The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) has been reauthorized as the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (P.L. 107-110). Title I, Part B of this Act includes the Reading First and Early Reading First initiatives, which aim to ensure that all children can read by the end of the third grade. The Reading First initiative will increase the funding available to states and local education agencies to implement comprehensive reading instruction grounded in scientifically based reading research for children in kindergarten through third grade. Reading First replaces and enhances the Reading Excellence Act of 1998 (P.L. 105-277), which originally authorized the National Institute for Literacy to disseminate evidence-based reading research to teachers and practitioners through its Partnership for Reading initiative.

Reading First
(Title I, Part B of the No Child Left Behind Act)

• Summaries of the law
  • The official No Child Left Behind website, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education
  • Education Commission of the States: "No Child Left Behind: The Challenges and Opportunities of ESEA 2001" (Word Document File)
  • Learning First Alliance: "Major Changes to ESEA in the No Child Left Behind Act" (PDF file)
• Text of the Law

Links for More Information

• The Partnership for Reading is a collaborative effort by three federal agencies - the National Institute for Literacy (NIFL), the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), and the U.S. Department of Education - to bring the findings of evidence-based research on reading instruction to the education community, families, and others with an interest in helping all people learn to read well.
• Report of the National Reading Panel: Teaching Children to Read, produced by the National Reading Panel (NRP), assesses the effectiveness of different approaches used to teach children to read.
• The Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement (CIERA) provides the latest findings from CIERA researchers. Their newest reports address a variety of relevant literacy issues, including informational text, word learning, effective schools, and more.
• Every Child a Reader is an innovative series of 6-page pamphlets summarizing the state of current research in reading education, written for teachers and teacher educators.
• Learning First Alliance. An alliance of major national educational organizations dedicated to improving student learning in America's public schools.
• National Academy Press Reports:
  Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children Starting Out Right
  The National Academy Press publishes the work of the National Academy of Science, the Institute of Medicine, and other research organizations.
• Reading Rockets. A multi-media effort to disseminate research-based information on how to help young, struggling readers

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