In order to be awarded a grant to study how to improve reading comprehension, a proposal had to address one or more of the following: student developmental patterns, instructional interventions or empirical measurements. The individual or institution proposing the study had to clearly indicate the methods they would use. All had to allow generalization across the learning population, not just be true of the individuals studied. The Secretary of Education was prepared to spend up to $5 million if enough high-quality applications were received.
Acceptable methods included these possibilities: qualitative, quantitative, experimental, quasi-experimental or correlative. Qualitative techniques involve case studies, focus groups and single subject or classroom observations, while a quantitative method employs simulation and is more difficult to measure. Experimental methods require both random assignments and a control group, while a quasi-experimental study depends on statistical analysis of a pretested class or group. Correlative techniques use logistical or structural regression of either single or multiple modes of comprehension.
Instead of selecting individual proposals, the Department of Education contracted with a company called Mathematica Policy Research for a five-year study directed specifically at fifth graders, after preliminary reports indicated that reading comprehension was getting bogged down in fourth grade. Mathematica partnered with four groups to administer standardized tests to students to collect and analyze data. RMC Research worked out of seven states: California, Colorado, Florida, New Hampshire, New York, Oregon and Virginia. The other partners in the consortium were RG Research Group, the Vaughn Gross Center for the Reading and Language Arts at the University of Texas-Austin and the University of Utah.
Each recipient of an award to do a reading comprehension study had to make its progress available to the media as well as the funding agency. At the end of the study, they were required to synthesize the results and describe the possible effects on improved reading comprehension, not only in the schools studied, but nationwide, so that the Department of Education could use the results in future planning, funding, and teacher training especially directed at K-3 students. Various written reports of the studies are also available on the Internet for public or academic use.