Using program evaluation to inform and improve the education of young English language learners in US schools

The purpose of this paper is to discuss how program evaluation can be conducted and communicated in ways that meaningfully affect the education of English language learners (ELLs) in US schools. First, the paper describes the Waterford Early Reading Program Evaluation, a large-scale evaluation of a reading intervention implemented in schools with substantial populations of ELLs in a large urban school district in California. Second, using the Waterford evaluation as an example, this paper discusses the conditions necessary for conducting an evaluation that yields useful information about a program's implementation and effectiveness. The paper also highlights the importance of communicating those findings in a clear way so as to be meaningful to stakeholders and decision-makers in order to facilitate the goal of improving the education of young ELLs.