Background on RRCNA's Complaint to the Inspector General's Office
Reading Recovery and Reading First
The Reading Recovery Council of North America (RRCNA) was one of
three organizations documenting that the U.S. Department of
Education (USDE) abused its power in managing the $1 billion Reading
First program aimed at improving reading skills for
lowest-performing children. In an
August 2005 letter of complaint to the Inspector General and a
March 2006 Report,
Evidence Ignored, Learning Denied: The Attack on Reading Recovery,
RRCNA charged that USDE
- Interfered with state and local control
- Excluded one-to-one instruction
- Selectively applied criteria for scientific research
- Systematically disseminated misinformation about Reading
Recovery
In response to these complaints and media stories, the Inspector
General at USDE carried out an 18-month investigation and issued
findings that validated Reading Recovery's complaints. Other reports
from the Government Accountability Office and the Senate Health,
Education, Labor and Pensions Committee followed in March 2007.
Findings from these investigations are synthesized in an August
2007 report,
Reading Recovery and Reading First: Facts, Findings, and
Recommendations.
See also:
Federal Documents and
Reports resulting from Reading First investigation
Current Media Articles on Reading
First
RRCNA Press Releases on Reading First investigation:
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