According to the U.S. Department of Education, the “Reading First” (RF) program is a program that “focuses on putting proven methods of early reading instruction in classrooms” (U.S. Department of Education, 2014). With the goal of having students reading by third grade, the program provides monies, in the form of grants, for districts and schools to apply scientifically supported reading research as well as proven instructional and assessment tools (U.S. Department of Education, 2014). Thus, “Reading First” is not a specific program designed and marketed for profit by a scholarship body, but rather a means through which districts can achieve funding to design their own Reading programs. The criteria for utilizing “Reading First” monies encompasses …show more content…
That’s because each student’s learning experience is a complex process; the more resources that teachers can draw from during instruction, the better the chances that they will be able to help their students in meaningful ways (Scholastic, n.d.). While it is true that “legitimate educational research” can benefit students’ learning experience, the extensive amount of funds allocated to RF (Scholastic, n.d.) brought forth questions of its management and effectiveness. Moreover, one could not simply turn a blind eye to the good intended nature of the Reading First program, and overlook the practical implementation problems of such a wide reaching initiative. An article by the Associated Press published in the Washington Times (2006), in the midst of RF funding, notes that ethical issues plagued the program after an initial audit: It [the audit] also depicts a program in which review panels were stacked with people who shared the director’s views and only favored publishers of reading curricula could get money (Associated Press,