Evaluation of Broward County Alliance of Quality Schools Project

This article examines the evaluation of the Alliance of Quality Schools project, a 5-year project focusing on at-risk students in Broward County, Florida. The purpose of the evaluation was to determine the effect that the project had on selected academic and behavioral student indicators after its 5th year of implementation. This article focuses only on the findings related to the effect that the project has had on reading performance. Findings related to mathematics performance and student behavior can be found by reviewing the 5th-year evaluation report (Ligas, 1999). The project's mission, based on the philosophy that all children can learn, is to help the greatest number of at-risk students achieve at their highest performance level. In addition to a strong emphasis on Direct Instruction (DI), the Alliance of Quality Schools (AQS) initiative utilizes Accelerated Reader and Computer Assisted Instruction. The project has been evaluated yearly, from the 1994-1995 school year to the 1998-1999 school year. Fifth-year evaluation findings related to student achievement indicated that the effect of the project on academic achievement for elementary and middle school students enrolled at the Alliance schools has varied by grade level and year. The highest increases in student performance occurred at the 4th-grade level for reading and at the 5th-grade level for mathematics. These increases seem to be closely aligned to the grade levels targeted for school accountability by the state of Florida.