Acknowledgments

This study represents a collaborative effort among the authors and the staff from the participating school districts and schools, the program developers, our colleagues at MDRC and American Institutes for Research (AIR), and Institute of Education Sciences (IES) staff. The study has benefited especially from the time, energy, and commitment put forth by staff in the participating school districts to implement the two literacy programs used in the Enhanced Reading Opportunities (ERO) Study, allow access to classrooms, and respond to requests for data.

At the U.S. Department of Education, Paul Strasberg, Marsha Silverberg, Phoebe Cottingham, and Ricky Takai at the Institute of Education Sciences provided helpful support and guidance on the design and execution of the evaluation and in the development of the report. Braden Goetz and Valerie Randall-Walker at the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education provided invaluable support to the school districts in their efforts to implement the supplemental literacy programs and meet the demands of the evaluation.

The study's technical working group provided valuable insights on the evaluation design, data analysis, and early versions of the report. We thank Donna E. Alvermann, Donald L. Compton, Robinson Hollister, Mark W. Lipsey, Robert H. Meyer, Christopher Schatschneider, Timothy Shanahan, and Catherine Snow for their expertise and guidance.

The listed authors of this report represent only a small part of the team involved in this project. Linda Kuhn and the staff at Survey Research Management managed and conducted the follow-up testing and survey data collection effort.

At AIR, Courtney Zmach, Rebecca Holland-Coviello, Christopher Doyle, and Andrea Olinger coordinated the classroom observations and supported the observation staff. Nancy Lang and Courtney Tanenbaum processed and managed the interview and observation data. These AIR staff also conducted classroom observations and phone interviews.

At MDRC, Susan Sepanik and Edmond Wong assisted with data collection and provided programming and analysis support. Corinne Herlihy and Kristin Porter served as school district coordinators. Gordon Berlin, Howard Bloom, Fred Doolittle, Corinne Herlihy, Janet Quint, and Pei Zhu provided substantive expertise through their thoughtful comments on, and reviews of, this report. Mario Flecha and Vivan Mateo assisted with report production. Robert Weber and John Hutchins edited the report, and Stephanie Cowell and Inna Kruglaya prepared it for publication.

The Authors