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Abstract
In a series of reforms started in 1998 and formalized with the 2000 introduction of the Blueprint for Student Success, the San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) implemented a wide-ranging series of reforms designed to boost the literacy skills of students. This article provides an overview of the reforms, assesses the contributions made by the articles in this special issue of JESPAR, and highlights complementarities between this research and related quantitative research. Overall, the evidence suggests that the model of professional development in the 8th largest district in the nation took root and led to tangible changes in the classroom. Achievement analyses by Betts (Citation2005), Betts, Zau, and King (Citation2005), and Betts, Zau, and Koedel (Citation2008) have suggested that the reading achievement of students improved in the lower grades as a result of the reforms, but dipped somewhat in high school. This article concludes with thoughts on the political and financial challenges to sustaining such reforms and the practical difficulties of evaluating their impact.
Notes
1For more details on the balanced literacy strategy, see Betts (2005), Stein, Hubbard, and Mehan (2004), and Betts, Zau, and King (2005).
2Data downloaded from Ed-Data, http://www.ed-data.k12.ca.us, on December 22, 2008.
3For the proposed 2008–2009 budget, see http://www.sandi.net/depts/budget/pdf/0809budgetbook.pdf, as downloaded December 22, 2008.