon,
and the university of rexas at nustin.
tn issuing the RMCcontracts, the Education Department did not put in safeguards
aoainst the
c6ntractor's potential bias or conflicts of interest, the inspector general found.
some of the experts
employed by RMc, for example, were connected to specific programs or assessfients,
and nay
have served as advfsers or reviewers for states that included those products in
the'ir applicat'ions.
A Hashington watchdog group, citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in washington,
or CREW,
said the latest report, supports its complaints against the department. rt is also
suing the
depaitment for the release of documents. "rt is becoming increasingly clear that the
gush
adninjstration has been sacrific'ing the education of children to financially benefit
a select group of
loyalists-and'donors," Melanie 51oan, the executive dir€ctor of the nonprofit
organization, asserted
in a statement.
v o 1, 2 6 , I s s u e 2 6 , e a g e 1 3

Page 4
 Page24

?007.03,25. oavidounn. weekendruewssummary.

txt
Fromr Dunn, Pavid
Sent: t"tarch23, 2007 ?tjz Pts
To: eop.gov'
'scott-B,*}'lalterGwho.
Subject: Fw; WEEKEND NEWS SUMMARY, 3.2r.07
rr storv in nvt.
ror morebalanced
!::11::-li-yl-Ill:--:::-*row
Sent from my BlackBerry wireJess Handheld

-----ori ginal Message-----

From: Neale. Rehecca
To:_carie11o, Dennis; galaska, terrell; Dunn, oav'id; Terrell, Ju1-ie; Rosenfelt,
phil; pitts
eiizabeth; Tucker, sara Martinez; nuberg, casey; xuzmich, Holly; Scheessele, Harc;
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T o w n s e n dL : ; p l o w e r s , s a r a h ; l r l i 1 1 i a m s , C y n t h i a ; t o o m e y , L i a m ; T a d a , w e n d v ;
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Yudof.
samara
Sent: sun Mar 25 09:4O:37 ?AO7
subject: WEEKEND NEWSSUMrtlARY, 3.25.O7

',IE€KEND NEV{SSUMI4ARY
l'farch 75, 2007

1". The New York Times -- States Praise neadjng program oespite rts Troulrles, Report
says
2. rhe washington Post -- To 8e AP, Courses Must PasS Must€r
3 . l s s o c ' i a t e d P r e s s - * E x p e r t s i U . 5 . t e s t i n g c o m p a n i e s" b u c k l i n g " u n d e r w e i g h t o f
NCLB

4, lssociated Pregs -- Arjzona State; A university tries to be both big and great

Stat€s praise Reading Progralnnespite lts troubles, Report Says

ny niana fean Schemo
the ruewYork rimes
t'tarch 25, 2007

wASHTNGToN, March24 - Despite irregularities in the manaqement of *eadinq First.

p r e s i d e n t B u s h ' s i n i t i a t i v b t o t e a c h r e a d i n g t o l o w - i n c o m 6c h i l d r e n , a m a j o r i t y o f
states credit the
prograrnyilf impqqvingreading instruction, accordingto a report by the Government
A c c o u n t a b i l i t y o f f i c e r e l e a s e dr r i d a y ,

Page I
 Page25

2007.03.25.oav.idounn. weekendNeryssummarv.txt
T h e G , A . o , , t h e i n v e s t i g a t i v e a r n ro f c o n g r e s s ,s u r v e y e de d r i c a t i o no f f i c i a l s a c r o s $
the nation
about neading rirst, which awards$1 billion a y€ar in grants to states to buy texts
and curriculilms.
Accordingto.the report, 69 percent of those surveyedpraised the programfor "great
or very great
improvementin reading instruction." About 80 percent said the programhad vastly
i nproved
teacher training.

t.he report also found that mCIststates vyeresatisfied with the help they had
received from federal
officials a n d p r i v a t e contractors in applying for grants.

But the accountability office, echoing criticism in a series of reports by the

Educat'ion
Departrflent's inspector general, found that departnent officials and private
contractors m'tght
have broken the law in either steering 14 states toward specific reading progfans or
advi sing them
not to use others. Those states were not identified in the report.

The law authorizing Reading rirst requires that grants go only to districts using
read'ing approaches
backed bv scientific r e s e a r c h . r t proh'ib'its Education Department officials fron
prc{xot"tng, or even
endorsing, specific curriculums.

r d u c a t i o n s e c r e t a r y M a r g a r e t S p e l l i n g s d e c l i n e d t o c o m m e n to n r h e G . A . o . r e p o r t .

the reports from the inspector general also found that federa'l officials had
overlooked conflicts of
interest amongcontractors advising states applying for grants, and that in sofie
1n s t a n c e s ,
contractors had had a financial stake in programs competing for the money.

The report by the accountab"ility office f o u n d t h a t o f 3 , 4 0 0 d i s t r i c t s e l i g i b l e f o r

Reading Fi rst,
2 , 1 0 0 a p p l i e d f o r g r a n t s , a n d 1 , 2 0 0 a r e receivi ng them. In rnst states , offi c'ial s
gave the program
high marks for improving the way reading was taught.

States reported that teachers were rvorkingmDresystematicai'ly to bu{1d chi'ldren's

skills in phonics,
r e a d f n g a l o u d , v o c a b u l a r y a n d comprehension,and that schools were devoting more
tlme to
r e a d i n g , t y p i c a l l y g 0 m j n u t e s or morea oay.

lage 2
 Page26

2007.03.25. pavidpunn.lrteekendNe!,rssununary.
txt
rn addition, a"ll states said professional development
of teachers had improvedunder
the program.

Reading First has come under heavy fire in Congressand elsewhere. Frevious audits
of the-
program, and some local schoal officjals, said the departnent had used the Jar,rr
to
promote reading
programs with a heavy reliance on phonics, which focuses on the mechanicsof
soundlnq out
sy11ab1Es, rather than methodsenrphas'izingadditional strategies for makingsense of
texts. The
House and the senate are planning hearings.

T h e G . A . 0 . r e p o r t i n c o r p o r a t e d recommendations
from the e a r l i e r i n s p e c t o r g e n e r a l
reports that
the education nepartment shoujd g u a r d a g a t n s r c o n f l i c t s o f i n t e r e s t i n a d m i n i s t e r i n g
the program.

rn a responseattached to the report, the deputy secretary of education, Raymond

S i m o n .w r o t e
that the department agreed with its reconmendations.

To Be AP, Courses Must Pass Muster

Teachers nequired To subnit t o n u d i t
ay oaniel de vise
the washjngton Post
uarch 25, 2OA7

whi'le her students at Elake xigh Schoc1 prepare for an Advanced placement exam that
meaSu res
whether thev knowc o l l e g e * l e v e l w s r l d h f s t o r y , s a r o j a R i n g o i s b e i n g a s k e d t o p r o v e
she knows
how to teach it.

T h e C o l l . e g ea o a r d , p u b l i s h e r o f c o l l e g e - p r e p a r a t o r ye x a m s ,i s auditing every
AdvancedPlacement
course in the nation, asking teachers of an estimated L30,000AP courses to furnish
written proof
by :une L that the coursesthey teach are worthy of the brand.

nn explosion in np studv ** participation in the programhas nearly doubled this

decadb -- has bred
worry, partjcularly amongc o l l e g e l e a d e r s , o f a d e c l i n e i n t h e r i g o r f o r w h i c h t h e
courses are known.
Page3
 Page27

2007.03.25 - pavi dpunn,weekendmewssummarv. txt

o n c e t h e e x c l u s i v e p r o v i n c e o f e l i t e s t u d e n t s a t s e l e c t h i f h s c h o o l s , Rr study or
i ts equi val ent i s
now more cr'less expected of any student who aspires to attend even a marginal 1y
sel ecti ve
co1'lege

rn the haste to remain conpetitive in the AP arms race, schools sordetimes awardthe
desiqnati on
t o c 6 u r s e st h a t b a r + l y r e s e m b l et h e c o l l e g e c u r r i c u i u m t h e p r o g r a mi s m e a n tt o
deliver, accordinq
t o - c o l 1 6 g e e o a r d S f f t c i a l s a n d e d u c a t o r s .u n t i l n o w , t h e r e h a s b e e nn o l a r g e * s c a 1 e
effort to weed
out such abuse,

"Anybody could Just say, 'I'm teaching an AP course; T'm an np teacher. There's ne
protocol , '
sqig fi[rgo, who teaches AP world xistory at the si]ver spring schoo'l and works as an
ottl c] a I
grader of the exams.

neginning with the 2007-08 acadenic year, only teachers whose syllabuses have been
apFroved-by
the coilege eoard may call their courses lp. Each teacher must submit an audtt form,
alono witfi a
s y ' l l i b u s f o r t h e c o u r s e h e o r s h e t e a c h e s , D e p e n d i n ga n h o w w e l l t h e t e a c h e r ' s
sy | | abus -- assumlng
he or she has one -: reflects the rigor expected by the college noard, the process
can be brief or
t i m e - c o n s u mnig .

rhe
'l task has been met with no small anount of gnumbiing. Montgomerycounty teachers
oosed
a n a n g r y v o l l e y o f e - m a j l s o v e r t h e e x e r c i s e , m o s t l y a l o n g t h e l i n e s o f " t l / h ym e ? "
and "bihv now?"
eut many facu1ty begrudgingly accept that soarequality cortrol is needed, lest the
AP program
soiral out of control.

" r t h i n k t h e t e a c h e r s a r e s y m p a t h e t i ci n h i n d s j g h t , " s a i d s t e p h a n i ev a l e n t i n e , who

overseesthe
programat springbrook H i g h i n s i l v e r s p r i n g . " N o t w h f 1 e t h e y ' r e d o i n g ' i t . "

The implications for high schools and colleges, students and teachers are enormous.

one would be a probable dec'line -* after years af double-dig'it g r o w t h - - i n t h e

n u m b e ro f c o u r s e s
labeled Rdvancedplacement.collese Boardofficials have set a goai of approving at
least 105,000
A p c o u r s e s , o f a n e s t j m a t e d1 3 0 , 0 0 0n a t i o n w j d e .T h e a t t r " i t i o n , t h e y p r e d i c t , w o u l d
rage 4
 Page28

2007.03, ?5. navidpunn, weekendNewssummary ,txt

c o m em a i n l y
from teachers who d e c l i n e t o p a r t i c i p a t e , t ' t os c h o o l w t l l b e r e s t r j c t e d f r o m g i v i n g
the exams,
although students without adequatepreparation are unlikely to take them,

Toil Matts, a college noard official w h oo v e r s e e st h e a u d i t , s a i d i t s p u r p o s ef s t o

help teachers
elevate their courses,

" w e ' r e n o t t r y i n g t o e 1 i m i n a t ea n y c o u r g e s , "h e s a { d , " b u t t o h e 1 pt e a c h e r s

understandwhat needs
to be in the course and to orovide e v t d e n c ei n t h e s y 1 l a b u s "t h a t c o l l e g e - 1 e v e 1
naterjal is being
taught.

Since its:an. 23 Jaunch, the audit has drawn submissions from 55,000 teachers,
Matts sa'id.
university professors review the courses and usually respond within $ryomonths"
Seventy-four
percent of courses have been approved to date, unsuccessful teachers are encouraged
to resubmit
up to three tirrres, with guidance from the college Board, once approved, teachers and
thei r
syllabuses are sanctioned until they move to another school or the course
requi rements change-

wendy Borrelli, who has taught lR Literature and composition at springbrook nigh f o r
two years,
earned approval on her first try. she completed the audit in a day and submitted i t
the first week
the college Board would take it,

"The bulk of what r sent themwas the real syllabus that T give nrystudents each
senester,"
s o r r e l l i s a i d . s h e concedesthat the audit wouid be morework "if you weren't the
kind of
organ'izedor, shalI r s a y , a n a l - r e t e n t i v e t e a c h e r t h a t r a m . "

F o r c o l l e g e a d n r i s s i o n so f f i c e r s , t h e a u d i t m ' i g h ta s s u a g er i s i n g d o u b t s a b o u t t h e
value of the np
s t a m po n . a n a p p l i c a n t ' s t r a n s c r i p t . T h e y , m o r et h a n a n y o t h e r g r o u p , p u s h e df o r t h e
revlew, drlven
by the steep increase in appiicants claiming an Rp pedigree.

"rs'it p o s s i b l e t o e x p a n dt h e s e c o u r s e s a s f a s t a s t h e y h a v e a n d m a i n t a i n t h e i r
quality?" asked
a n d r e w - 1 1 a g e ' I ,d e a n o f a d m i s s i o n s a t o € o r g e M a s o nu n i v e r s i t y i n p a i r f a x c o u n t y .
"Anecdotall v .
what we're h6aring from people is that that's a huge cha'llenge: that the cTasses
rage 5
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2007.03.25.Davidounn.trteekendNewssunmary "txt
have gotten
s i g n i f i c a n t l y ' l a r g e r a n d t h a t t h e p u s h t o g e t s o m a n yp e o p l e i n t o l t h e $ J h a s l e d t o
a tendencvor a
temptatjo;1to lower the rigor of the course."

i.tatts said college offfcials nationwide were "curious to know what has happenedto
the
curriculutn when we're seeing a 1-50percent jncrease in the numberof students taking
thege classes
over the past l-0 years." He cited rvelJ-traveled anecdotes about schools that "simply
nake up
courses and calJ them AP,"

l'lthough fast-growing AP programs in the nlexandria, Fairfax, Montgomeryand

Rr'l i ngton county
systems retain a uniformly high caliber, veteran teachers there say, they have seen
oi heard of
scofflaws e'lsewhere, In a typical scenario, a school combines disparate groups of
honors and AP
students into a vaguely defined AP course without intending to teach the advanced
curricuJum or
to prepare students for the end-of-course exam.

" T h e y ' 1 l c a l I f t A P , b u t y o u e n d u p w i t h t w o o f ? 6 k i d s t a k " i n gt h e g p t e s t , " s a i d

uel niddile,
principal of r.c. williams High school in alexandria, "rs that really an Ap course?"

students might have the most at stake. Rn aspiring pre-med student m'ight learn in
the fail thlt the
nr bioTogy course on her h"igh school schedule has been downgradedto the more
qenerlc
nhonors." This, in
turn, could affect what she is taught in the class and her
chances for taking, Jet
alone passing, the prized ne biology exafi, a gateway to col"lege credit and advanced
stand-ing.
( r a k i n g a n A p c o u r s e b y i t s e l f i s n o t e n o u g ht o ' e a r n c o l l e g e c r e d i t ; a s t u d e n t m u s t
take and score
well on the corresportd'ingexam.)

l l s o a t s t a k e m i g h t be the prestjge factor of the course on a high school transcript

and the
p o t e n t j a l f o r l o s t bonuspoints awardedfor lp study, with a correspond'ing effect on
class rank.

someteachers remain skeptical o f the audit: what's to stop lazy ar teachers from
c o p y i n ga n o t h e r
t e a c h e r ' s s y l l a b u s a n d p a s s i n g 'ir o f f a s t h e i r o w n ?w h o w i ' l l e n s u r et h a t l e s s o n
p'lans approvedby
t h e c o l l e g e B o a r dw ' i i 1 a c t u a l l y be taught?

page 6
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2007.03 .2 5 . Davidounn. weekendxewssummary

, txt
supporters of the audit effort, however, say it's a step in the right directjon.

The meanAP exaff score dipped from 3.01 in uay 2000 to 2.89 in trlay2006, on a
fi ve-poi nt
scale, a modest erosion in a span of years when the nunber of exams taken doubled to
2 million.

of qreater concern than the scores -- to critics, at Jeast -- is the growing number
of Ap students
who never take the exam.

Matts, of the college Board! contends that "students henefit even without the exam."

But Riddile says the test is the ultimate ileasure of ap success.

"what's the only way you can assure that's an Ap course?" he said. "That's that the
student -in that
course took the Ap assessment,and here's their score."

3 . E x p e r t s ; U . 5 , t e s t i n g c o m p a n i e s" b u c k l i n g " u n d e r w e i g h t o f l l c t n
By Megan neichgott
Associated Press
t{arch 24, 7OO7

c H r c A G o- T o m o t i v a t e j u n i o r s o n ' l a s t R p r i l ' s a s s e s s m e n te x a m s , s p r i n g f i e l d High

school
offered coveted lockers, parking spaces near the door and free prom tickets as
incentives for good
scores.

But the incentives at the central I'llinois school went unc-laimeduntil earlier this
month, !!hen
rllinojs finally published its 2006 test scores - more than four months after they
were due.

c r i t i c s p o u n c e d o n H a r c o u r t A s s e s s r n e n rt n c . , w h i c h l o s t m o s t o f t t s S 4 4 . 5 m i l l i o n
state contract
over delays - caused by everything from shipping problems to missing test pages and
scorino errors
- that-made rllinois the last state in the nation to release scores used to judge
school s under the
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2007.03.25.oavidDunn.weekendilewssr:nnary.
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federal No Child Left nehind act.

But exp€rts say problemsare morewidespread,and pofsed to get worse. n handful of

companles
create, print ind scoremostof the tests in the u.s., and they're struggling with a
workload that has
explodedsince president nush s'ignedthe five-year-oJd education reform package.

"rhe testing irrdustry i n t h e U . s . ' i s b u c k l i n g u n d e r t h e w e j g h t o f t * c t e d e m a n d s , "

said Thonas
t o c h , c o - d i r e c t o r o f r d u c a t i o n S e c t o r , a w a s h i n g t o n ,D , C , - b a s e dt h i n k t a n k .

wheneducation sector surveyed23 states in 2006, it found that 35 percent of

test.i no of fi ces i n
t h o s e l t a t e s h a v e e x p e r i e n c e d" s i g n i f i c a n t " errors with scoring and ?0 percent
didn't qet results "in
a ti melv fashi on. "

rl I i no'is saw more probl sns thi s month, when students took achievsnent tests that
contained as
rnanyas 13 errors, off i cj al s sai d. gut r l l j n o i s jsn't the only state that's
exp-erienced'di ffj cuJti es:

- connect,icut last, year fined its testing company$80,000 after a processing error
caused wrong
scores for 355 students on the 2005 test. The probiem came a year after the state
canceled its
contract with another companyafter scoring problems caused a fjve-month delay in
reporti ng
s c o r e S"

_TheTexas_ rducation Agencypassed4,160 lOth-graderswho initially f a i l e d t h e m a t h

section of
the texas Assessment of rnowledgeand skills in 2003 after officials di scovered a
test question
had more than one correct answer,

ProgramresuJts were delayed last year, and there

--michi gan rducational Assessment
were
previous probiemsunder another contractor. fn 2003, 3,400 MEAP scores were
delivered months
late and nearly 1,000 results went nissing,

*Alabama education offic'ials said a testing coilpanymistakenly failed someschools

whi'le passi ng
o t h e r s t h a t s h o u l d have failed, after scoring problemson the 2005assesgment
test.
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2007.03, 25,oavjdpunn.weekendruewssu$fiary.
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*rn oregon, the state education Departmentcomplainedthat a computerizedstate

asSesSment
test was OJagued by systernprob'lems.The testfng company
later terminated its
contract wltn tne
state, claiming it was qved back paynents, and the state sued the cor$panyfor breach
ot contract.
Notar,thousands of students who haven't comp'leted online exams wi'll take them in May
usl no
papeF and pencil.

causesof the problemsare multipronged, testing company

and educationexperts say.

The numberof students being tested h a s r i s e n s h a r p l y s i n c e t h e t r o c h i l d L e f t e e h i n d

Act took
e f f e c t . r l l i n o i s , f o r e x a m p " l eu,s e d t o t e s t o n l y t h i r d , f i f t h a n d e ' i g h t g r a d e r s b u t
nowtests students in
third through eighth grades.

To rneet ttctg requi rements, s t a t e s a d m i n i s t e r e d4 5 m i l l f o n e x a m sb y s p r i n g 2 0 0 6 , a n d

the
n y s p g r k e e p s r i s i n g . B y t h e end of the 2007*?008schoo'lyear, it will reach about 56
m ' tl l l 0 n tests.

What's rlore, each state has its own test, and manywant then customized, sa'id
t"tichael Hansen,
chief executive officer of Harcourt Assessftent, which no longer administers
rllinois' tests but sti'11
is involved in developing and grading them. Before NcLB was signed 'into law, states
used exams
like the stanford Achievementrest, and publishers created new tests every six to
eight years,

"Not only (have) states wanteddifferent content in terms of the tests, but they
al so have verv
manydi fferent requi rementsas t o l o g i s t i c s , d e l i v e r y , l o s k a n d f e e l , c o l o r , h o wt h e
questions are
o r g a n i z e d , h o r i z o n t a l , Y e r t i c a l . , , y o u n a m ei t , i t w a s o n t h e t a b l e , " H a n s e ns a j d .

on top of that, experts say, are rigid NCLB-driven

deadlines.

"That neansuarch and april we are completely ... at peak capacity and so js every
one of our
compet'itors,"Hansensaid. "But.also then whenthe test resu1ts comein, they
(schools) needthe
t e s t r e s u l t s b a c k a s s o o n a s p o s s i b l e . , . s o t h e t u r n a r o u n df r o m t h e t i m e t h a t t h e
test is taken, to
(when)we needto report the results is extremelytight and it's getting tighter and
Rage9
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2007.03. ?5. navi dnunn.weekendNewssummary,

txt
ti ghter . "

Others say the problens are exacerbated by 1itt1e competition or regulation,

The NCLBtest'ing tndustry 'is dominated by four ccmpan'ies:San ,{ntonio, lexas*based

HarcOurt;
r{onterey, calif.-based crB/$ccraw*Hill ; rowa city, Iowa-based FearsonEducatianal
Measuremena t nd rtasca, rll .*based Riverside publishing.

"It's not entirely a monopoly, but tt 1S an oligopoly, with very little regu'lation,"
sa'id walter Haney
pioleiio"-at"'iiie'*entu. for the study of r e s t i n g e v a l u a t i o n a n d E d u c a t i o n a l P o j i c y
at Boston
Co11 ege.

Both state education departments and testi ng companies a r e " 0 v € r t a x e d a n d b u r s t i n g

at the
seams," sajd necky watt$, former chief of staff at the r l l i n o i s s t a t e s o a r d o f
Education .

"rt's logica'I. Any ttme you havea relative'ly small industry .., it's a tal'l arder.
what is demanded of
the testjng industry, what is demanded of the states, it's huge,'' watt$ said.

B e t w e e n2 0 0 2 a n d 2 0 0 8 , s t a t e s w i l l s p e n d b e t w e e n $ 1 . 9 b i l l i o n a n d $ 5 . 3 b i l J i o n t o
develop, score
and report Hcun-required tests, according to a report by the Goverfiffent
AccountabiI i tv office.
Ultimately, the price tag depends on whether states prefer examswith open*ended
questions -
r , t i i r i c ha r e h a n d - s c o r e d a n d m o r e c o s t l y - o r m u l t i p l e * c h o ' i c e q u e s t i o n s .

e u t i t ' s a m i s t a k e to blarneoniy the vendorsfor the problemswhenlawmakersare

notori ous
m i s e r s i n f u n d i n g s t a r € t e s t i n g a g e n c i e s ,s a i d T o c h , f r o m r d u c a t i o ns e c t o r .

S t a t e s s p e n d l e s s t h a n a q u a r t e r of J. percenq of school revenue - or between$l-0 to

$30 a student *
o n t e s t i n g p r o g r a m s , e v e n t h o u g h f e d e r a l , s t a t e a n d l o c a l s p e n d i n gp e r p u p ' i l a d d s u p
to more tnan
$8,000 a year, Toch said.

"That's not enoughto produce h"igh-guaiity tests jn the tight tiltrelines that NCLB
requi res . It's
ludicrous," Toch said.
paae 10
 Page34

2A07,03- 25. Davidnunn,weekenduewssumxla

ry , rxt

rhe office of rnspector Generalat the u.5, Departmentof educationsaid last year
it would study
whether h-gh-stakestests need federal oversight. rhe office has not begunworking
on the study,
but officials hopedto do so this year, said spokeswoman catherine Grant,

L a s t y e a n , c o n g r e s sg a v e s t a t e s $ 4 0 8m i l l j o n t o d e v e l o ps t a n d a r d i z e dt e s t i n g u n d e r
NCLB. but the
states can use the moneyin lots of ways, and many of them use it for tasks
unreJated to test-
bujlding, Tcch said,

The u.s. Department of education must be more active, Toch said.

" r n s l e a d , s e c r e t a r y ( n a a r g a r e t ) s p e l l i n g s h a s ' l a r g e l y w a s h e dh e r h a n d s o f t h i s
problem, sajd it's a
state.problen, which is a pecu1iar,,. response becauseit's the federal government
that has requi red
the states to take these actions." Toch said.

Arizona state: A unjversity tries to be both big and grear

By lustin Pope
Associated Press
t'tarch 24, 2007

EDITOR'sNorE - It's one of the fundamental challenges for colleges in the 21st
cent,ury: how
to make.higher educat'ion serve a growing and diversifying population without
comPromr sr ng
quality,.un'iversities are bejng called on to do more for the best and brightest, but
also to help
more peoplg Se! a_bachelor's degree in a professional world where a co-l1ege
educati on i s vi tal .

T € M p E ,A r i z o n a ( n r ; * l j k e t h e s t a t e i t serves, Arfzona State university is big,

bustl"ing and
relentlessly new.

rf col-leges were countries, most would resen$le the developed nations of the lrtest -
stabl e,
work'ing to improve.but changing only gradually and growing slowly, if at all.
Arizona State would
b e C h i n a , I t s c a m p u s e sa r e g i a n t c o n s t r u c t i o n s i t e s . t t e w s c h o o l s a n d p r o g r a i l s s p r i n g
Page 11"
 Page35

2007.03.25.oavidpunn.weekendruewssunmqry.
txt
up near'ly
every week. Hundredsof faculty are being hfred, thousandsof dorm roomsare be-ino
built.

There are 280 undergraduatenajors, three separate schools of busjness, 32 on*campus

df ni ng
options, and 601 student clubs.

n s u i s a c i t y ' i n i t s e l f . w i t h 5 1 , 0 0 0 s t u d e n t s o n t h e m a i n c a m p u s ,p l u s 1 0 , 0 0 0 m o r e
at three
b r a n c h e sa r o u r r dP h o e n ' i x ,i t i s a l r e a d y a m o n gt h e l a r g e s t t r a d i t i o n a ' l u n i v e r s i t i e s i n
the united
states. But unlike any current riva"ls for that tit1e, Rsu plans to keep growing _ to
about 90,000
students over the next decade.rhat would make it easi'ly the largesr univers'ity of
its kind in
America.

lvtichael crow, A S Us' p r e s id e n t , c a l I s h i s s c h o o l t h e " n e w A m e r i c a nu n i v e r s i t y " and

sees it as the
u n i v e r s i t y o f the future.

Itls a model that takes on two challenges somesee as confljct'ing: to be a gneat

university, and to
be an enormousone, with its doors open to a huge numberof students with widely
varvi no
abilit{es-

A r i z o n a , c r o w . s a y s , n e e d s A S Ut o b e a g r e a t u n i v e r s i t y , w i t h t o p - t i e r r e s e a r c h e r s
50tv'lnq presslno
l o c a l F r b b l e m s T i k e w a t e r re$ource management.But it also urgeiltly needs to expand
access to
four-year college degrees. The state's population is growing and diversifying, with
a half-dozen new
high schools open'ing each year, But there are just three public universities to
accommodatethe
gr0ffih.

"rhis is a univers'itv on the front line of dealing with a

300miilion-person
nmerica qoinq to a a50-
m i l l i o n f l e r s d n A m e r i c & ," crou,says.

s c h o o sl ' i n N e x ci o , € u r o p ea n d n s ' i a h a v e e n r o l l e d 1 " 0 0 , 0 0 s0t u d e n t so r m o r e , b u t

tradi tional
nnerican ones have topped out at around 50,000, excluding multi-campusstate systems
and for-
profit chains such as the University of phoen'ix.lt4osthave preserveda fiagship
campusfor the
s t r o n g e s t s t u d e n t s a n d c h a n n e i e dg r o w t h e l s e w h e r e .
cage 12
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2007.03. l5 ,oavidpunn. weekendnewssummary.

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crow doesn't believe quality has to suffer wh€na university sca'lesup to this sjze-

" ' r n h ' i g h e r e d . t h a t ' s w h a t p e o p l et h i n k i s n e e d e d :

to create thjs very grand school
for t h e b e s t , a n d
gi ve everybody else generic c a m p u s e s r "c r o w s a y s , " ! r t e ' r e ' l i k e , ' w h y ? , ' ,

A n d .s o , 4 $ y i s a p l a c e o f e x t r a o r d i n a r y v a r i e t y . T h e r e i s a g r o u i n g roster of
high*profile faculty
d o i n g ' c u t t i n g - e d g e - r e s e a r c h , w o r k i n g a l o n g s i d e i n s t r u c t o r s i n m o r e vocational
programs like qolf-
course management.There's an elite honors co:l1egefor exceptional s t u d e n t s , b u t
it's set within the
larger university that accepts g? percent of its applicants.

: g ! 9 " :tl;vs.
quanr : l y f I 1tyi t ' s a f a n t a s v t o t h i n k a u n i v e r s i t y c a n s i r n p l yi g n o r e t h e
. l i ! l c s-qua
tradeotf -

"Asu will verv clearly get worse,

m u c hw o r s e , n o t b e t t e r , s o l o n g a s t h e y k e e p
drivinq the
en1oi1frent," says Geoffrey clark, an anthropologyprofessor and 35-year faculty
veteran, He savs
ll:,IniY.:ls'ity-is overct^owded
c o ut d n a v e
and has sold it sou'l for corporate sponsorshfp.lsu
b e c o m ea d ' i s t i n a u i s h e d p u b l i c n e s e a r c h u n i v e r s i t y l i k e u n i v e r s i t y o f c a l j f o r n i a , Los
ange'les, he
says; instead crow has turned it into just another state college.

"rhe.new American university

in my opinion 'is a fraud, " clark says. You can't
get big and good
a t t h e s a m et i m e - "

But even skeptics say that, if anyone can pull it off, it's Crow.

R f t e r h o j d i n g s e n i o r a d m i n f s t r a t j v e j o b s a t Iov\raState University and Columbia

Un'lvers'rty, Crow
cafueto ASU in 2002 and has been busv since _ b u i l d " i n g , r e c r u i t i n g , f u n d r a i s i n g a n d
lobbvinq. and
gene-ralIi ticking up rhe desert dust,

There's a massiven€w campusin downtor,vn phoenix, Eight newsschools within the

universi tv
have openld in the current acadernicyear a'lone, There's a nen,e-iodesignInstitute
Rage13
 Page37

2007,03. 25 . navi dpunn,weekendNewssunmary.

txt
that went from
idea to functjoning labcratory with 500 wonkers in just a few years * a pace
unimaginab'le at many
unl vers r t] es.

crow has raised Asu's profile substantially with donors, voters, the 1eg'islature and
the regents,
who have forked over new money and freedom to a school that traditionally has played
second
fidd1e to the University of Ar"izona in Tucson.

He's also brought in sometop-shelf ta'lent - a bus'inessschool dean from wharton

b u s i n e s ss c h o o T .
a top fundraiser from Harvard. trtell'ington Reiter, the dean of the College of Design,
said he was
drawn by "the chance of making a difference on a scale that was inconceivable in a
place like
MIT, " where he was a professo r.

n s u h a s a s t r o n g r e c o r d l u r i n g t o p s t u d e n t s , too. Test scores are rising, They are

Jured with
s u n s h i n ea n d a c c e s s t o t h e s m a l ' lc l a s s e s o f t h e g a r r e t t H o n o r sC o I ' l e g e .n n d t h e y ' r e
1ured wi th
money.

of the cash asu awardsas financial aid, nearly 80 percent is g i v e n o n t h e b a s i s o f

m e r i t - m u c ho f
'it for out-of-state students with good grades.

''nfter visiting MrT and Harvard r just felt like a number," said cary Anderson, a
iunior from
l p p l e v a 1 1 e y , M i n n e s o t a . "Then t found out r can go here for nothing - actually get
paid to so to
3chool . 't Three personal phone .calls from the dean sealed the deal.

l m b t t i o u s u n i v e r s ' i t i e s ' l i k e A S Uh a v e f a c e d c r i t i c i s m f o r s p e n d i n gt o o m u c hm o n e yt o
attract
b r i g h t s t u d e n t s w h o i m p r o v ea c o l J e g e ' s a c a d e m i cr a n k i n g , b u t d o n ' t n e c e s s a r i l y n e e d
the m0neYto
a t t e n d c b 1 1 e g e .R a n k i n g sa r e c J e a r l y i m p o r t a n t a t A S U rI n a n u n u s u a la r r a n g e m e n t ,
crow's contract
i n c l u d e s a $ 1 " 0 , O 0(0e u r o 7 , 4 9 0 )i n c e n t i v e f o r b o o s t i n g A s u ' s s t a n d i n g i n u . s . N e v v& s
world
R e p o r t m a g a z i n e ' sr a n k i n g s o f t h e t c p u . s . s c h o o l s .

But crow says recruit'ing top students i m p r o v e st h e i n t e l l e c t u a l a t m o s p h e r e on campus

* and that
A s u i s s t i l l b a c k i n g u p j t s c o n m i t m e ntto w j d e n t h e g a t e . A b o u t t w o - t h i r d s o f A s u ' s
financial aid,
eage 14
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?007, 03 . 2 5 . pavi dpunn,weekendt'tewssummary . txt

even if it's awarded for merit, gc€s to students with need.- the nurnbercf students
fnorn the
p o o r e s t f a r n i l i e s h a s ' i n c r e a s e d b y a b o u t 5 0 0 p e r c e n t s i n c e 2 0 0 2 w h i l e t h e n u m b e ro f
black, nativ€
aserican and xispanic students have all more than doubled over t.he last decade.

+SU'S graduation rata is also inproving, though stili a problem- Only 56 percent of
fresnmen
e n t e r i n g i n 2 0 0 0 h a d a d e g r e e by 2006- Rates for lispanics (51 percent) and Native
nmericans (23
percent) are lOwer still,

one of the key factors in strong graduation rates is close attention from facu'lty.
That's a challenoe
here,

A s u ' s s t u d e n t - f a c u l t y r a t i o i s 2 2 - 1 " ,a n d e v e nt h e n o n l y 6 3 p e r c e n t o f f a c u l t y a r e
tenured or tenure-
track; the others are 'lecturers, instructors and adjuncts. overall spending per
student is 1ow,1arge1y
b e c a u s eA s u h a s r e c e i v e d c o m p a r a t i v e l yl i t t l e s t a t e s u p p o r t ;

rn the school of:-ife Sciences, Professor Ronald Rutowski says faculty are try'ing to
give the.L,000
o r s o - m a j o r s , p-l u s s t u d e n t s f r o m o u t s i d e t h e d e p a r t m e n t , a n e n g a g i n g e x p e r i e n c e i n
the c lassroom.
nut capacity is crunched, with cJasses *nd labs oversubscribed and lecture halls in
short supply.

"we're.trying,ll he says- But '"there's n o q u e s t i o n t h e d e m a n df a r e x c e e d s w h a t

we're able to offer
at this point, "

Honorscollege students get more p a m p e r etdr e a t m e n t a n d p r a f s e t h e A s u e x p e r i e n c e ,

sri I'l . sofls
s a y t h e y h a v e c o n c e r n s a b o u t t h e scale of growth.

A d d j n g 3 0 , 0 0 0 s t u d e n t s j s ' ' t o o f i u c h ,' ' s a " i ds e n ' i o rT a y J o r l a c k s o n , a s e n i o r f r o n

Hattiesburg,
P t i s s . - ' I w o r r y t h e m o n e yw i l l b e c o m e v e n t h i n n e r a n d t h e c l a s s s i z e s w i l l b e c o m e
evenlarger.''

Croivsays asu pl ans to h"ire 500 morefaculty abovethe enro'l'lmentgrowth rate in the
cQmlng
y e a n s , w h i c h w o u J d i m p r o v ej t s r a t i o s . r t a l s o p l a n s t o a d d 6 , 0 0 0 n e wd o r m i t o r y b e d s
over three
years; crov'i guesses $ 1 b i l J ' i o n ( e u r o 7 5 0m i l l i o n ) w o r t h o f n e w r e s i d e n c eh a l l s a r e i n
paqe 1,5
 Page39

007.03. 25. navidounn,weekendmewssumnary.

txt
the works
students who live on-campusare typically moresuccessful, so that cou'ld improvethe
graduation
rate.

B u t t h e r e w i l i s t i l l b e t h o u s a n d so f s t u d e n t sw h o h a v e t o c o m m u t eaon d a r e
inevitably less
c o n n e c t e dt o t h e u n i v e r s i t y .

- ' : w i s h t c o u l d b e ' i n t h e b a n da n d t h e
c h r i s t i a n B i b l e g r o u p sh e r e b u t r j u s t d o n . t
have time for
it, " said rim white, a geographymajor fron nearby c'lenda"lewho commutes from home
on
He calls Asu "satisfactory" but says he doesn't rea11y
X?1$aYL1nd_wednesdays.
Teet tlKe part of a
communi ty.

c r o w . s a y sh i q g o a l j s t o b u i ' l d a g r e a t u n i v e r s i t y , w h e r eg r e a t n e s sr u b s o f f o n a n d
r n s p lr e s s t u d e n t s
i n e v e r y c o r n e r o f t h e i n s t i t u t i o n * a n d h e i n s i s t s A s u i s o n i t s w a y t o m a k i n gt h a t
happen.

st'il'I, some_critics maintain Asu is growingtoo fast, doing too manythings but none
of them well
enough,

- ' } r | e ' r e i n c r e a s ' i n g ] yr e t y i n g o n p a r t * t " i m e r s ,c o n t r a c t f a c u l t y , g r a d

students,
a d j u n c t s ," s a y s e 1 a r k ,
t h e a n t h r o p o l o g yp r o f e s s o r , " n n d yet we're ratcheting up tujtion," whjch costs
$4,690(euio:,5i0)
for in*state students this year-

"45u students,.or a good

c h u n ko f t h e m , a r e g o i n g t o b e p a y i n g ( f o u r - y e a r )
unlverstty tu'rtl on ancl
t h e y ' l l b e g e t t i n g a ( t w o - y e a r ) c o m m u n i tcyo l l e g e e d u c a t j o nf o r i t . "

rage 16
 Page40 Page1 of7

Frst: Dunn,David
Sent: March27,2AA710:46 AM
Tor McLane, Kathrrine
Subject: RE:Title1 Monitor:"Congress
GrillsSpellings
On fteadingFirstProgram"

ThanksKatherine.

From: Mclane,Katherine
Senk Tuesday, March27,200710:38AM
To; Dunn,David;Warder.Larry;Simon,Ray;Talbe0Kent;Rosenfelt,
Phil;Halaska,
Terrell;Sampson,
Vincent;
Conaty,Joseph;Fanis,Amanda
$ubJectrTitleL Monitor:
"CsngressGrillsSpellings FirstProgram"
OnReading

piece.
thisAM,belcwis lherecentTitle1 Monitor
Perourconversation

CongressGrills SpellingsOn ReadingFirst Program

OIG Investigation Draws to s Close

By Andrew BrownsteinandTravisHicks

As an investigationof ReadingFirst drew to a closeand Congressgearedup for hearings,

fop lawmakerspublicly grilled Secretaryof EducationMargaretSpellingsfor the first
time abouther role in the program.

Declaringthatthe prograff has"an odorthat I don't like," Sen.Tom Harkin, D-Iowan

chairmanof the educationappropriations subcomrnittee,
askedher aboutclaimsby Mike
Petrilli, a fonnerpolitical appointeealthe departmentduringPresidentGeorgeW. Bush's
first term, thatshe"micromanaged" the programwhm shewas a domesticpolicy advisrrr
in theBushWhiteHouse.

"Obviously,I wasnot micromanagingthat programor any othergrantprogramout of the

thousandsof grantprograms"shedealtrvith asdomesticadvisorto the presidenl the
secretary
testified.

Spellingsreiteratedpreviousstatements that problemswith ReadingFirst occumedbefore

shebecamesecretary.Shesaidsheremovedthe pmgram'sleader$andacceptedall of the
recommendations Office of InspectorGeneral(OIG), which finished
of the departrnent's
its six-partauditof the programwith therslsaseof two final reportsin leteFebruaryand
March.Sayingshe'd "hateto tkow thebaby out rrith thebathwater,"however,Spellings
citedanecdotalevidenceandstate*chievementdatashowingthat theprogramis
improvingreadinginstructionfor manyof the nation'sneediestshrdents,

"1 am hugelyconcemedaboutthe credibility of the department,"shesaid."But I also

know that morestudentsarebeingtaughtto read.This is a hugeinvesfmentin reading
instruction."

at the Senatehearingcametwo daysaftera similarreception

Spelling'sappeara$ce
committee.Rep,David Obey(D-Wisc.),chairmanof the
beforethe Houseappropriations

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 Page41 PageZof7

committee,saidthatproblemswith theprogam "m&keit evenmoredifficult to persuade

a numberof people,includingme, to voteto renelvproglamslike No Chilrt Left Behind,"
of which ReadingFirst is an integralpart.

Spellingsand Publishers

QuestionssurroundingSpelling'sinvolvementin the early implenrentationof the

progJamarelikely to continueashearingson ReadingFirst convenein the Houseand
Rep.OeorgeMiller,D- Calif., ohairof theHouseeducation
Senate.Il a sLatement,
committee,saidhearingswould beginin April A reporton ReadingFirst from Congress'
GovemmentAccountabilityOffice is expectedon March 30.

DespiteSpelling'sattemptsto distanceherselffrom the conkoversy,previouslyreleased

e-mailsshowthat as dornesticpolicy advisor,shehada role in handlinghot-button
ReadingFirst issuesin TexasandNew York Cir'y.

Additianal e-mails,recentlyobtainedunderthe Freedomof lnformationAct by the Title I

Monitor, zuggestthat her role extendedpossiblyfurther.OneexchangebetweenReid
Lyon, formerchief of child developmestandbehaviorfor the NationalInstitutesof Child
HealthandHumanDevelopment,andBeth Ann Bryan,former senior.advisorto the
secretaryat the EducationDepartment(ED), centeredon concernsthat New York City
would useReadingFirst fundson a programcalledMonth by Month Phonics,which
manyexpertsbelievedwas not in line with scientifically-based
readingresearch.

Lyon,alsok*own asBush'sunofficial'readingczar,"forwardedBryana message fr,oma

top executiveat HoughtonMifflin, a major publisherof readingmaterials.The executive
warnedthat ifNew York Cify's actionwent uncheckedit couldjeopardizeeffortsby the
publishingindustryto changeits textbooksto align with ReadingFirst. "llJreactionsin
New York City haveput an snormouschill over ourpeople,"saidMaweenDiMarco, a
seniorvice presidentwifh the company."They feel they haveinvestedhugeamountsof
moneya::rdeflo* andhavebecomeeducatedto be truebelievers. .. but if NYC is
allowedto put in wholelanguageandincidentalphonicswindow-dressing, then they
govemunent
realizethat thc federal has throrvnin the towel on its effort andit wili
collapsefasterthanit took to createit."

In a f,orwardinginessageto Bryan,Lyon said,"Canyou for,wardto Margaret?We haveto

discusspubhsherstodaywif} Margaret.We havebeenmeetingwith someCEOsfrom
the industryandthey wantto play ball."

An ED spokeswoman declinedto diseussany aspectof theReadingFirst program.ln an

interview,Lyon saidhe met twice with groupsof publishersat the departmentat the
requestof theArnericanAs,sociation of Publishersto discussscientifically4ased reading
research(SBRR)andthe kinds of fundingmechanismsthat wereavailableto them.It
wsuld not havebeensurprising,Lyon said,for him to seekSpellings'help in
emphasiaing Xheimportance of changingthetex{bookindustry.Publishers, he said,*were
a constituencythat obviouslyplayeda major part in the previousreadingfailure rates"
and,dueto ReadingFirst,alsoconstituted"&hopefor the firture."

Jumping Through Hcops

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 Page42 Page3 of7

Among othere-mailsobfainedby theMonitor are message,s that showthe pressuresome

stateofficials wsreunderto obtainReadingFirst firnds.heviously, Lyon andothershave
commentedthat the programrequiredan aggressiveapproachbecausemany statesand
districtswantd to "game"the systemby usingthe new moneyforprogramsthatwere
not allowedundsrthe stafute.Othere-mailsobtainedby the Monitor show that some
stateofficialswsre pressuredby governorsand statelegislatorsto do whatevs it took to
get themoney.

In onesuche-mail,ChrisDoherty,the forruerhead of the ReadingFirst progrdm)

summarizedfor SusanNeuman,a formerED assistantsecretary,a meetinghe hadwith
the educationsuperintendent
of a rust-beltstate.Arnongfhe main points,Dcherty quoted
the superintendent
as saying:

* . , ,p arn]under"an incredibleamountof pressure"

[due ta] a govemorwho is "ruilning
on reading" andthe electionis looming
*..."[my] Department
is on ttreline here"...and"[my] jab is on theline here,too."
*"Jusl tell us whathoopswe needto jump througfuChrisl"

*The governoris furious aboutall thisl"

*"We havean incrediblytight time line,Chris!"

While noting that "the highestlevelsof the Deparhnentare awareof your situation and
shareyour desireto makefhe necessarychanges...asexpeditiouslyaspossible,"Doherty
saidhe told the superintendent that the stateneededto bring its readingprogfilm in line
with SBRRand suggested hiring an outsideexpertconsultantto help with its application.

Dohertyr.vasforcedto resignin Septemberin thewake of the OIG investigation,In its

final reports,theOIG focusedon theappeannceof bias anda lack of objectivity in
trainingsessionsfor stateson ReadingFirst and amongsubcontractorswho provided
technicalassistancefor the program.

A StrongS'irewall

The problemssurmundingappearance of conflictsof interestwereperhapsforeseeable

due to two tenetsthat ReadingFirst's leadershipand manyof the prograrn'ssupporters
acceptedas axiornalic:namelythat therewa"$a limited pool of expertswith sophisticated
knowledgeof ssientifically-basodreadingresearoh;andthat,prCIcisely dueto their
expertise,thesescierlistswould moreoftenthan not havetiesto commercialprograms.

Picking rp on this theme,the OIG said,"The Departmentdid not considerassociations

with readingprogrampublishersas apotentialsourceof bias becauseofficiais thoughtit
providerswith expertisein SBRR,
would limit thepool of techrticalassistance
Consequently, appearances of bias andlack of objectivity conhibutedto the comptaints
surrounding&e adrninistrationof theReadingFirst program,andled to the perception
that someindiviclualsmay havebeenpromotingproductsthey wereassociated with and
rnayhaveinfluencedtheproductsthatwerebeingselected by" stalesandschooldistricts.

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.DavidDurm....
5/11/2009
 Page43 Page4 of7

In many ways,ReadingFirst was an attemptto radically trarsform the market by

instantlycreatinga demandforprogramswith $BRR "I agreethat the existenceof
ReadingFirst certainlycreateda largermarketfor scienfifically-based
readingprograrn$,"
said SandiJacobs,until recentlya seniorpiogramspecialistwith theReadingFirst
program."It createda situationwheresuddenlythousandsof schoolswere looking for
SBRRpro$ramsth*t would nct havebeforo,"

With a srnallpool of oxperts,many of whom had ties to publishers,the programleaders'

operatingprernisescreaiedan environms,ntwherethosewho advi*edstateson Reading
First and thosewho createdprogramsto be usedunderReadingFirstwould often be the
samepeople.Accordingto critics,the systemcalledfor a strongfirewall to keepthe
processfrom appearingor becomingincestuous.Why that didn't happenrnay alsobe a
questionfor firturehearings.

Bias and ObjectiviSy

The legalissue,however,is complicated.The RMC ResearchCorporationof Portsmouth,

New Hampshireoperatedthreeconfacts- totalingnearly$40 million - to provide
iechnicalassistanceto statesanddisficts on ReadingFirst. Its conlractwitb ED
containedboilerplatefederalconflict-of-interestlanguagedesignedto prevent"the
existenceof conflictingrolesthat rnightbias a conffactor'sjudgment"and staveoff an
"unfair competitiveadvantage.I'

But when RMC latersubcontracted the actualoperafionsto tlneeregianalcenters- at the

Universityof Texas,theUniversityof Oregon,andFlorida StateUniversiry- the
conbactsdid not containthe conflict-of-interestclause.The clausealsowas absentin
consultingagresments betwee,nRMC andits technicalassistance providers.As a result,
the OIG said,"theymay not havedisclosedany actualor potential"conflicts of interest.

The conflict of irrtereststandardis muchmoreclear-cul andat the sametime, more

limited, thanthe OIG's suggestedstandardof "biasor impairedobjectivi{y."A conflict-
of intereststandardwould, at the vny least,suggestthat someoneprovidingtechnical
assistance for ReadingFirst not havea connectionto readingprCIgrams for studentsin
kindergartenthroughthethird grade,theprogram'sconstituency.But a technical
a$$istancs providerwho hasdesigneda McGraw-Hill mathproduct,to usea hypothetical
example,rvhileperhap$not havinga directconflict of interestin recommendingagainsta
Harcourtreadingprogra:n,might have"an Bppearance of biasor impairedobjectivity" in
connectionto any McGraw-Hill producl The OIG acknowledgedthere "is no federal
requirementthat contractors,subcontractorsor consultantsbe vettsdfor bias or impaired
objectivity" but saidthatnot havingonedamagedthe "integrity andreputation"of RMC
andthe department.

Honor Systemfor Consultsnts?

The comploxityof the issuesinvolved actuallyled RMC in 2004to suggestto thc

departmentthat it setup a seri€sof advisorieson conflicls of interest,butultimately,
accordingto the O16, ED "found the issuestoo complicatedto lendthemselve$to
advisories"andinsteadsuggested that thecentersbring questionsto RMC as they arose.

In additionta manytechnicalconsultants,
the reportnotedthatthe leadersof thethree

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 Page44
Page5 of7

regional technicalcentersall had fies to.readingprograms,

including Mc6raw-Hiil,
PearsonScofiForesmanand Voyager,Inc.

Marcl Stein,a professorof educationatihe Universityof

Wasbington,servedas a
consultantfor the WestemRegionalTechnicalessis6;e
Centerbasedat the University
of oregon' Al authorwith MCGraw-Hill'sOpencourt;;rdi"g
series,stein saidshewas
careftl to dissloseher authorshipandto stayout of prog;-
selection.Shesaiddid ihis
onher or'vn,andreceivedno insirctions &om 0reWrsil".nto
or RMC. ,,Itwas an
ethicalconsiderationleft up to eachindividual how careful
ru. **." aboutnegotiating
theseboundaries,"shesaid.'I thoughtit wascomrnonsense.,,

Asked,however,if detailedvstting would havehelpedor hindered

would havesignificantlyslorveddbrvntheprogrrn" the process,shesaid it
**rvGplementation. ,Oh my God,
I tfiink it would havetakenyealsto get offttre-gro-nc,';;;d. ,,I don,t
theywould havegp16 the technicalassistance know whsre
fram.J
Pressureou DIBELS

Nonetheless, despitedetailingthe lack of a clearconflict-of-interestfirewall

inRMC,s
contracts,the oIG only docurnented two instanceswhereit believedr*;l;;ilgagec
in "inappmpriatepromotioll'_o{aproduct,Both instanr",,l*rr*
previously
rrvsav reported
rvPwr ru\r by
the Monitor in September 2005.

officialsfrornKentuckyandNevadacomplained thatRMCconsultants
to adopttheDvnamicIndicaronof Basicfrarg^I-iteragy pressruedthem
sniri, (DIBEts), ;;J"r'
ixsessment usedin theRea$nq_First program.one orfre ro"ruttu"tr*ilj u pulo"t
for DIBELS'In its report,ttreolc *tot*e*tnat
Doherty;iilfu "i"",
thebehaviorof one of
withan RMCofficial,
saving
"oneofihek";"kr i, rl,uih";;;.ryi*n.,
ilrLfii:J-"rs
EverettBarnes,RMC's president,saidin an interviewthat Nevada
had its application
approvedwithout DIBHLS - althoughthestatemodifiedttre
applieatlonlater to usethe
assessmsnt'He added,moreover,that sinceendinghis RMC.ont urt, the
consuttantwho
servedas a DIBELS rainer hasnot accepted*y irnELS
conkactsin stateswherehe
pravidedtechnicalassistance.

BamessaidthatRMC and depsflmentexaminedconsultants,resumesand

backgroundsfor signsof a !!g"blatantsuggestion of a product.,,
"f "*pl;iil;orpromotion
"we didn'r go lightty into this," he said,ug{ng ftrat
"ws knewtherewere peoplewho
weregoing to haveperceptionsof a oplot,'forlack of a better
trm, ofl the part of the
deparknentor the President."

Nonefheless,
he said,"we didn't know how to totally elininate" thoseperceptions.

Two Compl*ints

Jacobs,the formerReadingFirst official, said it was significant

that the oIG only tumed
up rwo instancesin which appearanco$ ofconflicts uring consultantstranslatediinto
oveft pressure.

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 Page45 Page6 of7

"Two complaints- that's all they found,"sheseid,"And you knaw why? Becausethere's
nothing elseto find- ...I[ out of thehundredsandhundredsof [technicalassistanceJ
contacts'you havea few duds,that's a really goodkack record.That's one of the t""llu
frustratingthingsaboutthe OIG. They look at a coupleof incidents,and.19them.it
provesa pervasivepattern."

Shelamentedthatthe OIG hasnot focusedon "how muchthis programhasaccomplished

in a very shortperiod^oftime wlten govemmsntprogramstypiCaflydon't accomplish
anythingin any lengthof time."
In addition to early anecdotalevidsnceand stateachievementdata,Jacobscited the fact
that the White Honse'sOffice of ManagementandBudgetrecentlygaveits highesr
rating-"effective"*toReadingFirst, the only No Child Left Behindprogftiltrto get sucha
rating.

GeneWilhoit,the executivedirectorofthe Councilof ChiefStateSchoolOffi.cers,

disagreedwith Jacob'schxacterizationthat reportsof pressurewere limited to thosetwo
states,saying "The problemwith ReadingFirst wasnot isolatedto a coupleof places""

Wilhoit saidReadingFirst "w€nt beyondwhat I thoughtwas reasonablein [the] federal

role." As superintendent of Kentucky,he complainedfo BD aboutthe appearance of a
conflict due to a consnltantto the stateadvocatingfor DiBELS r.vhileworking as a bainer
for the test.

Reading LeadershipAcadenries

Accusationsof biasrelatedto DIBELS playeda part in the OIG's earlierreporton the

ReadingLeadershipAcademies,whichwere chiefly plannedandorganizeOby ttren-
assisturtsecretarySusanNeurnanin 2002.The threeacademies weredesignedto help
stateofficials underEtand
the complexrequirements
of the statute,

A handbookandguidebookon the academies both ccntainedarticleson DIBELS, which

laterberamethe mostwidely-usedassessmsnt in ReadingFirst schools.DIBELS was
"one of manyscreeningfoolson the marketthat couldhavebeenusedto perform
ReadingFirst assessm6nts,"
accordingto the OIG, but "only DIBELS rvasfeatwedin the
academymaterials."

But the most controversialas'pectof the academieswer€"Theoryto Practice"sgssions

that offeredexarnplesof commercialprogramsthatwould be eligible for ReadingFirst
ftmds,The oIG foundthat the sessions"focusedon a selectnumberof reading
programs."Out of l2 programsthat werecitedat the sessions over fhe courseof thrse
academies,six wereDirect InstructiorrCII), a progralnDoherty,ReadingFirst's former
director,charnpionedprior to comingto tho department.OpenCourt wascited three
times,and threeotherproductswerecitedonceeach.

The apparentnalrownessof the choicessparkedan immediatebacklash.In comment

evalualionforms,attendees saidthingslike, "[ think ]'ll go buy sharesin OpenCourt!"
and "I felt like I wasin a DireetInsftuctionsalespitch all day."

Thoseopinionswereepparentlybuttressedby officialsinvolved in settingup the

academies.
A facilitatorof the first academy,in an e-maildebriefingDoherty on the

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 Page46 PageTof7

event,noted"too much emphasison Direct Instruction,"accordingto the OIG. Arr RMC

consuitente*rnailedDohe*y aftertke first eventto tell him "as evsryonsknaws,Opan
Court andDirect Instructioncaa't be theonly showsin town."

DohertyandNeumandeclinedto be interviewedfarthis article.

SFA Shuf Out

RobertSlavin is chairmanof theBaltimore-based Successfor All Foundation(SFA), one

of threeorganizationsthat initially to
complained the OIG. Slavinsaidthe academies
providedsomeof the clearestevidensethatSFA was shutout of ReadingFirsL SFA,
alongwith Direct InstructionandOpenCourt,arethe thresreadingprogrrrmsthat are
rn"idelyacknowledged to havethegreatestavidenceof eff€ctiveness; yet Direot
lnstructionandOpenCourtwereamply represented rvhile SFAwas
at the sessions,
invisible.

"l still don1know why, but thereis absolutelyno way to arguethat SFA was not
excludedon purpose,"Slavin said."Theyknew the researchon SFA,they knew how to
find us, and lhey knew exactlywhat it would meanif DI andOpenCourt were given as
exarnplesand SFA was not. [t would be like giving examplesof high-qualityJapanese
carsand sayrngToyota andSubaru.What aboutHonda?"

Lyon, who doesnot oftenfind hirnselfagleeingwith SlavinaboutSFA's treatmentunder

ReadingFirst, agreed."If you want to highlightprograrnsbasedon SBRF, SFA is a
prirneexamplg" he said."For the life ofme, I do not know why they did not."

T:hetwo mostreQwttOIG reportsean befaundat

Shttp-;/l_wwxdgpykhea llpfi. t es4i st/otg/eh"stane"tu,htm1}*.

.DavidDunn....5111n}Ag
.03.27
file:i/iL\OS-Hxec%20Sec\FOIA%20letters\07-00517%20CRFWU007
 Page47

From: Mclane,Katherine
Sent; May 09, 20075;?8PM
To: Dunn,David;Maddox,Lauren;Halaska, Terrell;Sampson, Vincen! Conaty,
Joseph;Farris,Amanda;Bannerman, Kristin;Quarles,Karen;La Force,Hudson
Subject: More ConflictsFoundin ReadingProgram(AP]

More ConflictsFoundin ReadingProgram

By NANCYZUCK"ERBROD
TheAssociated
Press
May9,2007;3:33PM
Wednesdoy,
WASHINCTON -- Officials who gavestatesadviceon which teachingmaterialsto buy undera
federalreadingprogramhaddeepfinancial liesto publishers,accordingto acongressionalreport
Wednesday,
The report,compiledby Senateklucation CommiffeeChairmanF.dwqSd.Kemedy
<h!ip://projects.washingtonpqsl-eom/congres$/grg.nbFrS/k000105/>,
D*Mass,,detailshow
officials conbactedby thegovemmentto helprun theprogramwere at the sametime drawing
pay from publishersthatbenefitedfrom the readinginitiative.
Keruredy'sreportaddednewdetailto a conflict-of-interestinvestigationby the Education
inspectorgeneral,which earlierhad foundthat the ReadingFint Programfavored
Departrnent's
somereadjngprogams overotlers andthat federalofficials andcontractorsdidn't guardagainst
conflicts.
The nervreportfocusedon four contractorswho headedcentersthat guidedstatesin choosing
readingprogramsaimed at kindergartnersthrough third graders
It foundthe contractors"hadsubstaltialfinancialtiesto publishingcompanieswhile
simultaneouslybeingresponsiblefor providingtechnicalassistance to statesandschool
disfficts."That damagedtheintegrity of the prggram*nd illustratesthe needfor Congressto arrt
to headoff firtureconflicts,the reportconcluded.
The reportfocusedon four peoplewho directedtheprogram'sregionalTechnicalAssistance
Centers:
_EdwardKame'enui,urhoheadedthe westerntechnicalassistance centerbasedat the University
of Oregon.Between2002and2004,while holdingpositionsin which he wasevaluatingReading
First assessmentprogramsandgiving stateeducationagenciestechnicalassistance,Kame'enui
enteredinto threedifferentconhactswith the publisherPearson/Scott
Foresrnan,
the reportsaid.
"Due largely to his contractswithPearson/ScottForesman, Dr. Kame'enui'sincomesoaredin the
periodfollowing the implernentation of the ReadingFirst pmgram,"ile reportsaid,addingthat
themajority of his royaltieswere derivedfrom productsusedby stafesanddistrictsin
conjunctionwith ReadingFirst.
Karne'enui,who now rvorksas a commissionerat theEducationDepartment's teseaxch&rm,
eamedhundredsof thousandsof dollarsin royaltiesfrom Pearson/ScottForesmanbetwesn?001
of dollarsin consultingfeesftom
and2006,the reportsaid.He alsorsceivedters of thousands
Voyager,anothsrpublisherof productsusedby statesunderReadingFirst between2000 to
?003.
 Page48

_DouglasCarnine,rvhoreplacedKame'enuias lhe westsrncenter'sdirectorin 2005,when

Kame'enuileft to takeup his federalposition.PreviouslyCaminehad otherrolesrelatedto
ReadingFirst.
At the sametime he headedthe westemcenter,Camineworkedwith andc,ontinues to work with
numerouspublisbers,accordingto the report.He madehundredsof thousandsof dollarsin
royaltiesfrom publishersthat did well underReadingFirsf suchasHoughtonMifllin Company
from 2002to 2006,the reportsaid.
JosephTorgesen,who directedthe eastemregionaldisfict at FloridaStateUniversity from
2003 until the presont.Torgesenis the publisherof a McGraw Hill readingprogramthat canbe
usedunderReadir.rg First. The studyfoundthat from 2002to 2006,Torgessriearnedthousands
of dollarsin royaltiesandotherpaymentsfrom cornpanies like McGrawHill andPearsonand
SoprisWest,which laterwas acquiredby CarnbiumLearning.
In one internale-mail,Torgesenquestionedwhetherhe shouldseekspecialpermissionftom the
departmentlo review the new ScottForesmancurriculumfor Maine. "I hada discussionwith
somefolks in Washingtonyesterdayw'horightly pointedout that we might wantto think about
their program,"Torgesen
rewardingPearsoni/Scott Foresman)for significantlystrengthening
wrote.
_SharonVaughnheadedthe cenhaltechnicalassistance centeral theUniversityof Texas-Austin
from 2003to 2005.Shereceivedte,lrsof thousandsof dollarsin royaltiesfrom PearsonEducation
Inc. and"othsr income" from VoyagerExpandedleaming,two programsusedwder Roading
First.
The reportconcludedby recommendingthat Congressadoptnew restrictionsto safeguard
againstfinancialconflictsin federaleducationprograms.
"Individualsservingon advisorycommitteesor in tlre peerreview processfor the department
shouldbe prohibitedfrom maintainingsignificantfinancialinlerestsin relatededucational
productsor activities,"thereport said.
 Page49

Frorn: Dunn,David
Sent: May15,20074:43PM
To: Mclane,Katherine
Subject: RE:GoTo ABCNewWeb Page

ugh...
ThanksKatherine.

Frcm: Mclane,Katherine
May15,20473:44PM
$ent: Tuesday,
To; Dunn,David
Subjectr FW:GoTo ABCNewWebPage

^*--Origin&lMessagF.---
From: Conaty,Joseph
Senbi Tuesday,May 15, 2cn7 3:27PNl
Tor McLane,Kaherine; Maddo)C Laur€n;Farrls,Amanda;Eutler,James;Rrcnfelf Phil
Subjoct GoTo ABCNew WebPage

U.S.ReadingProgramBenetitsBush'Pioneer'Fundraiser
May15,20072:29?M
JosephRheeand DanaHughesReport:
<< OLE Object: Picture (Metafile) >> A major Texasfundraiserfor PresidentGeorge
Bush hasmademillions oldollars in profits from a federalreadingprogramthat critics
say favoredadministrationcrsniesat the expenseof schoolchildren.
A companyfoundedandorvnsdby RarrdyBest who raised$100,000to qualify asa Bush
"Pionesr"during the ?000presidentialcampaigrr" receivedthe lucrativeconhactsundera
Bush administrationinitiative calledReadingFirst.
After receivingthecontracts,Bestwas ableto sell his company,VoyagerExpanded
Leaming,fot $360mil.lion.It wasvaluedat only $5 million a few yearsearlier.
THE SLOTTtrR RECOMMAI{NS
' BlptterNqChild Left BelrindScandalWidens
Shttp/blogs,.*cnews.c_g$l_mell"o-tleri2007l05/no*child_left_b.h.trnl:
. Re4dingJlsgr?m
Biof,q'jkoubled kswo llsil{lom Cqn$ess
:
Shttp gotT/theblotter#0O7/04iiroubledJeadin,htrnl>
abcnews.
//bloes.
. Fiasbythp.Filliqnq
Blo"lle[S-Iudy: irrllEpedEdPrcsarn
<http:i,'blogq.ab_qrp.:r,s.com/theblotter/2007/021stud),*bias_bir
t.trtml>
. Out Brian Ross-$lidelhows
Cliqli Hp;"g".tp-eheck
Shttp:l/abcnew s.qq,cp_I?IWNT/BrianR,p.+$P
"At thf time of thesale,the companythat boughtthe programjustified this to their
stockholderson the basisthat this programhaddoneextremelywell underReadingFirst
andwas very politically coru:ected,"saidRobertSlavin,a leadingeducatorat Johns
HopkinsUniversity andcritic of theReadingFirst program.
 Page50

Slavin,the brotherof a:rABC News executive,sa)6a progmrnhe developedwasrejected

by the Departnentof Educationdespiteits recordof success.
Best,of Dallas,deniedhis connecfionsto FresidentBush helped.himwin any of the
federalreadingprogramcontracts.
"I have gottenno help from anyonein the adminishation,"Besttold the Blotter on
ABCNews.com.
But congressionalinvestigatorssayReadingFirst contractswere awardd by the
administrationbasedonpolitics andfinancialties,not merit.
"They designedit for their frjendsandcroniss,andthey endedup not designingthe best
progrrunfor America'sschoolchildren,"said CongressmfirGeorgoMiller, D-Calif., the
chairmm of the HouseEducationandLabor Committee.
In a report earlier this year, the inspectorgeneralfor the Departmentof Educationfound
repeatedinstancesof conflict of interestin the ReadingFirst progmm.
For example,one of the educatorswho gaveapprovalto Best'sreadingtestingprograur,
EdwardKame'enui,was on Best'spayroll at the sametime, He alsoapproveda reading
programfor publisherScottForesmanat the smnetime the publisherpaidhim $400,000
in royalty andconsultingfees.
Appearingbeforelvliller'scongressional committee,Kame'earui
saidthere\vereno
conflict of interestrulesfor subconfactorslike him.
"Had we beerrinformedof conflict of interestcriteria,we would havecertainly
implemented those,"Kams'e11uitold Congress.
Watch tiWorld NewsWith CharlesGibson'r tonight for the full report.
 Page51

From: Dunn,David
Sent: May 1"5,20075:50FM
To: Tucker,Sara{Rastricted)
Cc: Oldham,Cheryl
Subjest: RE:GoTo ABCNewWebPage

Don'tthinkso...
Thanksto bothof youl

F om: Tucker,Sara(Restrlcted)
Sent Tuesday,May 15,7AO75:40 PM
To: Dunn,David
Cc; Oldham,Cheryl
Subject RE: GoTo A8C New Web Page

Cherylwill be reachingout to both RandyBesi and $andy Kressto suggestmeetingswith Vlckre

Schray........btw,
maybe that Vickie'salreadyseenwhatRandyis proposlng.WouldRandyhave
funneledsuggestions via RickO'Donnellor Townsend?

From! Dunn,Oavid
$en* Tuesday,May15,20075:20Fr'l
To: Tucker,Sara{Retricted)
Subjact RE:CtIoABCNewWebPage

Me too...

Frsm: Tucker,Sara(Rstrlcted)
Senh Tuesday,May7\2007 5103PM
To; Dunn,David
SubJect: REIGo To ABCNew Web Page

Surprisedthat CharlssGibsonwouldpicksome0ringlikelhis up....

Frorili Dunn,David
Senb Tuesday,May15,20074;43Pl'l
To: Tudcr, Sara{Res,trict€d)
$ubject FW:(x Ib ASCNewWebPage

From: McLanqKatherine
Sent: Tuesday,May15,20073:44Plvl
To: Dunn,David
$ubjectr FW:GoTo ABCNewWebPage

..*-OrlginalMessage--*-
From: Conary,loseph
 Page52

Se*t: Tuesday,
May15,20073:2?PF4
To; Mcl$ne/Katherine;
t"!addo&
Lruren;Faris/Amanda;
Buter,lames;R06enfelt,
Fhil
Subjesf GoToABCNevrWebPage

U.S,ReadingProgramBenefitsBush'Picneer'F'undraiser
May15,2007
2:29?M
JosephRheeandDanaHughesReport:
<< OLH Object Picture (Metafile) >> A rnajorTexasfundraiserfor PresidentCeorge
Bush hasmademillions of dollarsin profils from a federalreadingprogramthat critics
say favoredadministrationcroniesat the expenseof schoolchildren.
A companyfoundsdand ownedby RandyBesi,who raised$100,000to qualifo as a Bwh
"Pioneefl'drring the2000presidentialcarnpaigrr,receivedfhe lucrativecorrtmctsrmdera
Fush administrationinitiative calledReadingFirst,
After receivingthe oorrtrasts,
Bestrva$ableto sell his company)VoyagerExpanded
Leaming,for $360million. It was valuedat cnly $5 miilion a few yearsearlier.
TIIE BLOTTAR RffCOMMHNDS
. SlottqrNe.JhildL€&BehludSc?IrdalWidq$
<http/&lo gs.&p*pxl qpm/-ihsllqltsr#0Q?_Q5/n_qJhrklJo$_b,hfinh
. FlqtterTroubledReadrng
FrqsarixP{aws. HoalFroruCon*'csq
Shttp;/&lp$,nhqn e:vq-spm/.th p*{.[p-']bl"ed;sadn,hhl?
qblpttpr/i0-0?/.
. Btqttpr$t'rdv;Eien.hythp.HiJlip.*si*..Hlpwp-dSd-Frqsffn
{http:/toloes.-absnpyr/s,sp$"l"Xhpblplter/20-Q7/0?-1"s"t}r{y_bias
by_t.h[nh
. CliqkHereIq CheckOu{BnanRossSlideqhowr
<http:llabcnews.qo.co_U./IffW,tsdanRoss..P
"At the time of the sale,the companythatboughtthe programjustified this to their
stockholderson thebasisthat this programhaddoneextremelywell underReadingFirst
and wasvery politically connected,"saidRobertSlavin,a leadingeducalorat Johns
HopkinsUniversity andcritic of the ReadingFirst program.
Slavin,thebrothsr of an ABC News executive,saysa programhe developedwasrejected
by the Deparfmentof Educationdespiteits recordof success.
Best,of Dallas,deniedhis connectionsto PresidentBushhelpedhim win any of the
federalreadingprogramcontraots.
"I havs gottenno help liom anyonein the administration,"tsesttold the Blotter on
ABCNews.com,
But congressionalinvestigatorssay ReadingFirst contractswere awardedby the
basedon politicsandfinancialties,not merit.
administration
''Theydesignedit for their friendsandcronies,andthey e,:rded
up not derigningthe best
prograffifor America'sschoolchildren,"saidCongressman CeorgeMiller, D-Calif., the
chairmanof the HouseFducationandLabor Committee.
In a repor^tearlierthis year,the inspectorgeneralfor the Departnentof Educationfound
repeatedinslancesof conflict of interestin the ReadingFirst program.
 Page53

For example,oneof the educatorswho gaveapprovalto Best'sreadingtestingprogram,

EdwardKame'enui,was on Best'spayroll at thesametime. He alsoapproveda reading
at the sametime the publisherpaidhim $400,000
progremforpublisher ScottFore,smffn
in myalty and corsulting fees.
AppearingbeforeMiller's congressional committee,.Klme'enui
saidtherewere no
conflict of interestrules for subconfractors
like him.
"Had rvs beeninformedof conflict of interestcriteria,we would havecertainly
implementedthose," Kame'eriuitold Congress.
Watch "World NewsWith Ch*rles Gibsou" tonight for the full report.
 Page54

*----ori ginal Me$sage--***

From: fi{cLan6,Katheri ne
To: Dunn, David; Maddox,Lauren; Ha]aska, Terrell; Conaty, Joseph; Talbent, Kent;
Farri s.
amanda i l,tcnitt , TownsendL. ; Ro$enfelt, phi"l
cc: Ditto, Trey; meale, Rebecca;neich, Heidi; Ruberg, casey; Terrell, lulie; yudof,
5aftara
sent: Tue May 15 19:17:41 2007
S u b j e c t : L i n e b y l i n e o n A B CR F s t o r y

frg:g5_Tgllghrr_we have a look at rhe growing scandal surrounding a

n u ltibil I ion-dollar federal
prograff that is supposed to help ch{Idren learn to read. But the program called
reading first is now
friet :pi -oi rl l e r , aol lret ga an t i o n s o f c o n f l i c t o f i n t e r e s t , a n d p o c k e t l i n i n g . o u r i n v e s t i g a t i v e
' l o o k i n gr o s s .
has been into reading first.

.Rg::j t91!l'inq chi'ldren to read is a passion for cindy cupp, who deve^lopeda
w1oe ry-prar sed
program used ins schools throughout georgia.

c u P P !Y o u g i v e t h e m a g i f t t h a t w i l ] l a s t f o r e v e r . n n d i t ' s just a joy.

R O S S :s o . c u o D was thri'lled whenthe bush administ,rationannounced it would spend

billion
d o l i a r s a y e a r to help states pay for effective reading programs.

POTUST
We have a reading first program,

Ross:but five years and $5 biliion 'later, what is called the reading ffrst program
i s s u r r o u n d e db v
scandal. congre"ssionalinvest'igators say contracts were awardedby the
aomrn'r5tratl0n baseclon
po'litics and financial ties, nor merjt.

R E P ._ M T L L E R : r h e y d e s i g n e d i t for their friends and cron'ies, Rnd they ended up

iE3lJXtl8t.n.
bestprosram
for america's school children.

Page L
 Page55

2AA7-05.15.oavjdDunn.Rer--ineby line on ABc RF story.rxt

Ross: affong.those who benefit the nost, an old texas frjend of george bush, randy
best. a readino
testing proqrat his companydeveloped received mil"l'ions of dollars in sonrracts
throuoh readino
firstl aest sals his ties to bush gave hirn no'inside track. But he has s.ince sold
tn€ co$pany, once
valued at $5 mil-lion dollars, for $360 million dollars. pure po"litics, says robert
s-lavin, a leading
educator and crittc, whose brother is an abc news executive,

s t A v r N : r t h i n k i t w a s a t l e a s t c r o n y i s m .r f y o u w e r e o n t h e i n g r o u p , V o u c o u j d d o
no wrong.

llltj,1I! l[* inspectorgeneralfor the department

of educationa]so found repeared
conTlrcts o r
interest on the part of people who approved the reading programs. For example,
edward
kame'enui, who oversaw programs for western states, received $400,000 from a
publjsher whose
very.reading programs he approved, Kane'enui told congress he did not realJze that
would be a
confl i ct.

Had we been informed of conflict of jnterest crjteria, we would have certainly

implemented those.

CUPP:Can you give it to me in a sentence?

Ross.: cindy cupp's program in georgia never was approved, despite its successfu'l
track record.
nor was-the.program run by robert slavin, Now, schools that use their programs have
to pay ror 'rt
thenselves.

C U P P :I t ' s tarni shed t-hepr'ogram

t h a t w a s b a s i c a l l y r e a 1 1 yg c o d f o r k 1 d s .

R 0 S S : t h e . d e p a r t m e n t o f e d u c a t i o r rs a y s r e a d i n g s c o r e g a c r o s s t h e c c u n t r y a r e w a y u p ,
provl ng tne
p,rogrami s worki ng. But f o r c i n d y c u p p a n d o t h e r s , t h e p r o g r a , isl e e m s ,c h a r l i e , m o r e
about
connections than kids.

GfBSoN: Brian ross reporting in new york, tonight.

paoe 2
 Page56

From: Dunn,David
Sent: luly 09,20076:12PM
To: Jeffrey,Scott
Subject: FW:WeeklyStandard on Reading
First

An youprinlthisforme

From; Hclane'Katherine
$Ent Monday. July09,2A074:36PM
To: Private- spelllngs,Margare!Landers, Angela;Fver$Bill;cotby,chad;williams,cynthia;
Dofman,Cynthia;Mesecar, Doug;Duncke|, Denise;Dunn,DavidlPitb, Elizabethl Flowers,
Sarah;McGrath, John;Talbeft,KenUBriggs,Kerri;Kuzmich.Holly;Toomey.Uam;Maddox,
Lauren;scheessele, Marc;Private- $pelllngs,
Margaret;Mcnitt,Townsend L.; Beaton,Meredith;
Moran,Robert;Tucker,SaraMartinez; Tada,Wendy;Halaska,Ienell;TracyWH;Wurman,
Ze'ev;Young,Tracf; Quar[es. Koren;Bannerman, Kristin;Watkins,Tiffany;Sampson, Wncent
Ccr Ditto,Trey;Neale,Rebecca; Reich,Heidi;Ruberg.Casey; Terrell,Julie;yudof,Sarnara
Subject WeekfyStandard on Reading First

Read [t and Weep

Why doesCongresshatethe onepart ofNo Child Left Behindthat works?
by CharlotteAllen
A7/16/2007, Volume012,Issue4l
Richmond,Yirginia In a classroomat GinterFark ElementarySchool,a century-oldbrick
schoolhouse on a dreary,zoned-commercial truck routethat bisectsa largelyA&ican-American
neighborhoodin Richmond,a third'gradeteacher,LavernoJohnson,is doingsornethingthatflies
in ths faceof more thanthreedecadesof the mostadvancedpedagogicalprinciplestaughtat
Arnerica'stop-ratededucationschools.Seatedon a chairin a cornerof her classmomsurrounded
by a dozenyormgsterssitting cross-legged on the floor at her feet,Johnsonis teachingreading*
asjust plain reading-Two anda half hourseverymorning,systematicallygoing over suchbasics
as phonics,vocabularywords,anda cruoialskill known as "phonemicawarsness" that entails
recognizingthe separatesoundcomponenlsof individualwords--thatthcword "happy,"for
example,containsfive lettersbut only four sowrds,or phonemes.PhonemicawarEness is an
imporlantpreludeto phonics:learningwhich phonemesarerepresented in written Englishby
which graphemes,or combinationsof letters.Accordingto the principlesJohnsonis iollowing, it
is the mix of phcrnemic andphonicsthatenahlesc,hildren
arryarenass (anc1adultsloarninghow to
readfor the first time) to soundout, syllableby sylla.ble,unfamiliar-lookingwordstheymight
eircounteron a pageandthenlink thosewordsto meaning,In the world of forward-thinking
educationalpedagogy,phonernicawarensss is deemeduseless,phonicsof only intermittent
value,andthe soundingout of wordsdeadening to a child'spotentialinterestin books.As her
main teachingtcol, Johnsonis usingsomethingthat alsomakest}e mostadvancedminds at
America'seducationschoolsblanch:a reader.Thosefat hardbacktextbooksthat werethe staple
of gradeschooluntil the lg70sareout of fashionthesedays,replacedin rnostelvrnentary-school
classroomsin Americaby "authenticlitorature":illustratedtrade-presschildren'sbooksof the
sort thatparantsbuy to entertaintheir offspringat bedtime(or that older youngsterscheckout of
the public library to readfor pleasure)andentirelylackingin teachers'guidesor cluesasto how
they might be usedasinstructionaltools.Again, not so st Ginter Park.Fveryone cf the dozen
 Page57

children.sitting at Johnson'sfeet holds an opencopy of the very samstextbook that Johnson

holds,whoseno-nonsense title makesits pnrposeplaunHoughtanMifilin Reading,Grade3.Tt
comessupplem*ritedwith suchfashionablydisdainedmaterialsasvoiabulary lisi, ready-made
camprehension tests,and teachers'guides thatincludebuilt-in Iessonplansand scripts.Indeed,
Johnsonis handingout one of thoseveryvocabularylists: 30 new wordsthat they iuill
in the story to which their booksareopenbut which they havor't startedyet: 'poppa,sNew "n"ounte,
Pants,"Johnsonis soundingout the wordswith the childrenand going ttunughtheir meanings:
"pattern,""plaid," "dr&pgdn" uWhalcanyou
"hgm." tell me abouta hem?"sh; asks.A little frrl
promptly flips up thehem of her T-shirtandshowsit off to the gmup, ',Sew--S-E-W,',
says
Johnson."No'w,doesanyoneknow a homonlal for sew?""So--S-O!"shoutsanothergirl.
"yes!,,
saysJohlson,explaininghow it is that two differentwordswilh two differentmeaningscan
soundthe same.A homonym--they reatlystilt teachsuchthingsthesedays?The education
establishment may sneerat the techniques Johnsonuses,but they arepart of a small-scale
miracle: GinterPark,despitean unpromisinglocationand a highjoverty-le'el sh.rdent body,
1o13nks in the iop third of more than 1,100-p-ublic elsmentary schoolsin the stateof Virginia,
holding its own againstschoolsin the ulba-affluent,highly educatedsuburbancountjesof
northern\Iirginiajust acrossthePotomasRiver from Washington,D.C. Until only five years
ago,Ginter Park,locatedin a once-upscale fuolley-carsuburbthat hasseenbefterdayr, ** n*",
the bottom of the state'sacademicbarrel,the second-worst*performing elementarysehooliu the
RichmondPublic Schoolsdisfict--which wasitself the second-worstgerforming schooldistrict
in the state' Richmond,statecapitalandonetimecapitalof the Confederacy, is ictassic example
of a southerncity nemly collrysedin on itself afterdecadesof worseningeionomic fortunesand
ourmigration to its exurbanring, The city boastsa handfulof genuinelywealthy or artfully
genbifiedncighborhoods, but thereis alsomuchpoverty,with its r*tendantsociatproblemsof
crime,drugs,teenpregnancy,andsingle-pareni households.Of Richmond's25,00ityoungr,*o
enrolledin public school,95 percentareAfrican American,and 70 percentqualify fot fr*" o,
reduced-pricelunches,a markerof poverty.At GinterPark Elementary,wherealibut a tiny
handfulof studentsbelongto minority groups,the childrenareon averageevenpoorer,with 83
qualiSing for the freo-lunchpro$am. During the year2000,oniy five pubtic schoolsin
fsrcent
Richmond(andcertainlynot GinterPark)werefully accreditedby the stateof Virginia.
Accreditationmearr that 75 percentof studentsareproficient at gradelevel in fnfhsh,
mathematics,$cience,and history,asmeasurpdby a seriesof tough standardized tleststhat the
stateput into placein 1999.This year,thanksin part to a revolutionin instructionalmethodsin
r'vhichthe readingprogramat GinterParkElementaryplayeda keyrole, andthanksin pafi to a
controversialBush adminiskationgrantsprogramcalledReadingPirst,a provisionof Bush'sNo
Child Left BehindAct that fundedthe teachingmethodson view in Johnson'sclassroom,45 of
Richmond's49 public schoolsenjoy full stateaccred.itation. DespiteRichrnond'ssuccesssrory*
detailedby educationanalystSol Stemin an articlefor the Winter 2007issueof the Manhattan
Institute'sCity Journal and duplicatedin schooldistrictsacrossthe nationthat have availed
themselvesof ReadingFirst grants--itis safeto say thal phonicsandits relatedinstructional
componentsate no morepopularin the public edueationestablishment thanthey wre five years
ago.This despitethe fact that the literacylevelsof America'sschoolchildrenrangefrom
appallinglylow to mediocreby both nationalandcomparativeinternationalstandards.For
example,nearlytwo-thirdsof America'sfourth-and eighth-padersfalledto attainsc.ores of
proficient (againmeaning"at gradelevel") in readingin 2005 on the NationalAssessmentof
EducationalProgress (NAEP),a narionwidesan,plingsurveyof acaclemic achievement. Hven
 Page58

worse,sorne40 psrcsntof thoseyoungslerscould not evenread at the "basic"level for their

grade:a barebonesstandardof fluencyandcomprehension that would meanthat as adultsthey
wouldbe ableto makesenseout of abus scheduleor a simpleinstructionmanual.Poor and
minority children fared evenworsie)wi& 65 percentof thern uuableto readeven at the basic
Ievel for their gradeandlessthan l6 percentrcachingthe pmficicncy level. Arnerioanyoung
peoplearealsosignificantlybehindtheir counterpartsin other developedand evsnsome
developingcountriss.On the Progressin InlemationalReadingStudy (PIRLS),a multinaficnal
test for foruth-gradersadministeredin 2001,theUnited Statesplacedonty 9th out of 35
paflicipatingnadons,trailing top-ratedSwedeir,the Netherlands,and England*deqpitespending
moro per studenton educationthariany othernationin the world. On theProgramfor
IntemationalStudentAssessment (PISA), a testof l5-year-oldsin 2003,Americanstudents
ranked just aboutin themiddle in literacyskills, way behindtheir coevalsin top-rankingFinland
and a scoreof othercou:rfriesincludirrgSouthKorea,Canada,Aushalia,andNsw Zealand.It is
an educationalcommonplacethatchildrenwho cannotreadat gradelevel by the fourth gradeare
unlikely everto be ableto readwell enoughto tacklethespecializedtextbooksthey will
encounterin science,history,andolher subjectsasthey move to higher gades, More likely, they
will fall fuither and fiuiher behindin school,eventuallydrop,pingout in manyca,ses. Despiteall
this less-rhan-encouraging dat4 effortsto teachthe elemenisof readingin a direct and systematic
fashion-the way LaverneJohnsondoesat GinterPark--arederidedat mostU.S. education
schaalsas"culting learningup into itty-bitty pieces,"ot "one*size-frts-all," or "the factory
model,"to borrow thewordsof YvonneSiu-Runyan,a recentlyretirededucationprofessorat the
Universityof NorthemColoradoin an interviewfor this article.Siu-Runyanis an influential
proponentof a competingtheoryof readinginsBuctionknown as "whole language"that is
favoredby suchinfluentialerrtitiesasthe NationalCouncil of Teachersof Englishandthe
InternationalReadingAssociation,nearlythe entirefaculty at the prestigiousColumbiaTeachers
College,andfhe vastmajorify of Aarericanelementary-school teachers,accordingto a 2002poll
conductedby the ManhattanInsdrute. Siu-Runyanandher counterpartswould probablyfind
much to criticize ai GinlerPark,wherethe mandatorytwo anda half homsof readinginstruction
vastlyexceedthe houror so a daythat most elementaryschoolsdevoteto readiagin tho primary
grades.Alter two hoursof Johnson'sdirectteaching,her pupilsreturnto their desks,arrangedin
clumpsof four aroundtheclassroom,or takeseatsat oneof the four computerworkstationslined
up at a wall, or just sit on the floor with a book. It's time for a half-hourof "enrichmenl"--
independentreadingkom booksof their choicefor the morepmficient students--and
"intervsntion"--individualor small-groupwork undersupervisionfrom Johnsonon reading
componentson which lessproficientstudenlsneedextrahelp. Svery child in GinterPark'sfive
third-gradeclas$rooms, 72 youngstors in all, is testedweekly,alongwith therestof theschool's
K-4 sildents, andtheir numberscoresarcpostodon stickiesin the first-floor teachers'conferotrce
room at the school,so that everyteacheris awareof the flucfuatingskengths,weaknesses, and
progressor lack thereofof everychild. Furftermore.evef,ythird-gradeclassroomfollows the
samedaily scheduleof instructionin fhe fivs componentsof iiteracythat readingresearchers at
HarvardUniversity andolsewherehaveidentifiedover the pastfour decadesandthat, it rvould
seem,€vsry tsacherat GinterParkcanrattleoff the tip of his or her tongue:phonemic
awareness, phonics,fluency(recognizingwords and their letter-cornponents quickly andeasily,
usuallytestedby havingindividualstudentsreadout loud),vocabulary,andcomprehension. All
third-gradersat Ginter Park readone story a week from NoughtonMffin Reoding, Grade 3. ln
one third-gradeclassroom,a teacherhelpsaboy rvith phonics,guidinghim ashe picks out and
 Page59

lines up, from an arrayof word-fiashcards, everyword that containsthe short"en-sourd:"step,"

"sst," "hotel."In anotherclassroom,a pile of in-classexercisessitting on a teachelsdeskhave
aekedthe youngstsrsto look at a drawingof a commonobject(a couch,for example)and
identify the one word out of five multiple-choiceitsms that containsa lettercombinationthat is
also irt the wcrd pictured(here,the corrsctans\ryer is "lunch"). A littie girl in Johnson'sclassroom
who is clearly an accomplished readeris standing,acfuallydancingin slow, swayingcircles,
while shereadsaloudto herselfthe storyof SleepingBeauty,picked out from one of the
numerousatkactivechildren'sbcoksarrangedfor the takingou tablesor prappedup agairrst
whiteboardsaround*re room: GrandfatherandI, Fragry GetsDressed,Allthe Placesto Live,
Androclesand theLion, TheLife Cycleaf a Salmon The girl hasturnedSleepingBeautyinto a
privateperlorunance for the audienceof onethaf is her own imagination:readingthe dialoguein
differentvoicesfor the differentcharacterso following lhe wordson the pagewith her fi.nger,
sashalng in placc,so engrossed andso captivatingthat anotheradvancedreadu, inspired,joins
in with her own book,R.L. Stine'sMostly Ghostly,anrdher own swayingdance.Johnson's
classroom,like the otherthind-grade classroomsat GinterPark,is shrffedwith a tidy jumble of
visual andwritten materialpitchedat 8-year-olds:a world globe,aportait of George
Washingto4 and on everywall, postersillustratingsirnplemachines"grusslandsanimals,andthe
watercycle from rainfall to fauset,a setof multiplicationtables,a cwsive alphabetwith arrow-
directionson how to form the letters,"The Oiffs of the Ancient Greek;s,""The Gifrs of ihe
Romans,"a list of values("compassioil,""petrsev€rance," "responsibility").Therearecertificates
of "Math Whiz Achievement"for studentswho haveworkedtheirway successfullythmughl0O
additionproblerns(GinterParkteachesarithmetictheold-fashionedway,just as it teaches
readingthe old-fashionedway). And lestonothink thatPoppa'sNewPants,this week'sstory,is
dull see-Spot*run farereminiscentof the 1950s"it is actuallyas "authentic"apiece of children's
literatureas Charlie ond the ChocolateFactory.Its author,AngelaShelfMedearisof Austin,
Texas,is a widely readwriter of dozensof children'sbooksaboutA&ican-Americanlife (indeed,
Poppa'sNewPants canbe boughton Amaeon.comas a freestanding tifle). Colorfrrj,highly
deiailedpictues by the award-winningillustratorJohnWard help tell Medearis'swarm and
humorousstory abouta blackfarm family andits eccentricmembersin theDepression-era
South.Elsewherein lloughtonMifilin Reading,Grade3, arelushly illusfrated,information-
packedchaptersaboutPly,r:nouth Plantation,EmestShackloton's expeditionto Antarcticain
191+1916,arrdBessieColemail,America'sfirst blacklicensedpilot. Thematerialis not only
interestingin itself, but it introducesyoungreadersto worids and vocabulariesthat extendwell
beyondtheir own neighborhoods. Being on theprernisesof GinterParkElernentary--withits
high-ceilinge.d, tall-windowedclassrooms,its rvide,spotlesshallwayswhosewalls me decorated
with samplesof studentart, its well-stockedlibnry (caltedthe "mediacenter"becauseit also
featurescomputersandDVD players),its attentiveand energeticteachsrs,its lively but well-
manneredyoungstersin gradesranging frrompre-K to fifth, and its ulnanaditional curriculum, is
Iike passingthrougha lime warp to fhe world o{, say,your grandmothsr's public school--except
better,becausethe classesat Ginter Parkaresmallerand the instructionalmaterialsarelivelier,
richer,morecomprehensive, and fortifiedby up-to-datetechnology.The miracleat GinterPark
is partly,perhapshugely,dueto an aggressive new schoolsuperintendent, DeborahJewell-
Sherrnan.In 2001,the year beforeher promotion to the top post,while shewas stiil directorof
instnrctionin Richmond,Jewell-Shennan hadalreadyincorporateda setof instructional
materialscalledVoyagerUniversalLiteracy,heavyon phonicsandphonemicawareness, into the
lowest-performingof Richmond'selemqntaryschool$,itrcludingOinter Park.Then,whenshe
 Page60

took over the city's educationsysteminZAA2,one of her first stepsrvasto standardizethe

readingcurri.culum,mandatingVoyagerandtheHoughtonMifflin readersfor all Richmond
elementaryschools,a*dthen to stat1trainingteacherson how to usethem.Before thal, every
teacherhad beenfreeio pick his or hsr own readingmaterialsand designhis or her own
curriculum.This lcd to widceprcad"hobbyteaching" asonERichmondtsach€rcalledit;
Instructorsleft to their own deviceswould sometimesspendthe entireschoolyearr.vorkingwith
their studentson art andotherprojectsthal suitedthe teacher'sintereslsandskippingtcstsand
other ntitten assignmentsthat could be assessed, ivith the upshotbeing that the teaphsrsoften
"never got aromd to teachinganything." The resultsfrom Jewell-Sherman's plan of attackwere
immediate.By 2003,22 schoolsin Richmondhadachievedfull stateeccrsditation.The real
boostto GinterPark,andto the Richmondschoolsystemin general,however,alsocamein2A02,
when Jewell-Sherrnan arranged.forthe fuchmondpublic schoolsto accepta modestgrantof
about$450,000ayear,madeavailablethroughthe stateof Virginia, ftom the ReadingFirst
pmgram'which handsout about$l billion a yqu nationwidefor usein kindergartenandthe first
threegradesat schoolsin high-povertydistrictsso that the schcolscansetup programsderiving
from "scicntificallybased"readingreseaxch, The programsmuotalso incorporatethe five-part
approachto teachingrnading--"essential componentsof readinginstruction(ECRI)" in the
Ianguageof the statute-thatthe Ginter Parkteachersknow so well. Richmond'sgrant fundeda
pilot programat GinterPmkandanotherbottom-of-the-barrel elementaryschoolin Richmond
that paid forthe hiring of a full-time readingconsultantat eachschool,c-omprehensive
inskuctionalmaterials,a systemof regularreadingassessments so that yorngsterscould be given
extrahelp eitherindividrrallyor in small groups,andmoreteachertraining.Within a coupleof
years)the stateof Virginia raisedGinter Park'sclassificationfrom "1ow-proficiency"to "high-
proficiency,"andin 2005,the U.S. EducationDepartmentrecognizedGinterPark as
"distinguished"amongelementaryschoolsreceivingTitle I antipovertyfunds.The fwo Reading
First schoolshavebecomemodelsfcr otherRichmondschools,as teachersreachedout to train
otherteachersin theprogram'smethodology.ReadingFirst hasrecentlybpenthe subjectof a
major governrnsntscandalof sorts(for the few who know or careaboutit outsidethe
WashingtonBeltway andthe world of educationinsiders).Last Septemberthe Education
Deparknent'sinspectorgeneral,JohnC. Higgrs Jr.,issuedan audit reportconcludingthat
ReadingFirst'sadrninistrator, ChristopherDoherfy,hadstackedthe panelsthat reviewedstates'
applicationsfor ReadingFirst grantswith expertswho steeredthe statestowardusingcertain
readinginstuctional materialsfavoredby Dohertyat the expenseof cthers,andthal someof
thoseexperts,typically collegeprofessorswith back$oundsin readingscience,hadeither
personailydevelopedthe approvedmaterialsor actedaspaid consultantsto the companiesthat
developedthem.AlthoughHiggins'sreportmadeno finding of comrptionor conflictsof interest,
financialor otherwise(thereportreferredonly to "potential"conflicts andthe "appearance" of
conflict), andtherewas no evidencethal anyoneconnectedto the ReadingFirst programhad
improperlymarrdatedor recommended any specificmaterialsby name(the languageof theNo
Child Lsft BehindAct forbidsthis, in fact),Doherty,whosewife hadbeena part{ime consultant
lo oneapprovedprogram,Direct Instuction, was forcedto resignunderthreatof being fired.
One of the first actionsof the new DsmocratjcCongressswornin this yearwas a four-hour
hearingin April beforethe HouseCommitteeon EducationandLabordevotedto rehashing
Higgins'srsport.Higginsdisclosedthathe hadrefenedI'ffiire ReadingFirstto theJustice
Departmentfor possibleprosecution,andRep.GeorgeMiller, D-Calif., chairmanof the House
EducationCommitteq statedthat,in his opinion,Dohertyhad turnedReadingFirstinto a
 Page61

"criminal enterprise."Lately, hawever,little hn$beenheardfrom Justiceor any other federal

entity aboutReadingFirst, althoughCongressis expectedto vote on whetherandhow to
reauthorizethe No Child l"€ft Behindlaw sometimethis year,with muchpressurefrom the
educationestablishmentto changeits provisionsdrastically. (Tha law, which dispersesup to $20
billion in federalfundsto schoaldistrictsannually,is highly unpopulatwith most teachers
becauseit condjtionsreceiptof firndson studentprogresson state-admj::istered standardized
tests.)Onereasonmanycritics of ReadingFirst havegrowr silentof lateis that whai Rep.Miller
desmsa criminal enterpriseis possiblythe rnostsuccessfirlfederaleducationprogramin history.
Accordingto an April 19 re,portfrom the EducationDepartment,97 percentof the school
disticts participatingin ReadingFirst reportedgainsfrom 20M to ?006of 16 percentage points
for first-gradersand 15percentage pointsfor third-gradersin meetingfluencygoals.Comparable
gains.wereroportedin readingcornprehension: 15 percentagepointson aventgefor first-graders
and 12percentagepointson averagefor third-graders.The progresswasasrossthe boand:for
African Americansn Hispanics"English-language learners,disabledstudents,and the
economicallydisadvarrtage4 aswell as for thewhite middle class.Theseresultshave
confoundedboth the education-school typeswho hatethe ideaof intersivephonies,vocabulary
drilling, andstandardized testing,andalsothe many small-govemment conservatives who
believethat the entireNo Child Left BehjndAct representsunprecedented federalintrusioninto
education,which hastraditionaliybeenstrictly a stateandlocal concern.Furthermore,and
ironically,the instructionalmaterialsfrom HoughtonMifflin and Voyagerthat Dohertls panels
deemedacceptablein orderto qualify statesfor ReadingFirst grants--and which Higgirx
testifiedat the Househearinghadgeneratedan'tmprecedented"numberof complain* for
havingbeenproducedby "commercialinterests"*-ars tho very materialsthat Richmondeducators
creditwith tuming GinterParkinto a modelschool.(Voyagerwas developedby Reid Lyon, a
friend of Bush from Dallaswho waschairmanofchild developmsntandbehaviorfor the
Nationalkrstituroof Child HealthandHumanDevelopment(MCHD) from 1991to 2005;Lyon
subsequently ssld theprogramto ProQuest,an educationalcompanybasedin Ann Arbor.) The
materialsmarketedby HoughtonMiflljn andVoyagermight strike an educationprofessoras
overly "commercial,"but accordingto the teachersat GinterPark,theydo thejob. "We selected
aprogramthat fit ow ne€ds,"saidLynn Smith,Ginter Park'sreadingcoach,concerningthe
Voyagermaterials."lt providedfor small,{lexiblegroupsso that with thechangingdata,we
could respondto children'snee.dsin an individualizedway, it encouraged deepthinkingby tlre
children,andit includedstrongphonics.It alsocontainsextrasupportfor the stong students.It's
just a real nice fit." ReadingFirst andthe changein Richmond'spedagogicalcultureover the past
five yearshavehad a galvanizingeffecton themoraleof Richmondteachers- "We could see
immediateresults,"saidCathyS. Randolph,GirrterPark'sprincipal."It's excitingto be
successful,"In his City Journal articleaboutReadingFirst, Sol Sterncrunshedthe numberssnd
discoveredthat in 2005Richmond'sthird-gradershad ouperformed,by 15percentagepointson
the statereadingtest,the black third-gradersin the public schoolsof affluentFairfax Countyin
NorthernVirginia which had tumeddown federalReadingFirst moneyon the theorythat the
progtam'srestrictions would interferewith Fairfaxteachers'classroom creativity.Only 59
percentof theAfrican-Americanchildrenin Fairfa.xwerereadingat gade level in 2005,
comparedwith 74 percentof their counterparts in Richmond.The Richmcndpercentage barely
laggedthe79 percentgrade-level ratio for Fairfax'saffluentwhite youngsters. That ReadingFirst
hasprovedto be a runawaysuccos$ oughtto be a no-brainer.Phonicsin a mannerof speakingis
reading:the almostinstantaneous processby which the humanbrain links the troika of spoken
 Page62

sounds,thosesymbolson the printedpagethat we call writing, andmeaning.Thepivotal

momentin the movie TheMirscle Warkerin which the blind and deafHelenKeller suddenly
makesthe conneclionfor tho first time betweenthe world outsideher andthe leiters that her
teacherhastracedon her atm, is aparadigmaticdramatizationof thepowerof the written word
as a codeof commrrnication. It woirld scemobviousthat childrs$learninghow to rEadfqr the
first time might beriefit from a thoroughand systernaticgroundingin phonicsand phonemic
awareness.The English languagecontainsa larger numberof scundsthanmany other languages,
thanksto English'sheavyinfusion of Frenchafter the Norman Ccnquestand centuriesof
changingpromrnciation.While Englishspellingis lessarbitraryfhanmoslpeoplethink, the26
lettersof the Englishalphabeto*en haveto do double,triple, and quadrupleduty in orderto
acconrnodatethe largenumberof Bnglishsounds.This canbe highly confusingto a beginning
readerwho cannotunderstand why the word "was,"for example,rnightlook like "wass"on the
pagebut is pronounced"wuz"*-apronunciationthat is actuallylogical andregularif you know
somethingaboutphonics.It would seemobvious,too, that leaminghow to readinvolvesreal
leaming*aeceivingandinternalizingstep-by-step instrnctionson horvto decodethe synbols on
the page,fit themto spokensounds,andthenlink thosesoundsto meaning.Hencevocabulary
lists andthe old-fashionedtechniqueof havingnovice readers"soundout" words by reading
aloudin classin orderto associatesoundsandletters.Childrenalsoneedto learnhow to make
all thoseconnectionsquickly and almostunconsciously, or readingwill alwaysbe difficult and
ttnpleasant for them,which is why fluencyandcomprehe.nsion arekey measures of teadingskill.
Learninghow to read'wouldseemanalogousto learninghow to play thepiano,in which
practicingscales,masteringfingeringtechnique,decodingthe notes,anddevelopinga feeling for
the rh)'thmand beautyof the musicaresimultmeousbut separatecomponentsof the process.All
this common-sense intuition--muchof which underlaythe famousphcnics-intensive McGuffey
Readersof the 19thcentury--isin fact supportedby decadesof 2Oth-century scientificresearch
into how peopleactuallylearnhow to read,startingwith the work of JeanneStemlicht Cha"ll,a
psychologistwith a specialint€restin fosteringthe literacyskills of poorchildrenrvhofoundeil
the HarvardReadingLaboratoryat Harvard'sgraduateschoolof educationin 1966.Startingin
the 1970s,a flood of readirrgstudies--anestimated10,000in atl--appliedquantitativeanalysis
and experimental,control-group-based reseaxchto identify the insbuctionstrategiesthat teach
readingmost efliciently. The rsseaxchers includednot only qpecialistsin educationandearty
childhooddevelopment but alsoexpertsin suchfieldsas linguistics,psychology, neurology,
genetics,anthropology,and sociology. The resolutelyapoliticalNICHD, part ofthe National
Institutesof Health,hasbeenfirndingstudiesof readingdevelopmentsince1964,andhas
sponsoredlongxtudinat studiesof 44,000childrenin morefhan 1,000schoolssincetho early
1980s,hackingsomeof thosechildrenandtheir readingprogressfor moretharr20 yearsasthey
grew to adulthood.It was a1lthatresearchwhioh led the NICHD to identifythe frve components
that appearin ReadingFirst'senablinglegislation(phonemicawareness, phonics,flueircy,
vooabulary,andcomprehension). The valueofthese studies"their prcponent$a{gue,is that like
all scientificstudies,theyarebasedon rigorousmethodologies--assessments, for example,not
onlyof how well childrencanreadusingvariousinstructionsbategies,but evenhow they move
their eyesasthey scanaprinted page.And, like all vatid scientificfindings,&e resultscanbe
replicated."We know how readingis acquired,"sayslouisa Cook Moats,aprotdgdeof Jeanne
Chall'sat Harvardanddirectorof the NICIID's Early ReadingInterventionsprojectfrom 1997to
2001."It's learningto processveiy specificki.ndsof linguistic informatjona*d build networks
that coordinatephonolcgicalprocessingto the pattemsof printedsymbolsthat the eyesees,and
 Page63

ifs alsoconnsctedto meaninga$dthe building of vocabulary.WhenI oxplailrhow the process

works to teachers,I cgmpareit to an unraveledropewith the skandsstickingout. The strandsare
all thosebegiruringskills to be woventogetherin the rope." Readinglooksauiomaticandnatural,
Moatsexplains,but only becauseskilled readersarepracticedenoughto decodethe symbolsat
l.ighhing speed. Thereare mzmycause'sfor the resistanceof the educationestablishmentnot
only tc the conclusionsthat Moats and othershavedrawn aboutreadinginstnrction but to the
researchthat underliesthoseconclusions.Onebedrockphilosophicalprinciple,however,unites
all thosewho opposethe step-by-step teachingof literacyskillsr thenotionthat learninghow to
readis not at all like leaminghow to play the piano.Instead,the proponentsof "whole language"
inskuclion conteird,it is a naturalprocessakin to leaminghow to speak*some*ringthat children
don'thaveto be taughtformally but pick up automaticallyif exposedto a sufficientlyprint-rich
environment.StephenD. Krashen,a professorerneritusof educationat theUniversity of
SouthemCaliforniaandself-described"staunchdefender"of whole-language strategies,
explainedin an email: "[A]ny child exposedto comprehensible print will learnto read,barring
severeneurologicalor emoticnalproblems."Or, asKrashenampliliedin a telephoneinterview:
"Kids le*rn to readby reading."Hencethe antipathyof the whole-language proponentsto having
chil&en reada story out of a readsrsuchasHoughtonMifflin's; that doesn'tcountas "real
rea.ding,"to borrow aphras€from Krashen'sanail. Indeed,texibooksorany otherkind of farmal
instructionalmaterialare e$chewed. In elernentary-schoololassrooms acrossthe country,reading
instructionti,pically consistsof what is called"$haredreading."The teacherreadsa story aloud
to the class,often frorn a "Big Book," an oversized,large{3peeditionof an illustratedchildren's
book of the teacher'schoosingthat is proppedup on a tableor on the floor in front of the class.
The leachermight roadthe story out loud sevsraltimes,pointing out wordsthat may be difficult,
andthenhavethe classreadthe story aloudin unisonwhile the teacherturnsthepages-Thereis
almostno individual readingaloud,andthe soundingout of wordsphoneticallyis actively
discouragedas tendingto tum youngstersinto rote pamersof syllableswho fail to understand
r.vhatthey arereading. As for phonicsper se,both Krashenand.YvonneSiu-Runyaninsistthat
they indeedincorporatephonicsinstructioninto their readingstrategles, but only in elementary
fashionandon an as-needed basis--"basic phonics,"asKrashenputsit. Whole-language
inshHcfionalso typically includesperiodsof independentsilentrsading-r'DropEverythingand
Read"is the namefor theseimpromptusessions--in which the childrenpick out andperuse
matsrialof their choicefrom a classroomlibrary of "leveledbooks"--tJrat is, booksthat the
teacherdesmsappropriatefor their readinglevel. During thesesessionstheteacher: typicalty
"models" the process by dropping everything and reading silently from a children's book, too, on
the principlethat seeingotherpeoplereadencourages reading.As for vocabulary,rvhole-
languageclassroomstypically incorporatea "word lvall"--al ever-changing collectionof large-
letterwordsrvrittenon poslersthat the childrenchanttogethercheerleader-style andthen write
out. The instructionalprinciplcsbehindwhole language--lighton formalcontentandheavyon
assumptions that childrenwill learnto readby feelingenthusiasticaboutreading--arsfar from
nerv.Indeed,they dateback to lhe efld of the l9th cenhry, to the educationaltheoriesof John
Dewey{1859-1952),thepragmatistphilosopherand educationaltheoristrvhoheld that children
leam bestnot by directly absorbinginstructionfrom their teachersin speci{lcsubjectssuchas
mathematicsor history,but by interactingrvith the real world. School,in Dervefs thinking,
shouldoffer a simulacrumofreal*world experiencein which leamingtakesplaceobliquely as
the child exploreshis or her suromdings underthe guidanceof a teacher.Dewey was in tum
influencedby the romanticphilosophyof Jean-Jacques Rousseau, whc believedthat childreir
 Page64

werenafurallyperfectand that educationoughtto consistof allowing themmaximumfrnedcmtc

developtheir innatetalents.In 1904Deweyjoined the facultyof ColumbiaTeachersCollege,
regardedthen as now as America'spremier educationschool(U.$. i/ew,scuneartlygives
ColumbiaTeachersils No. 1 rating).From thereDewey's"progressive"thenriesof pedagogy
profoundlyinfluenoedser"eralgenerationsof Americanteachersand schoolboards,right up until
the Spuhik launchof 1957,when it suddenlylookedasthoughthe SovietUnion,whose
Communistleadershadkept in placea decidedlynon*progressive educationsystemdatingfrom
czaristdays,hadtheUnited Statssover a barel in scienceandtechnology.The Dick andJane
readerswidely usedin Amerieanelementaryschcolsfrom the 1930sthrough&e 1950swere
offshootsof a branchof Dewey-ismthat held thatphonicsinstructionwasbackwardand
proposedthat the way to makechildrenliteratewa,sto errpo$e themto simplewordsrepeated
interminably.("SeeDick. $eeDick run, SeeDick run fasl.") This so-called"look-say"pedagogy
(a forerunnerto wholelanguagoin its emphasison contextandmeaningratherthansoundsand
letters)met its endafterRudolf Fleschpublishedhis bestsellingWhyJohnnyCan't Readin 1955,
t$roy€arsbeforeSpukrik.By the early 1960sit lookedasthoughprogressiveeducationhad run
its corusein all but the mostoutri pnvateschools.JeanneChall's 1967bookLearning to Read:
TheGreatDebate,proposeda returnto thoroughgroundingin phonics,but in up-todate
combinationwith inlerestingchildren'sliterature.Thencamea revolutionin pedagogythat swept
throughthe K-12 gradesin the 1970sand 1980sas thoroughlyas its colJege-level sister,
postmodemism,sweptthroughthe academy.The revolutionwas called"sonstructivism."Like
postmodernism, it had its groundingin arcaneFrancophone theory:the ideasof the Srviss
cognitivepsychologistJeanPiaget,Piagetproposedthat childrenprogressthroughdistinct
developmentalstagesduring which they acquireknowledgenot simply by learningit &om &e
outsidebut by "constructing"it from within, buildinguponandrellectinguponwhatthey already
know in orderfo riseto new levelsof knowing.[n Piaget'stheoreticaldialectic,the subjective
processof leamingwasmors importantthananyparficularcontentlearned,Indeed,Piaget
argued,it was crucialthat the developmental processtakingplacewithin eachindividual child's
mind not be interferodwith, but rathernurturedandencowagedbythe child'steachers.As the
ubiquitousmantraof Piaget-influenced educationaltheorylaterput it, theteachershouldbe "a
guideon the side,not a sageon the stage."The essentialconstuctivist principleis that teachers
shouldteachnothingdirectly,but ratherfirnctionascoacheswhile their studentsbasicallyteach
themselves.This wasDewey'sprogressivismwith a new, fashionablyContinsntalface."The
ideais that sducationis growth,educationis development, andthat childrengrow all by
themselves,"saidDianeRavitch,an educationpolicy analystandauthoro { Left Back:A Century
of Battlesaver SchoolRe.form, a mordantcritiqueof corrstructivism,
"The ideais that children
figwe everythingout for fhemselvcs,'Ravitchadded."There'sno authority." Piagetacquiredan
army of Amsrjcan apostlesat educatianschoolsafld elsewhere.Chief anrongihsm wsre Frank
Smith,an Australianjournalist-turneduniversityinstructor,andKennefhGcodman,arredueation
professorat the Universityof Arizona.Smith,whose1971book Understanding Readingderided
the teachingoflphonics,arrdGoodmanarecreditedasthe creatorsof whole-language theory.ln a
1967ar{iclein an educaiion jonmal, Goodmanhaddescribed theprocessof learningto readasa
"psycholinguistic guessinggame"in which childrendecipherwordsoil a page,not by decoding
themphoneticallyasChall maintained, but by following"cuas."The cues,Goodmanrnaintained,
canbe the individual lettersand soundsin the word*-orthey can ba the largercontextof the story
in which the word appears,the artist'sillustrations,or ev€n(andperhapsespecially)the child's
own previouslyacquiredknowledge.Like Smith,Goodmanarguedthatphonicsirntruction was
 Page65

uselessat best, dowmight hafinfuI at worst. "Matching letterswith soundsis a flat-earth view of
the world," he declaredin a t986 boak, What'sWole in WholeLangaage.Dramaticallyturning
centuries-oldprinciplesof readinginstructionon their heads,Goodmanmaintainedthal "a story
is easierto readtha.na page,a pageeasierto readthana paragraph,a paragrapheasierthan a
sent6*ce,& sentenceeasisrthana word, anda word easicrthatra letter."Both Smith,rvhohad
nevertaughtreadingin an elementary-school classroom,andGoodmBnn who had, deridedfhe use
of textbooks,worksheets,andotherformalinshucfionalrnaterial.Smith'$1986book,Insult to
Intelligence:TheBureaucraticIxvasionof Our Clas,vooms,complainedaboutchildrenbeing
forcedby their eldersto msmorizemountainsof uselessdata.{Memorizationis generally
considsredin constructivisttheoryto be developmentallyinappropriatefor elementaryschool.i
In whole-language theory,the teacher's job is to identify the child'ssffors--or"miscues,"as they
are called-and nudge the child in the direction of thecorrectcues."Drill andKill" is their
derisiveterm for pedagogythatemphasizes the $ysternatic teachingof content.Thusbeganthe
practice,now a bedrockofwhole-languagepedagogy,ofteachers'encouragingbeginning
readsrsto look al the first letterof any difficult word they encounterin a story and guessthe rest,
or if that strategyfails to produceresults,simply to skip the word and rehrrn to it later. Although
Gocdmanrefusedtobe interviewedfor this article,statingin apair of dyspepticernailsthat he
would not respondto "negativ6"criticisrnof his theori€s,Yvonns Siu-Runyanprovidedan
exarnpleof how a whole-language readinglessonworks in practice."A child encountersthe
word 'butterflies'in a story," saidSiu-Runyan."The firut time he readsitas b-flies.' Maybethe
next time he roadsit as'butt-flies'andthe nexttime nsbetterflies-'Forme to assumehe'snot
goingfo get it wouldbe a mistake,because frnallyhe'llsayto himsel{,Doesthis makesense?'
He'll look at the picturesof butterflies[in thebook] andsayto himself;'Oh,this is a storyabout
butterflies!'And he'll get it nght afferthat.It's a lot morecomplicateda processthanhandinga
child a list of words." Whole languageandothm aspectsof constructivistthecry sweptthrough
the educationschools,startingwith the flagshipColumbiaTeachersCollege,whereDewey's
progressiveinflusncehad neverwaned,whsrecowseson readingpedagogyto this day
c,oncentrate on erectinga "theoreticalframework"for instructionralherthanteachingteachers
what actuallyworks in classrooms,andwherethe school'spublishingaffiliate,TeachersCollege
Press,churnsout dozensof constructivistheatJses everyyear.Smith andGoodmancrisscrossed
the cauntryon the ed-school lecture circuit, where theywerewelcomedwith openarmsand
standingovationsbyprofessorsandstudentsalike. Whole languageclearlyappealedbecauseit
allowedteachersto do essentiallyrvhatthey liked in their readingclasses,andit rolievedthem of
the arduouswork of ensuringthat their studeritshad masteredspecificliterncyskills. Teachers
and administratorsrushedto create"child-centered"and"learner-centered" curriculain every
field andat everygradelevel ("teamer"beingthe fashionableed-speakword thesedaysfor
"student,"as it connotesthe constructivistideathat childre'ntakechargeof their own education).
SandraWilde, an educationprofessorat PortlandStateUniversityin Oregon,deemedthat
leaminghow to spell,like leaminghow to read,"shouldultimatelybeasnatural,unconscious,
effortless,andplcasantas leamingto speak,"so spellerswent theway of readersin classrooms
acrossthe country.Teachersencouraged youngster$to makeup their own "invented"or
"independent" spelling,alsoundci'the influsrceof Wilde'sself-described "holistic"approach,
which thsorizedthat childrsncould loarnfrom their spelling"miscuss."Wilde draJteda
"Speller'sBill of Rights"that included"the right to be valuedasa humanbeingregardlessof
your spelling."Wlole-languageadvocatesandothcr constructivistsalsoabandoned conventional
testsandlettergrades,which theythoughtslightedyoungsters' individual.ity,
in favorof what
 Page66

they called "authelrticassessment." That usuallymsanshavingsfudentsassemblesampiesof

their rvork in a "portfolio" (the oversizedonvelopethat artiststaketo job interviews)that the
teacherthen evaluatesverbally. Systematicle,ssons in grammar,handwriting andpunctuation
alsowent by the boards,thoughtto be developmentaliy inappropriatefor youngchildren.The
teachingof writing comploiely ohangcdfocus,Tcachersin the primary gradeshad traditionally
taughttheir studentsfirst how to constructgrammaticalandproperlypunctuatedsentences, then
how to form paragraphs,and finally how to build paragraphsinto simpleessaysandstories.All
this was abandoned in favor of a kind of writers'workshopapproachthat focusedon students'
self-expression andpersonalreactions,"Joumaling,"which aJlowsyoungsi,ers to choosetheir
own topicsto write about,becamea favoredclassroomwriting activity,sven for kindsrgarblers
and first-graders.Studentswere encouraged not to worry aboutgrammaricaland spellingerrors,
as thesecould be cleanedup in an "editing" process with the teacher.tmilatingthe graduate
writing programat the Universityof Iowa andthe copy-deskproceduresat thely'er.a Yorkerwas
supposedto turn 6-year-oldsinto sophisticated writers,critics,and ttrinkers.TVo education
professorsat lndianaUniversityof Pennsylvania, DonaldA. McAndrewandC. Mark Hurlbert,
jn an award-winning1993articlein thejournal of the NationalCouncilof Teachersof English,
weut so far asto urgestudentsto indulgein "intentionaterrors"of syntaxandusageas a way of
rebellingagainstthe "tyrannyilsf standardEnglishusage.In 2003the NationalCounciltook its
own insurrectioniststandagainststandardEnglish,voting to endorsea rnanifestotitled "students'
Right to Their Own Language"--namely theright to write their homeworkin hip-hop-ese,
Spanglish,Valley Girl talk, or whateverothernonstaadord dialectthey believebestexpresses
their "community"or "p€rsonal"ideirtities.Many whole-language teachersdo not botherto
preparelessonplansor syllabi, relyrnginsteadon queryingtheir studentson what they would
like to leam on any particularday. Like their oppositenumbe$ in the readingscience
communitg whole lnrguageadvocatescanpoint to plenty of publishedresearch,fatteningthe
educationjournals andbolsteringwhat the whole-language proponentsinsistis their superior
approachto teachingliteracy.That research,however,almostunifonnly consistsof anecdotal
recollectionsby its authorsof eureka!momentsin theirclassrooms.Thestorythat Siu-Runyan
narratedaboutthechild who finally decipheredthe word 'butterflies" is a perfectexample.The
education-school slangterm for such"qualitalivo"(in contrastto quantitative)observations,
analogousto the materialthat anthropologists recordin their field noiebooks,is "kidwatching."
Almost all kidwatchingresearchconsistsof teachers'first-personsuccessstories--because
whole-languageadvocatesarehumanandthey almostneverrepon their classroomfailures."But
they'resurethat thosereports[in the education journals] are 100percent.scientific," sayrsPatrick
Gof{ a professoremeritusof educationat SanDiego StateUniversityin Californiaandreading
seienceadvocate."That'sbecauseyou canget a Ph.D.in educationwi&out everhavingto reada
singlequantitativesfudy.Everrmy own universitywould not teachits studentsaboutthe
empiricalevidenceconcemingthe teachingof reading."Fortunalelgperhaps,for about40 to 50
percentof children-{hesocioeconomic top40 to 50 percenthailingfrom upper-middle-class-to-
wealthy"print-rich" homeswhsfe thereadingof books,magauines, andneluspapers i$ an
everydayoccurrence--rvhole*language readingpedagogydoeslittle if anyharm.The mostvertal
of theseyoungsters,the gifted offspringof lawyers,collegeprofessors,andHollywood
screenwriters, eitheralreadyknow how to readby the time they get to kindergartenor pick up
readingquickly no matterhow they arefaught,Otherswho arenot so naturallyverbalsh:nggle
with whole language's guessinggamesandunsysternatic instructionbut eventuallymanageto
readat gradelevet andto rvrite and spellpassably.Furthermore,manywhole-language
 Page67

proponents,suchasSiu-RunyanandKrashen,areclearlypatimt gi{ted,imaginativeteachers
sensitiveto their studentsas individuals(Siu-Runyanseyssheslips structureinto her student-
irrterest-drivsnlessonplans,andKrashen,who currentlyteachesin a suburbof Porfland,Oregon,
wherervholelanguageis officially verboten,runshis classs$asa kind of DeadPoetsSociety,
ignoringtire han while the administrationlookstheotherway)^ Indeed,cvcnthe staunchest
suppcrtersof the five-componentscierrtificapproachto literacyacknowledgethat whole
Ianguage'semphasison child-friendlyclassroomsandhigh-quatitychildre$'sIiteratureare
valuablecontributionsto poilagogy.Thosedesksarrangedin clusters,not rows, the children
sitting on the floor, andthe plethoraof stimulatingbooksin LaverneJohnsons classroomat
Ginter Parkrepresentsomeof the bestof wholelanguage'slegacy.Finally, many affluentparents
with progressivepolitical learringsactuallypreferthe unstruchred,arts-and-crafts-oriented
meihodologyof constructivism,rvhichis why privateprogres$iveelementaryschoolssuchastho
Dalton Schoolin Manhattanandthe PeninsulaSchoolnearSanFranciscocontinueto flourish
(by the time thosechildren enterhigh school,though, SAT cram coursesand the rat race for Ivy
kague admissionsarethe orderof theday; few of America'stop privateprepschoolsoperateon
progressivepedagogicalprinciples).The childrenwho suf,ferfrom the whole-language
rsvolution arethat bottom40 percentof Americanchildren,fhepoor andnear-poorwho come
from householdswherebooksareseldomseenandwhereunschooledparentshavestarvedtheir
offspringof the rich vocabularyandculturalexposureto which better-offchildrenare
accustomed as a matterof course-Childrenwhoseparentsdont speakEnglishat homefare worst
of all in whole language.This groupof low-income,printdeprivedchildrenis the groupthat
needsdirect readinginshuctionmostde$p€rately, andasthe resultsin fuchmondindicate,
benefitsfrom it most dramatically.Long beforeReadingFirst becamelaw in 2002,therehad
beena backlashagainstwhole languageby parentsandschoolsuperintendents unimpressedby
their students'low testscoresdespitebeingassuredthattheir childrenwerebeing taught
accordingto the most up-to-dateideas.In 1987the stateof Califomiamandateda whole-
languageapproachto readingandwriting. Within a few yearsCalifomia'sreadingscore*s on the
NAEP testplummetedto third-lowestinthe United Statesand its ovenseas territories;only
Louisia*a and Guamrankedlower. The declinestretchedacrossthe socioeconomicboard.
amongthe offspring of the college-educated aswell asthe offspringof Hispanicimmigrants. Jill
Stewart,a writer for the Los Angeles IYeeHy,visited a secortd-gradeclassroomat a higNy
regardedschoolon Lns Angeles'swealthyWestside.Thereshemet a little girl who wrote "I go t
gum calls" for "I go to gym class"in a joumal that was entirelyfree of punctuation(which hadn't
beentaughtyet). In anothorclassroorn, a 7-year-oldboy hadgotte[ by with memorizingfhe
"sharedreading"storythat the teacherhadreadover andoverbut could not actuallyreada single
word of the story on his own. At oneLos Angelesschoolparentsheld nachosalesto buy their
classroomsforbiddenspellers.In CharlesSykes'sbook Dunbing Down Our Kids,a mother
complainedthat her fouflh-gradedaughterhadreceiveda gradeof check-plus(aboveaverage)
and a teacher'snotationof "Wow!" for {hesesentfllcss:"I'm goin to hasmajik skates.Im goin to
go to disenelan.Im goin to bin my mom anddadand brusrandsisd.V/e r go to se mickey
mouse."In 1996Califomia officially dumpedwhole language.(After parentstherediscovered
that their fourth-graderscouldn'tdo long division, a similar,equallysuccessfrilgrassroots
rebellionoverthrewanotherconstuctivistfad promotedby educationschools,"f\zay"
mathematics--inwhich childrsfl aren'ttaughtstandardcomputations, the multiplicationtables,or
corrunonformulas,but spendhoursof classtime pretendingto be Pythagorasand trying to
reinventhis theoremwith sheetsof coloredpaper.)A shorttime a{lerthe rvhole-language revolt,
 Page68

the l.os AngelesUnified SchoolDistrici mandatedthe useof OpenCourt Reading,a phonics-

basedinstructionprogrammarketedbyMcGraw-Hill thathappensto passmusterwithReading
First. DeborahJewell-Sherman's decisionto mandateVoyagerUnivssal Literacy in Richmond
alsoprecedulReadingFlrst. Indeed,aftertheCalifomiadebacle,the education-school
establishment begana strategicretreatin its antagonismtowardphonicsinstruction.Marry
whole-languagepeoplenow preferto usetheterm "balancedliteracy,"ntrich mea$sweavinga
bit of phonicsweJtinto thewhole-language warp. The scandalthat promptedChristopher
Doherty'sresignationftom ReadingFirst last fall was essentiallya playrngout of the decadee-old
antagonismbefweenthe whole-languagepropon€nts, whosenurnbersarehuge,representing
most of the faculty membersat mosteducationschools,and thereading-science proponerrts,
whosenumbersarssmallbut whosephilosophyof readinginsfuction theNo Child t eft Behind
Act wasspecificallydesignedto protecLDoherty'sbehaviorwas cmde andimpmdent*it is
alwayna mistaketo swrd,ashe did, emailsusingfour- andseven-letterwlgarities to refer to his
whole-languageantagonists--but he wascertainlywithfurhis rights underthelaw he
administratedto do exactlyas he did, which was to preventwhole-language programsfrom
benefitingfrom ReadingFirst grants. The chargesof "steering"largelystemmed&om Doherty's
targetingfor exclusiononeparticula,rprogramcalledReadingRecovery,a widely usodbut
controversial$9,000-a-year-per-student tutorialsystemthat saysit is scientificallybasedbut
actuallyusesa mothodologysimilarto that of whole languagethat hasbeencriticizedas
ineffectiveby someresearchers. Doherty'sabrasivepersonalitygot him into frouble,but he also
got caughtbetweenthe larrguageofNo Child Left Behind;which forbidsthereconrmendation of
specificinskuctionalprograms,andthebrutereality of readingpolitics,rvhichhasmeantthat
only a handfulof expertshavedevelopeda handfulof productsthat aregenuinelybasedon
scientificresearch.Doherty'sdownfallturnedout to be a godsendto the whole-language people,
who had hithertobeengraspingat suchstrawsaspossiblemiscalculations in the improvedtest
scoresreportedby theEducationDeparhnent,doubtsaboutlhe efficacyof instructionin
phonemicalvareness, hints that whole laoguage,like Marxisn! had neverbeenproperlytried,
and the perennialcomplaintthat childrentaughthowio readdirectly don'trurderstand what they
read.Attacking the vry ideaof standardized testingwas anotherperennialtactic,aswas
politicization.KerurethGoodmanaccusedreading-science erpertsof being"part of an
orchestratedcampaignby the far right" to disuedit his theories,implying that phonicsadvocales
were mostly home-schoolingfundamsntalists who spentthsir sparetime bombingabortion
clinics. Actually, many of thoseexpertsarefar more likely to votethe straightDemocraticticket.
DianeRavitch is a fellow at the Btookingslnstitutionin Washington,LouisaMoats is aBush
antagonistquick to point out that shebelievesin globalwarmingandopposesthewar in kaq,
and Reid Lyon servedat NICHD throughoutthe Clinton administration.Now, afler the Doherty
scandal,thereis a new bullet in the anti-.Reading First clip: the argumentthat theprogrammostly
bsnefitsthe "comm€rcial"companiesthatpublishreadersandothertextbooksfor profit. That
might be a damningaccusationwereit not for the fact that most textbookcompaniesaslutely
play both sidesof ihe readingscience/whole languagefence.HoughtonMifflin, for example,
publishesthe basalreadersusedat GinterParkElementaryandaisothe storybooksusedin many
a r.vhole-language class.CertainlyReadingFirst hasits defects:Dohe*y got caughtin the rap of
the law's insufficientlyspecificlanguageaboutwhich programsare sufficiefltlyprovento qualify
for grants.And No Child Left Behindhasdefectsof its own.It is loathedon the le{l because of
its strict accountabilityrequirementsandon the right becauseit doesn'trequireenough
accountability. It leavesstatesfreeto jigger theirtestsso thatstudents witl shorvenoughprogress
 Page69

to keepthe federalmoneyflowing. Both endsof the ideologicatspectrumare likely to push hard

for changes,but witl a DemocraticCongressit is highly likely that "changes"will mEana
wateringdovrnof standards. For the daezlinglysuccessfulReadingFirsl program,that would be -
too bad. Both housesof Congressapprovedlegisladonlastmonth cuttingappropriationsfor
ReadingFirst, an orninoussign.Lastrveekin Philadolpbia,all the leadingf)emocratic
presidentialcandidalesstoppedin at the annualmeetingof the NationalEducationAssociation,
whereNo Child LeIi Behindhasthe samestatusaspet food from China--anddulypromised
drastic"ovsrhauls"in lhe actthat could scuttleReadingFirst altogether.The futureof Ginter
Park Elementaryis uncertainn too. Richmond'sschoolsystemis expensiveto operate,and Jewell-
Shermanis often at loggerheads with the city'smayor,DouglasWilder, the former governorof
Virginia. Right now,the third-gradersof GinterPark go to schoalin a cocoonof lavish attention
and top-notchinstruction.Soonenough,though,they will reachinner-cityadolescence with all
its temptations,andRichmond,despiteits lremendouseducationalstrides,is still besetwith
hellholemiddle ard high schoolsanda dropoutrateof nearly47 percent.Yet Ginter Park's
principal,CathyRandolph,hasplentyof hope."I feel thesechildrenwill be successful,"shesaid.
"I know they'll be successful."Certainlyher sc.hoolhasdonemore thanmost to give them that
chance.CharlotteAllen, a writer in llashington,D.C., is the author,mastreceutllt,ofTHE
HUMAN CTTRIST.