Our Progress

To meet our goals across NCIL's five year grant, we are tracking our progress through products, services and reach. To ensure we are fulfilling our mission we use an external evaluator to provide feedback on our intended outcomes. 

YEAR 1

Products

Key Activities

  • Worked with partners in translating family-focused literacy briefs and infographics into Spanish
  • Produced an extensive online Dyslexia Toolkit for educators
  • Translated research into infographics to make them more accessible to different audiences
  • Produced webinars on current literacy topics that include panels of diverse stakeholders
  • Disseminated a monthly newsletter and authored articles on literacy topics

Data

  • 2 recorded webinars
  • 2 Science of Reading educator’s Toolboxes
  • 4 new literacy briefs and/or infographics
  • 17 literacy briefs and/or infographics translated into Spanish
  • 2 Implementation Toolkits
  • 12 Newsletters

Services

Key Activities

  • Conducted needs assessment activities with family members and family organizations to inform product development
  • Held Advisory Board meetings with key stakeholders
  • Provided technical assistance to state education agencies, federally funded technical assistance centers, and family organizations
  • Held live Reading the Room webinars on the science of reading and literacy instruction and policies that affect students and teachers
  • Participated in national and regional conferences/events on improving student literacy outcomes

Data

  • Hosted 4 events (e.g., meetings and webinars)
  • Participated in 6 conferences/events 

Reach

Activities

  • Increased the number of website visitors by 3%
  • Increased our social media reach by 24%

Data

  • 253,631 website visitors
  • 10,000 followers on social media
  • 6,950 newsletter subscribers

Evaluation of Results

Researchers from the University of Texas at Austin Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk (MCPER) will lead the External Evaluation of the Center. The evaluation team includes members with extensive experience leading data-related program evaluation efforts for federally-funded Technical Assistance and Dissemination projects, including managing, collecting, analyzing, and reporting evaluation data.

The External Evaluation for the Center will collect, summarize, and disseminate summative data that (a) provides Center staff regular opportunities to engage in data-based decision making in support of the Center’s continuous improvement efforts, and (b) allows stakeholders, Center staff, the United States Education Department (the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Office of Special Education Programs, jointly), and external evaluators from MCPER to document the progress the Center has made on its intended outcomes.

External Evaluations

External Evaluation will be conducted in Project Years 2 through 5.  Outcomes to be evaluated include:

  • To what extent were the Center's clients satisfied with the quality, usefulness, and relevance of services provided
  • The extent to which the Center improved the capacity of education agencies, including early childhood providers, to:
    • Understand early indicators of risk for literacy-related disabilities,
    • Use evidence-based screening for identifying risk by kindergarten, and
    • Implement evidence-based instruction to meet the specific needs of students with or at risk for literacy-related disabilities