Fresh criticism for Reading First: Contractor Involved in Study

Education Week reports:

Reading First, the $1 billion-a-year federal reading program, is under new criticism: The government contractor that set up the program for the U.S. Department of Education is also part of the team hired to evaluate it.

RMC Research Corp. was the contractor hired to provide technical assistance to federal and state officials on the implementation of the program starting in 2002, under three contracts worth about $40 million. Recently, the Education Department’s inspector general reported that RMC failed to keep the program free of conflicts of interest. ("‘Reading First’ Contractor Neglected Bias Rules," March 14, 2007.)