Our Projects
Literacy Initiative Evaluation in Fulton County Schools
The Challenge
Fulton County Schools, Georgia's fourth-largest school district, launched Every Child Reads (ECR) in 2021, a $90 million initiative funded largely through federal pandemic relief. ECR moved reading instruction from a balanced literacy model to instruction aligned with the science of reading, built on phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. The district adopted new curriculum materials, placed a literacy coach in every elementary school, enrolled teachers in LETRS training, and added high-dosage tutoring. The Fulton County Department of Program Evaluation designed a three-year evaluation to document how the initiative was implemented and to report student reading performance alongside it.
Our Support
Gibson, with subcontractor Resources for Learning, conducted the ECR evaluation for Fulton County from 2021 through 2024. Each year answered a different set of questions posed by the district.
Landscape Analyses: Assessed the instructional materials and practices in use across K–12 classrooms, evaluating their alignment with evidence-based literacy practices.
District-Level Implementation Analysis: Used document reviews, district-wide surveys, longitudinal focus groups with teachers across the school year, interviews with district leaders, classroom observations, and analysis of student performance data (iReady and state assessments) to evaluate the fidelity of ECR implementation.
School-Level Implementation Analysis: Documented implementation through over 450 classroom observations, interviews of zone superintendents and district literacy leaders, longitudinal focus groups with literacy instructional coaches, surveys of every principal, and surveys of a random sample of teachers in K–8.
This comprehensive approach provided Fulton County with insights into the effectiveness of the ECR initiative and areas for improvement.
Results
Gibson’s evaluation yielded significant findings that informed Fulton County’s literacy strategy:
Improved Student Outcomes: Third grade reading proficiency increased by 4 percentage points, reaching 76% in 2023.
Recognition of Literacy Leadership: The Georgia Department of Education named 26 Fulton County schools Literacy Leaders in 2024 for achievement or growth in reading, the most of any district in the state.
Enhanced Instructional Support: Every elementary school was staffed with a dedicated literacy coach to support teachers in implementing structured literacy practices.
Strategic Resource Allocation: Findings from the evaluation guided the district in refining professional development programs, adjusting curriculum materials, and targeting resources to schools and student groups needing additional support.
Each year's findings went to district and school leaders, who used them to revise the Fulton County Schools curriculum guide, adjust professional development, and set expectations for the middle school reading course. The evaluation described how ECR was implemented and how reading performance moved over the same period.
Learn More
For more information on the Every Child Reads initiative and its impact, you can refer to the following resources:
Fulton County Schools' Evaluation Briefs: Fulton County Schools
News coverage on the initiative's success: Rough Draft Atlanta