Evaluation of the reading program of the Guilford county school system

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of curricular intervention on the reading program of a local school district. The study was based on the following assumptions: that evaluation is part of a total curriculum improvement process; that principals, teachers, parents and students are among the most important audiences for the evaluation report and should therefore be involved in the evaluation study; and that metaevaluation techniques can be used to improve the validity, reliability and objectivity of local evaluation studies. Selected literature related to major evaluation models, to the evaluation of reading programs, and to metaevaluation was reviewed. Pretest and posttest survey data were analyzed to test hypotheses relative to a change in the description of the program and the satisfaction of principals, teachers, parents, and students with the program. The reading achievement scores of third and sixth graders in 1979 were compared to 1982 scores for third and sixth graders to test an hypothesis related to student's reading achievement. A metaevaluation study was conducted to validate that determined effects were due to the curricular intervention and not to other threats to internal validity