Comparing Professional Judgments on the Effectiveness of Reading Resources With Expert Ratings

• In Event: New Approaches to School Effectiveness and School Improvement

Abstract

We set out to evaluate the reading resources being implemented at 23 struggling elementary schools in a large, urban, southern district. The schools were at risk of closure if reading achievement did not improve, hence the district was under pressure to expedite an assessment of current reading resources. In the absence of existing research evidence, we collected professional judgments about the effectiveness of each resource at improving reading proficiency by surveying teacher development specialists in each school. We subsequently collected expert judgments from three reading experts and compare ratings between practitioners and experts. We find that practitioners are more optimistic about efficacy than experts and that experts have difficulty predicting the efficacy of reading resources with an unfamiliar population.

Authors

• Fiona M. Hollands, Teachers College, Columbia University

• Yilin Pan, Columbia University

• Michael J. Kieffer, New York University

• Venita R. Holmes, Houston Independent School District

• Yixin Wang, Teachers College, Columbia University

• Maya M Escueta, Teachers College, Columbia University

• Laura Head, Self-employed