A realist review of dyslexia pilot project research

Abstract

We conducted a realist review of state-authorized dyslexia pilot projects to understand how they have been implemented and evaluated, and the extent to which they adhere to best practice recommendations. We found that states have piloted broadly similar policy programs minimally consisting of professional development, universal screening, and instructional intervention. However, none of the pilot report documents we reviewed included explicit logic models or theories of action, which makes it difficult to understand the pilot projects and their results. Officially, most of the pilot project evaluations sought to establish the effectiveness of their programs. However, only two states used evaluation designs that are well-suited to making causal inferences about program effects, which complicates the interpretation of pilot project results. To make future pilot projects more useful to evidence-based policymaking, we make recommendations to improve their design, implementation, and evaluation.