Reports that students enrolled in a controversial $1 billion a year reading program at the heart of the No Child Left Behind law have not become better readers than their peers. The independent study covered thousands of students in schools in 13 different states. The students were enrolled in a phonics-based program called Reading First, which critics have called mismanaged and beset with conflicts of interest. The final report is expected at the end of the year. From the Institute of Education Sciences of the U.S. Department of Education.
