Project Follow Through

Summary

The evaluation of Project Follow Through was the most costly evaluation study in education ever financed by the federal government. The results of the evaluation indicated that the Direct Instruction model and, to a lesser degree, the Behavior Analysis model provided viable solutions to the problem of teaching disadvantaged children. These two models demonstrated that the technology exists by which the academic achievement of disadvantaged children may be raised to “self-sustaining” levels.

These findings have enormous implications for comprehensive reform of education policy and practice. Yet, the results of the Follow Through evaluation have been virtually ignored by the educational establishment. This monograph presents a case history of Project Follow Through and examines the factors that have led the educational establishment to ignore evidence of the existence of teaching methods that are effective in raising the academic achievement of disadvantaged children.

The monograph is organized as follows.

• Part I presents the history of Follow Through-the genesis of the Follow Through idea, early planning, and the factors leading to the decision to experiment.
• Part II concerns the actual design and conduct of the experiment. Discussion focuses on the various sources of influence that determined the experimental design.
• Part III concerns the evaluation. A history of the evaluation effort is presented, followed by a description of the national evaluation and summary of effects. This is followed by the presentation of alternative analyses and interpretations of the data.
• Part IV documents the neglect of the data by the educational establishment.
• In Part V each of several components of the education industry is examined for reasons why data of this import have been virtually neglected. Discussion focuses on factors that influence the adoption of teaching methods by the various facets of the educational enterprise.
• Part VI presents a summary and offers some suggestions about how to solve the instructional problem.

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